After the trip ...

After leaving Rwanda, we had a great vacation in Tanzania for a few days.  We chose not to include it in the blog because we did not want to overshadow our experiences in Rwanda and our incredible time spent with Emmanuel and Leonce and the kids.  Barton and I both noticed the difference between the plight of the Rwandans versus the relative comfort in the lives of Tanzanians.  For those looking for a vacation, Tanzania is beautiful and relaxing, but if you desire a life-changing experience, Rwanda will open your eyes and put the ease of our American lives in perspective.

Our trip has helped heighten awareness of the needs of Rwandan orphans and how Small Voices has helped to provide each one of you with the opportunity to make a difference in their lives.  We have received many more donations since we embarked on our trip, and we have now raised nearly $23,000 in all.

Please check out out January 2009 update on the Small Voices Foundation website at:

http://www.small-voices.org/recent_news.html.

Also, please checkout all of our pictures (please bear with us as there are many pics) from the Rebero Orphan Center and from the Mwanankabandi Orphan Center.

http://picasaweb.google.com/bringreene

And as always, please keep Small Voices in mind for your charitable donations.  We are only $7,000 away from our original goal!!

http://www.small-voices.org/donate_now.html

An African Shopping Experience...

So, yesterday (Wed. or New Year’s Eve) I got to really experience the inefficiency that goes along with working in an African country- first hand.  I had promised Leonce and Emmanuel a “shopping spree” with Small Voices money to buy items we determined were essential and needed immediately.  The guys came to pick us up at 9:30 with a hired taxi for the day to help us complete all our errands.  Next, they decided we need to have an early (10 am!) lunch to have a meeting where we planned and made a list of exactly what items the center needs right away.  Since buying basics like food etc… are relatively easy, we wanted to hit a few larger ticket items while I was there, so that I could oversee the purchase and assume responsibility for the receipts etc…  Lunch took about 2.5 hours and mostly consisted of the guys wanting to know all kinds of personal things about us, our families, our friends etc…I pulled out my laptop and showed them photos of my family and also old trips and anything I had loaded on my computer.  (Mom- you would be pleased to know they thought you seemed “young and strong”).  It is very much a part of their culture to identify the life and history of a person and where they come from, and I found it very endearing that they now include us in their family.  At one point I showed them a picture of Spencer (my dog) and said “Here is my baby!,” to which they both gasped and clucked and pointed to Barton and said “Until you make her babies!”….:-)

 

After the long lunch- the only business that was accomplished was our -not long-shopping list 1. Get the orphan center internet 2. Speakers for the laptop we brought, so they may use it for educational videos, 3. Office cabinet.  I have to admit, my constantly rushed and multitasking personality was climbing the walls at the time wasting that goes along with their culture- but this is Africa!  Finally- we set out to acquire internet for the center.  Barton and I had purchased a beautiful HP laptop at Best Buy so that the guys can easily handle their accounting for Small Voices, teach the children computer literacy and finally bring them into the modern age.  Having private internet in Rwanda is an enormous luxury, since the start-up cost is exorbitant and the maintenance can be steep, as well.  During lunch I emphasized that having internet could change their lives and help us to communicate much better with them, also saving them precious hours during the day waiting at dingy internet cafes.  The guys agreed that they could really begin making huge advances with regular internet access.

 

First, to the Rwandatel or internet purchasing location where we spent an hour communicating our desire to purchase internet, next, we set off to the bank where one actually goes to pay for high-ticket items like internet, then to a 2^nd bank across town with a line shorter than 80 people deep.  Next, wait 45 minutes at 2^nd bank to make transaction.  Take taxi back to Rwandatel with the proof of purchase, and acquire the internet card- Time spent 4 hours. 

 

Our next course of business was to acquire the computer speakers.  Nothing like Best Buy here, folks.  We went into the shopping district, which is tiny, dingy rooms- mostly run by Indians, who sell decade old appliances at outrageous costs.  After opening several boxes with speakers we might have bought 10-15 years ago, we discovered at each location that they either didn’t work at all or were sub-par for the prices being asked.  Emmanuel and Leonce shrewdly haggled with each shop owner.  After visiting about 5-6 locations, we ended up buying speakers from the first place we visited.  The shop owner was Indian, and Leonce explained that the Indians often raise their prices when they see a “white person”, and they also often sell appliances that are refurbished and try to pass them off as new.  We tried the speakers and all seemed to work well, so we will keep our fingers crossed! Time spent- 2.5 hours.

