Less than a week!

So, in this last week before wheels up, we have been able to tie all of the trip's loose ends together. We received information about our host families, assigned students to their respective families and locked down our itinerary for our time on the ground. Most importantly, we were able to touch base with Home of Hope Orphanage and Kigali City School to see what kind of work and projects on which they might need our help.

At Kigali City School, they have asked that we come prepared to do any number of things - we can work with administrators to update their website and design brochures, we can help the kids in English, math, science and art, we can help organize and play sports during their time outdoors or for those with a good singing voice, we can assist in chorus lessons. No shortage of things to keep us busy during our days at Kigali City School!

At the Home of Hope Orphanage, we will be spending most of our mornings and afternoons with the kids and helping with the day-to-day activities. However, during the lunch time, the orphanage closes and they have asked that we use this time to help this revamp their facilities. There are several indoor rooms which need a new coat of paint and some sprucing up.

Knowing a little bit about these projects beforehand can certainly help us prepare (and pack) as the trip approaches. While we obviously won't be able to bring paint with us, we can feasibly bring supplies - rollers, brushes, tarps, etc. We can also brainstorm about things that may be useful to us for our time at the school - old books and school supplies, among other things.

So to our travelers, keep these things in mind as you begin to think about packing for the trip. Many of the things we need are cheap, lightweight and would really help us contribute to our two main project locations. To our followers, if you are interested in contributing to any of these projects or tasks, please feel free to get in touch with me and we will certainly work to arrange it!

Mwiriwe (Goodbye) for now!