Le 20 janvier In Kigali, the Salesian sisters run a primary school. There are the students that are “externa,” aka arrive at school in the morning and are picked up in the afternoon, and the “interna,” who live at the school during the trimester. There are about sixty girls that live there – again, did I mention primary school? – so it’s always lively.
My first day in Rwanda, I was picked up at the airport and was brought to the Salesian house to spend the night (it was already nine o’clock). Stepping foot out of the car, I was swarmed by little people. I was greeted and hugged to the point of not being able to make any progress towards the house. What a welcome.
The first trimester has just started up here in Rwanda, meaning the house in Kigali is again alive with the buzz of little girls at all hours. Even though I was coming through only for a few days and to be helping Sr. Ema, I was able to be present for the evening activities.
At 17h30, the rosary is said – it’s bilingual, where some girls haven’t yet learned the prayers in English so they stick to French. Then? RECREATION. This could mean jump rope, singing and dancing in a circle, merely sitting and letting the girls make my hair look “beautiful,” or maybe just running around after one another. The bell then rings and we all go to wash our hands before dinner.
In the little cafeteria, the long tables line the walls and one smaller table is in the middle for the really young girls. We adults are interspersed throughout the group in order to regulate the serving of food and be company for the girls. After prayer, one girl collects all the plates and puts on the rice or ubugari and then passes it to the next girl who puts on the vegetable or legume – beans are an absolute favorite. (I think I’m truly Rwandan.) At the end of the meal, we pray and then all join in the kitchen to create a dishwashing assembly line. AH! Is it ever chaotic! But it’s a beautiful thing to witness. Singing while washing really is better.
Then a little more time to let the girls run around a bit to wear themselves out before bed and “Mot du Soir.” The Salesians traditionally have a “Mot du Matin” and “Mot du Soir” (Morning Word and Evening Word) where some one of the community members gives some thoughts to think about in order to help us continue living a good Christian life. We all shuffle off to the chapel to hear one of the sisters give the Mot du Soir and then the girls are herded off towards their dorms. As a visitor, I’m not responsible for putting them to bed, but there are some who are in charge of making sure the girls all get to bed alright.
In the morning, the jubilance starts all over again. I’m not sure what kids are made of, but they’re energetic ALL THE TIME. I absolutely loved my dose of “lovebugs,” as Gram would have called them. The toothless grins, the little laughs, the wonderful hugs – what beautiful children.
My first day in Rwanda, I was picked up at the airport and was brought to the Salesian house to spend the night (it was already nine o’clock). Stepping foot out of the car, I was swarmed by little people. I was greeted and hugged to the point of not being able to make any progress towards the house. What a welcome.
The first trimester has just started up here in Rwanda, meaning the house in Kigali is again alive with the buzz of little girls at all hours. Even though I was coming through only for a few days and to be helping Sr. Ema, I was able to be present for the evening activities.
At 17h30, the rosary is said – it’s bilingual, where some girls haven’t yet learned the prayers in English so they stick to French. Then? RECREATION. This could mean jump rope, singing and dancing in a circle, merely sitting and letting the girls make my hair look “beautiful,” or maybe just running around after one another. The bell then rings and we all go to wash our hands before dinner.
In the little cafeteria, the long tables line the walls and one smaller table is in the middle for the really young girls. We adults are interspersed throughout the group in order to regulate the serving of food and be company for the girls. After prayer, one girl collects all the plates and puts on the rice or ubugari and then passes it to the next girl who puts on the vegetable or legume – beans are an absolute favorite. (I think I’m truly Rwandan.) At the end of the meal, we pray and then all join in the kitchen to create a dishwashing assembly line. AH! Is it ever chaotic! But it’s a beautiful thing to witness. Singing while washing really is better.
Then a little more time to let the girls run around a bit to wear themselves out before bed and “Mot du Soir.” The Salesians traditionally have a “Mot du Matin” and “Mot du Soir” (Morning Word and Evening Word) where some one of the community members gives some thoughts to think about in order to help us continue living a good Christian life. We all shuffle off to the chapel to hear one of the sisters give the Mot du Soir and then the girls are herded off towards their dorms. As a visitor, I’m not responsible for putting them to bed, but there are some who are in charge of making sure the girls all get to bed alright.
In the morning, the jubilance starts all over again. I’m not sure what kids are made of, but they’re energetic ALL THE TIME. I absolutely loved my dose of “lovebugs,” as Gram would have called them. The toothless grins, the little laughs, the wonderful hugs – what beautiful children.
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