 

All in all we spent 7 hours in the overwhelming heat and smells of Kigali, riding all over town in a very tiny car to acquire these 2 items.  Admittedly, I was hot, tired and frustrated with the process, not to mention horribly car sick when it was over….But the beauty of the entire day was Emmanuel and Leonce’s  excitement at the prospect of having their very own internet and computer so that they can begin to really conduct business!  It was a good lesson for me, as I am often frustrated at why progress and communication regarding SVF can be so slow when I am waiting to get a response from Kigali.  Life is very difficult here….

 

I had one last course of business at the end of the day.  We then all taxied over to a new orphanage I was hoping to interview as a potential recipient of SVF funds.  I have been emailing with the head of this orphanage, named Alphonse, for a few months and hoped to meet them and decide if our funds could be extended to this center as well- SVF expands!

 

Upon arrival at the second orphanage, I was shocked.  This center sleeps 5 orphans every night in a tiny, dirty room with 2 small beds.  There is nothing more to the orphanage than a dirt common area.  45 children are fed from this orphanage, and food is cooked over a pile of charcoals in the corner of the room.  I discovered Alphonse was also a genocide survivor and takes care of these 45 children, and is only 20 years young.  He looked like a child himself.  I was devastated by the poverty that these children are experiencing.  I am also that much more appreciative at the progress that Emmanuel and Leonce have made to care for their children at Rebero, along with their hygiene and education.  The second orphanage has no infrastructure, so little ability to move forward and living with utter poverty.  Sadly, due to this lack of education and poverty, it may be difficult for SVF funds to be sent to them, as they do not have enough education to properly manage the funds.

 

BUT- there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the children at the second orphanage.  Upon arrival at the second orphanage, Emmanuel and Leonce discovered that one of the children there was a part of the survival story of Leonce during the genocide.  In other words, Leonce was captured by the Hutu militia during the Genocide and made to tend to the cows of the Hutu soldiers.  The militia told Leonce that when the cows were all gone, and he was no longer needed, then he would be killed.  Luckily for him, the Tutsi rebels took over the city before the cows were eaten and he survived.  The other little boy who tended the cows with him was at second orphanage.  I am working to devise a plan where Leonce purchases food for the second orphanage so that they may get the much needed help they deserve.  More on that later…

Mountain Gorilla rookie

Unlike Brin, I had not had the luxury of seeing the gorillas before my trip to Rwanda (After all, I had only been to Mexico).  So, I was quite excited, but a little apprehensive about trekking through the forests of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda (yes, the volcanoes are active) to see the famed mountain gorillas.  We started out the day on Tuesday by heading to the base headquarters up near the volcanoes.  There, we were broken up into groups, with each group assigned to track a different gorilla family.  Our group consisted of family of four from upstate New York, a French couple from the island of Reunion (of whom the husband ran the Heineken brewery), and Brin and me, and we were assigned to track the Titus family.  Our guide was a Rwandan named Felix, and he had been working on the mountain for 21 years, so that gave me a little more comfort about our trek. We also had 2 armed guards from the Rwandan Army each carrying an AK-47 to protect us in case the gorillas charged.  No, actually they will not shoot any of the gorillas if they charge humans, but they will shoot poachers who are hunting the gorillas (and maybe a solider or two from the DR Congo, if necessary).

 

Once our group was assembled, we drove further up into the volcanoes to the beginning of the trail that we were to hike.  The trail was not your standard American hiking trail through the trees, but was actually a series of maze-like paths carved between the farms that are tended by the local peasant farmers.  We hiked up the trail for about an hour and a half, or so, before getting to the jungle.  Along the trail, we passed hundreds of people who live and farm up in the mountains and will likely live there their entire lives.  The people appeared to grow crops (potatoes, bananas, peas, etc.) for their personal consumption, but they also sell crops in the markets that are hours away on foot.

