Rwanda Journal Entry #3

March 5th continued: Rwanda

Next we went to the OVC club. (Orphans and Vulnerable Children.) We were by now high in the mountains and the rain had just stopped. Tons of kids had ran over to our cars through the mud. They ran to greet us. One child I remembered was a boy with a hand carved wooden scooter. It was definitely his prized possession. He used it and rode it really well. It was so amazing that he was so happy about his little scooter. He was the popular kid.

They then took us under an overhanging so if it rained we wouldn't be outside. All the children from the school across the way came running to see the presentation. The presentation began with a very booming drum and from behind the building dancers appeared. They were young little girls who had bells on their feet. They sang as they danced to the music. More kids kept running and crowding around in a circle.

Then a boy got up and read a poem about AIDs and how they needed protection. It was sad how big of an affect AIDs had on this community. The dancers got up to sing one last song when it started to rain very heavily. They were about halfway through the song when the sky tore open. It wasn't just a small sprinkle but a downpour..some of the most intense rain I've ever seen. It didn't hinder these little girls though. They ran under the overhang with us and continued to dance. About 200 kids were watching the dancers and the speakers.

When the program ended, we got to interact and ride out the storm. The kids crowded around us. It was pretty cool to give them high fives and stuff. We didn't know what to do so we sang with them. We sang "joy in my heart", "this little light of mine", "bingo" and "Rudolf the red nose reindeer." The last two were mine but the kids loved it. The rain still hadn't stopped and we had to get into the car. We left and even through the muddy, heavy rain the kids chased our car. Then we drove back to the hotel that I am at now for the night.