 

As we arrived to the jungle, we were directed by our guide to stay 7 meters away from the gorillas once we came upon the family.  Not for safety, but because the gorillas can catch our diseases.  Upon entering the jungle, we hiked for about 10 minutes when we came upon the gorilla tracker who had been tracking the family and directing our guide via walkie-talkie where to hike.  The tracker could uncannily “speak” gorilla and was able to lead us the final 50 meters or so to the gorilla family.

 

At this point, I was getting quite nervous about approaching the gorillas.  Our first encounter with one of them was hearing it walking towards us through the thick jungle plants.  I saw the plants moving, but I could not yet see the gorilla.  After it emerged, though, it was pretty obvious that it meant no harm to us.  We followed the gorilla for about another 20 meters, and it led us to the Silverback (the leader of the family), which was quite an imposing beast.  He could have taken down our entire group in no time flat.  We sat and watched the Silverback and the other gorilla for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then the gorillas headed up the volcano a short ways.  We followed them up the volcano, and we were suddenly approached by another gorilla that was coming to join the family, which was going to take its morning rest in about 30 minutes.   We snapped countless pictures of the family (I think we took about 300 pics of the gorillas), and some of the gorillas even appeared to pose for us.  It was amazing.  A few minutes later, a few more of the family came and joined their relatives, and there ended up being six gorillas in all.  They were very calm and seemed to kind of enjoy being on stage for us.  Brin said that the photo ops were better this year than when she did the trek last year.

 

After an hour with the gorillas, which is all we are allowed to spend with them because of the risk of communicating diseases to them, we headed back out of the jungle and started our hike back down the mountain.  I was in amazement that I had just been 5 feet away from mountain gorillas (our guide was a little lax on the 7 meter rule).  It was truly unbelievable.

Side Note from Brin: Barton is right, my pictures are a thousand times better this year, and there are literally almost 400 of them.  I think most people were disappointed in pics last year, but I can assure you these capture it.  We also used our same travel guide from last year, George.  He and I have maintained contact over the last year and he has invited us to his wedding! (actually this is the 2^nd wedding we have been invited to on this trip in Rwanda).  Wedding in Rwanda anyone?  We also drove to the twin lakes in the mountains, which I was not able to do last year.  Here, some village children found us on a trail.  I gave them Kashi bars and pens, which looked so strange and out of place as they clutched them in their tiny dirty hands.  They were so excited about these small gifts that they performed a song and dance for us on the spot….The pics tell it all.  We will post them soon.

Rwanda's Pride and Joy...

The purpose of this blog is to keep the SVF family up to date on the work being done at the Rebero orphan center..but along the way, we are doing a bit of personal sight-seeing.  Tomorrow we are meeting the guys from Rebero to go shopping for essential items of immediate need, but today we returned from a 48 hour trip to see the gorillas!!  I assure you we will be back to blogging about important things regarding SVF tomorrow, but we had an amazing 2 days in the mountain region of Rwanda.  For those friends close to me, you have already read my emails from last year that detailed my gorilla experience, so I will leave those details to Barton as they are from his new eyes.  I will say, though, that we showed up much better prepared this year in regards to pics!  Last year, Kathleen and I struggled to capture the depth and beauty of Rwanda with our teeny "party pic" cameras, but this year we have a great camera and we can really give y'all an idea of what the day with gorillas is like!

Pics from Rebero

Please check out the new pics we uploaded.  We will upload lots more when we have a faster connection.

http://picasaweb.google.com/bringreene/SmallVoicesTripToAfrica#

Our day with the orphans (part 2)

After my hilarious encounter with the children about my freckles (yes, this is Barton writing now), we presented an HP laptop to the Rebero Orphan Center (ROC) that SVF bought for them to jump start their computer literacy program.  Emmanuel, one of the founders, was a computer science major, so he will be able to help teach the kids how to use computers and the Internet.  Additionally, we brought over some fun educational computer games so that the kids can practice up on their Math, English, Science, and other subjects.

 

Next, everyone at the center ate lunch that was prepared by the older orphans.  We were treated to a delectable meal of rice (that was somewhat creamy), some green creamed spinach-ish veggie, boiled beef, potatoes, and orphan-baked cake.  I was somewhat adventurous and chowed down on the beef, but Brin stuck to the rice and green veggie.  Over lunch, we discussed the business of the ROC with Emmanuel and Leonce, and we were pleased to verify that they have remained close to budget and have kept all of the receipts for their expenditures of SVF funds.  At this point, the SVF funds have entirely funded many beneficial purposes, including health insurance for the children, construction of a classroom annex, hiring of a teacher, hiring of a master's-level program director to oversee and develop programs at the ROC, development of a lunch program, and successful planting and growing of a vegetable garden to provide food for the families of the orphans.  Most importantly, Emmanuel and Leonce emphasized that the SVF funds are the blessing that they have been hoping and praying for, giving them hope for the future and the ability to make a plan.

 

After lunch, Leonce said that it was time to give the children the gifts that we had brought from the U.S., that many of you had donated to SVF.  This was one of the main purposes of our trip, so we were eager to see the children's reactions to what Americans thought would make good Christmas gifts for Rwandans.  We set all of the gifts out on a table in one of the rooms at the ROC, everything from stuffed animals and dolls to arts and craft supplies to soccer balls.  The children were getting very eager and excited as they stared into the room through a window.  Once it was all setup, Leonce led the children in one at a time to pick a gift.  The children were ecstatic to get new toys -- very excited with big smiles on their faces.  We have some good pictures that we will post showing some of the children getting gifts --- so look for your toys (we will post a couple of the pictures due to limited bandwidth, but we are planning on posting many more pics once we get home and also creating a digital montage).  Apparently we have now set an expectation of giving Christmas gifts to the children, so we may need to come back next year -- not too bad of a problem to have, though.  Once each of the children had a gift, they ran around for a while and played with them.  Many of them made some lovely artistic works using their crayons and markers and other arts and crafts supplies, and others enjoyed sharing and trading their stuffed animals and dolls with each other.

 

After we thought we had seen everything, the children treated us to another traditional Rwandan dance, complete again with traditional outfits and singing and drumming.  They really know how to move, and you can see that they enjoying dancing the entire time.

 

At this point, it was getting later in the afternoon, so the children began to head to their homes.  We helped Leonce straighten up the center, and we planned to meet up with Leonce and Emmanuel on Wednesday, Dec. 30, to go shopping with them to buy with SVF funds any additional items and supplies that they may currently need.

 

Overall, I was taken aback by the full-time dedication and spirit that Emmanuel and Leonce put into the ROC, apparently day-in and day-out.  They have put their entire hearts and souls into the center since they formed it about 5 years ago, and the children are beginning to reap the rewards.  Even more, I was happy to see them smiles on the children’s faces and to see that they are enjoying their time spent at the center and are benefitting by receiving health care and education, among other things.  The center has only begun to reach its full potential.

Our day with the orphans (part 1)

For those people who have contributed to the Small Voices Foundation Cause, let me start by congratulating you. I hope that each and every person that reads this who has donated time, toys, prayers and money sleeps a little better tonight. The work for the last year is everything I dreamed of and hoped for, and has made a difference.

It may take me several posts to detail the events of today, or perhaps I may never be able to truly recount the experience but I will do my best so that each of you know what an amazing cause of which you have become. For those of you who have donated money to charities with the knowledge that you may never know what your dime has created, I can tell you that with Small Voices I have seen where each penny has made a change for the better.

We were driven at noon (after being confirmed bright and early by Leonce today to Rebero Orphan Center and greeted by 60 of the 88 children who are benefitting from Rebero. Immediately Barton and I were swarmed by little hands and hugs. We could hardly get out of the car. The 2 genocide survivors who founded the Rebero Orphan Center (ROC) had created an agenda of plays and native dance that lasted for an hour. I sat in a chair while the children displayed their ritual dance and Barton snapped shots, like ROC paparazzi. Next, the children re-enacted the Nativity complete with costumes of kings, shepherds, wisemen, angels and the Mary and Joseph- all for us! The production caused such a stir that the neighbors all gathered around to enjoy the spectacle. At a certain point during the native dance of the women, the girls attempted to pull me up and make me dance their native dance. Ummm….let’s just say I gave it my best. During, what I thought was pretty darn close to “keeping up” with their moves, I looked into the crowd of bystanders and noticed the entire mass was laughing hysterically and pointing at me!!! I guess it is true, white girl can’t dance….Embarrassed, I ran back to the safety of my chair.

Next, the directors lead us to the classroom that SMALL VOICES BUILT FOR THE CHILDREN!!!! The teacher who was hired, with SVF MONEY (!!!), did a lesson demonstration where she depicted an English lesson. The children could hardly concentrate because they were so enamored with Barton! Finally, one of the bravest boys motioned for Barton to sit next to him. Barton promptly snuggled up to the young boys and continued to watch the lesson demonstration. I watched from afar as the boys giggled to each other and stared while whispering about Barton. Just as I wondered what their fascination might be about, one boy bravely leaned over to Barton and rubbed his red arm hair and giggled, then pointed to his own bare arm. White redheaded boys have a lot more arm hair than Rwanda boys! I started to laugh and tried to teach them “freckles” and I think they got it☺.

More to follow….

Thank you from the Rebero kids

This was read to us as a thank you to the Small Voices family from the children of the Rebero Orphan Center.  This personally written message concluded the reenactment of the nativity scene by the children.

You Are Welcome

Our guests,

Wonderful guests,

We're happy to see you,

In Rebero Orphan Center,

You are welcome in our home.

We are very happy to share with you,

The happiness of that day,

The wonderful day,

We receive the best friends.

Friends of children,

Friends of orphans,

Friends of vulnerable,

Friends of Rwanda,

Friends of peace.

You're time is spent,

For coming here to join us,

You always keep us in mind,

You fight for our good future life,

Your support is of capital importance.

Support in health,

Support in education,

Advices and counseling,

Nutrition for our growth,

Education in sciences,

Knowledge in foreigner languages,

Skills in our day life.

We encourage you to be with us,

Our friend parents,

May god bless you!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Land of a Thousand Hills....

So, we arrived yesterday afternoon, with surprisingly little incident, into Kigali.  This place is just as beautiful as I remember and it's people just as kind and entertaining.  Upon arrival, we learned the bags with toys are here!!!! Every last one of them!!!! Yeah!!!  I am enjoying every minute of watching Barton's child-like excitement towards every little thing he is experiencing.  He is struggling a bit with communicating, and I am trying to teach him how to simplify his sentences to even give communication a chance.  Here is a typical conversation from yesterday:

Barton to waiter: "Hey, yeah, so I noticed a lot of people in town where wearing suits and seemed really dressed up.  They seemed to be coming from a party or maybe church?  I couldn't tell?  Do y'all go to church on Saturday here, or was there some kind of party the whole town went to or something?"

Waiter, long pause: "Yes, take the bus"

Obviously, something was lost in translation.  But Barton has learned 1 or 2 words in Kinyarwanda and loves to shock the locals by using them.  I don't think they see many red- heads, let alone those who try to speak their local language.  It is great! 

After a nice dinner at Chez Robert last night, we shared a Mutzig (my favorite local beer) on the patio of our hotel, then went to bed early.  I am narcoleptic in Africa.  Not sure of it is the clean air, or travel fatigue, but I can't keep my eyes open after 8:30 (Kathleen, are you surprised?).  It is a nice change from my usual insomnia.

Early this morning we were awoken by a visit from Leonce, one of the directors of the Orphan Center.  He stopped in to be sure would be ready later for the party.  I was so embarassed to see him again in my PJ's but thrilled that today is the big day!  During the conversation Leonce either said I was the "Founder" or the "Fonda" of their Orphan Center....er, so Founder is nice, but not sure if it may have been a Jane Fonda reference???  Not as keen on a Fonda reference, I much prefer Angelina or Oprah, ha ha....

I will blog later tonight to detail the party, can't wait to update everyone!!

AF, Happy Birthday!!!!! XOXOXO- Brin

TIA

TIA stands for "This is Africa".  It's a term Barton and I learned while recently watching the movie Blood Diamond, with Leo Dicaprio.  The term essentially means that nothing is easy in Africa and what can go wrong probably will.  Well- TIA! Now, bear in mind I am not drawing the comparison that our trip is similar to Leo's character who was smuggling priceless blood diamonds through the war-torn countryside of Sierra Leone.  I recognize that we are only trying to smuggle politcally correct babydolls, crayons, coloring books and the occasional Kung Fu Panda DVD into a relatively happy and stable Rwanda- But you get my point....

So, upon arrival into Amsterdam, we discovered our flight that evening into Nairobi, didn't exist- or is called a Ghost Reservation.  I'm still not sure what that means, but I did understand that it wasn't happening.  Our rather unfriendly Dutch reservationist was able to squeeze us onto another flight that left about 1.5 hours later into Nairobi.  This killed our day in Amsterdam, which I think disappointed Barton, and left us arriving in Nairobi last night and spending the night to leave the next morning (today).  Of course, we had no where to stay and I was soured to Nairobi last year during that whole tribal war debacle where I was almost stranded in the airport for days during their tribal conflicts last year (see old emails).  In addition, Nairobi has earned the loving name "Nai-robbery" for it's reputation towards petty theft.  Nonetheless, we flew in last night and managed to actually have a lovely experience staying at the Hilton.  So far so good!

Our biggest concern at this point is that we have no idea where our bags are...but we are keeping our fingers crossed that they will appear at the airport in Kigali.  Hope y'all enjoyed your holidays and vacation time with your families.  More soon!

Follow our trip through pictures

After you read about the trip, want to see it?  Keep up with our Small Voices experiences through the photo album that we will continually update:

http://picasaweb.google.com/bringreene/SmallVoicesTripToAfrica#

Today we are off!

Hello Everyone!

Finally, the day has arrived and we will be boarding a plane- well, 3 planes- and heading back to beautiful Rwanda!  Getting safely to this day has been no small feat.  Barton and I have been up to the wee's hours of every morning for the last few weeks trying to finalize all the end-of-year paperwork associated with a charity, along with working our full time "day jobs", Christmas shopping and preparing for our trip.

While most lucky people were winding down and enjoying Christmas shopping, we were making crazed trips to buy items such as: malaria medicine, Deet, passports, hiking boots, etc...etc...etc... And to make life that much spicier, the lovely and always easy to deal with- Kenya Airways- decided to cancel our original flight.  Sweet Barton spent an entire billable work day on the phone, to organize a new route.  The Bad news about the new route is we are now a leaving a day early, today or Christmas Day, and still arriving in Rwanda on the same day.  The good news is we get a long layover in Amsterdam....enough said:-)

A HUGE thanks to all my wonderful girlfriends who pulled through, once again, and donated TONS of toys.  Barton and I are transporting 2 enormous army-surplus duffel bags full of toys, books, arts supplies, 1 latop (for their new computer literacy program we will be implementing), educational CD Roms, workbooks and more!  I literally can't think of anything I am more excited about than to see the kids receiving all the new loot!

We have been invited to a party with the Orphan Center, complete with a skit that the orphans have made costumes for, how excited am i?

For those that don't know, Barton has never left the country.  As a girlfriend, I really should have come with that warning label: "WARNING international travel is mandatory, proceed with caution...".  But, he has embraced this entire experience with an enthusiasm I never dreamed possible, and the patience of an angel!  His Georgia Tech "nerdiness" will be making it possible for us to send home pictures and videos regularly, so keep checking for them!

Check in daily on our posts!  Merry Christmas and love to all-

Brin and Barton

Welcome to Small Voices Blog!!!

Hello friends and family! As most of you already know, I made a life-altering trip to Rwanda this past year. After visiting Rebero Orphan Center for children affected by the genocide of 1994, for the first time in my life, I felt called to action in a way that I literally could not ignore. With the help of friends and family, I've started a tax-deductible non-profit organization called the Small Voices Foundation, Inc. and have committed to raising $30,000 to support the 200 women and children who benefit from the Rebero Orphan Center each year.

This is where all of you come in!

Below you'll find the story of how I met the two 27-year-old men who run Rebero and how I came to start my very own non-profit at the ripe old age of 31 (ha ha). In addition, you will find my posts from my trip back beginning December 25th, 2008!!!

I hope you'll fall in love, like I did, with the resilience and spirit of Rwanda's survivors, and feel called to support them in any way you can. These people opened their hearts to me when I happened there less than 6 months ago, and I'm hoping you'll open your hearts, too, and support me as I endeavor to raise $30,000 for them.

Please visit the Small Voices website for more information: www.small-voices.org <http://www.small-voices.org/> and learn how you can help by donating today.

Thanks, as ever, for your love and support, and I hope to see you (in Rwanda or otherwise!) very soon.

Love,
Brin

Here is my original story...
*****
On December 27th, 2007, I had the opportunity to embark on a life-altering trip to the country of Rwanda with a dear friend from New York City, Kathleen Boatman. While visiting, I found myself humbled by the beauty of the country, and by the magic and resiliency of the people who had suffered so much in their lives. I continually marveled that, while I was attending my junior year of high school in Athens, GA, largely concerned with the ups and downs of adolescence, young Rwandans my same age were undergoing a three-month-long fight for their very lives. In 1994, over one million Rwandans, from a population of four million, died during 100 days of incomprehensible human slaughter. And yet, during my visit, I couldn't help but feel that the people of Rwanda appear even happier, and more grateful for each moment since, than most of us may ever be in our lives.

Soon after I arrived in Africa, it became abundantly clear that this trip had fallen into my lap for a much bigger reason. I was lucky to make the acquaintance of several Americans working for non-profit organizations and was introduced to Allison Huggins, a young woman from Atlanta living in the capital city of Kigali, working for a non-profit group educating locals about domestic violence. Allison introduced me to the Rebero Orphan Center and the two men who started it. They were both just 14-years-old during the genocide in 1994. They hid in the tall grass while their families were brutally murdered right before their eyes.  Both men vowed that if they survived, they would devote their lives to helping other victims. And they have.

Now, at the age of 27, Emmanuel Ngabire and Leonce Mupenzi share the work at the center and also work at local hotels, where their tips support over 200 women and children who were orphaned. I had the privilege of visiting with them in Kigali and spent a life-altering day at Rebero. While visiting the center I held a child in my lap, and, with her bright eyes and warm smile, I realized the problem was no longer an ocean away, but, rather, literally curled up in my lap. And I haven't stopped thinking about this moment since.

After my trip, I returned to Atlanta and became absorbed in my daily life again, but I continued to feel the tug of Rebero's delightful children at my heart. It suddenly became very real and very clear to me that I had the power to do something. With the help of my father, Tom Greene, I was able to quickly file paperwork to establish a tax-deductible non-profit organization, and settled on the name of Small Voices Foundation, Inc., on the premise that even one small voice can bring great change. My father saw the passion I felt for these people and realized it was a cause worth fighting for. And I'm so grateful!

Then, with the help of a friend, Peter Majeranowski and his amazing web design company, Wizart Studios LLC, online: http://www.wizartstudios.com/ <http://www.wizartstudios.com/> who stepped up to the plate after hearing my stories and offered to donate a website to be the virtual home for Small Voices. Other friends came to see my passion for the cause and helped garner some local publicity to announce the launch of my non-profit in the Athens Banner-Herald. You can find the full story on the Small Voices website.

This, my friends, is only the beginning!

I am now embarking on a campaign to raise funds to create a new destiny for these orphaned children. My life experiences are so vastly different from these wonderful men and the small children they have committed to help… I feel powerless NOT to help them, and I can only dream that, one day, my efforts will be able to provide them and 'their children' with the help they deserve.

I have committed to raising $30,000 for the Rebero Orphan Center in Kigali, Rwanda. Every dollar raised will be put towards ensuring that each of these children finish school (education is not free in Rwanda), receive their HIV/AIDS medication, obtain proper nutrition, and to help the Rebero Orphan Center build a school and library.  

I commit that 100% of the $30,000 goal will be donated to the Rebero Orphan Center. From day one, myself, along with the Small Voices Foundation Board Members, have personally covered all the overhead associated with the cause and are overseeing the distribution of the funds.

In addition, it is my hope to provide updates to everyone who has donated, with stories specific to the children so that all of my loved ones who have donated and made a difference (read: all of YOU!!) can truly see and feel the changes they have made in the lives of these Rwandans. For that reason, I've committed to updating the Small Voices website often with stories and news from all of the people at Rebero.  

At this time I would like to ask all of YOU—my friends, family, and loved ones—to dig deep into your pockets and donate to these people who deserve this relief.  I understand more than anyone that money is hard to come by, but, let me assure you, after meeting these people I realize how absolutely blessed we all are and how the lives of my new friends in Rwanda can forever be changed through nutrition, education, and opportunity.

In truth, we are very rich.

Please visit the Small Voices website: www.small-voices.org <http://www.small-voices.org/>