go2ndmile.org

Go the Second Mile Open House and Rwanda Show and Tell!

Diane — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:26:05 +0000

Come to the Go the Second Mile OPEN HOUSE and RWANDA SHOW AND TELL!

Typically when traveling abroad we want to blend in to the culture, not appear like tourists. However, as Westerners traveling to a developing country, there is no escape into the masses; you stand out like an apple tree on the savannah. Rwanda welcomed us with warmth and challenged us with a diverse landscape of cultural issues and perspectives; rare experiences westerners could find inspiring.

We traveled as ambassadors and have returned with greetings from our new Rwandan friends. On Monday, August 23rd at 7:00 p.m. we invite you to hear some great stories, watch intriguing video, and see astonishing photography. We will shed some light on the road of Rwandan life we walked and serve you some African Ginger Tea along the way!

Come join us for a fun and enlightening evening!

~Lisa Wellington
“The most interesting life is the one lived in the interest of others.”

Team Rwanda – Post Africa Trip Journal

Leigh — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:04:55 +0000

“Sometimes, if we’re wise we make decisions to take risks that will likely change our comfortable outlook on life. Taking a volunteer adventure trip to Rwanda with Go the 2nd Mile challenged not only my world perspective but also was transformative for the people we visited. G2M organized the trip in a way that maximized our experience by placing emphasis on relationship building opportunities rather than a frenzied Western productivity mode. My daughter and I have traveled quite a bit but this trip we agreed was our best. For me it is quite possibly one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my life. Well done G2M!”

~Lisa Wellington
“The most interesting life is the one lived in the interest of others.”

Team Rwanda – Burundi Day

Leigh — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:18:00 +0000

The crickets are chirping in Kinyarwanda; the moon hangs kaddy wompus; the radio is blaring in some unrecognizable language; a foreign bug is creeping across my computer screen; the night is very quiet such that any noise carries. I suppose if I breathe heavy, the neighbors might hear–nah. They’d have to hear me over the radio next door. Everyone’s up around 5 a.m., so 8:30 feels like 10:30 p.m., so most the team has headed to bed. It’s actually 10 p.m. and once again, Kelly Bean and myself are still up. I’m allergic to sleep in Rwanda, but it doesn’t seem to matter, except around 3 p.m. in the afternoon. But a quick bounce in the car on a well rutted road, snaps me back to life.

Today was Burundi Day, where our friends from Burundi traveled all day on the bus yesterday just to be with us. We’ve heard lots of heart wrenching stories. We’ve laughed alot, dance the jig with them, prayed with them and them with us, exchanged lots of hugs. I love the African dance trot! Problem is they look so good at it and we just look like Muzungu’s (white folk) making a mess of their jig. But we get good mileage off it–lots of laughter. Seriously, I could move to Africa just to learn to dance! ha ha . . . dance their way, that is.

The team is amazing. They dive right in to engaging with the Burundians, the Rwandans, and any other Muzungu around. They are like sponges to learn and absorb everything around them. Becca is the team pet. The Rwandans love a young high school doll that she is, and enjoy teasing her all the time. She’s handling it very well. Susan is the team —no, not just the team, anyone who will let her–be the Mamma–gathering her little chicks whenever possible. It’s been fun to see her be herself and enjoying every minute of it. Lisa is loving seeing Becca just get alot-o-laughs and seeing her mature in the process. They are both loving it. Heidi and myself so appreciate seeing the people we met last time and making new friends. The culture goes in deeper another notch. Heidi is a great traveler.

So, all for now. We are two days away from going to Akagera Park excursion . . . We probably won’t have any FB connections there . . . don’t know . . . but will check in tomorrow, then we are off to Akagera on Wed. We’ll be back on Saturday.

Okay . . . All for now . . .
Much love from the Rwanda Team . . .

New video from Costa Rica

denise — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:20:47 +0000

Check out our new video chronicling our work and adventures in Costa Rica!

Team Rwanda – Child Head of Household

Diane — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:56:51 +0000

There is a buzz word out in the non-profits regarding what they call Child Head of Household. It denotes children leading their own household due to no parents as a result of war, genocide, AIDS, etc. It’s not uncommon in Rwanda . . . Our host, Steven, came to Rwanda soon after the genocide and began taking these kinds of kids into his own home, and continues to do so unto this day. He also has adopted a number of households that were already children without parents and making a meager existence. We visited these homes yesterday and today.

Heidi wrote this piece: In Gasogi we visited the households led by children. When we first arrived they treated us to an amazing demonstration of native dance and even invited us to join in. Afterwards we tromped the dusty paths to two of their homes. As we walked between the banana trees, I couldn’t help but think of terrified Tutsis hiding in these very bushes while the Hutus were hunting for them. It touched my heart to then see the deteriorating clay huts where 12 boys (10-17 yrs old) were scraping out a living. These boys had become family and were doing their best to care for one another. Some of them are able to go to school but not all. I ask myself “Why am I here?” How can I make sense of what I’m seeing when I return to a world full of conveniences and comforts? All I can do is tell these people’s story. So for now, I’m doing my best to drink it all in and let it touch my heart.
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Now our friends from Burundi have arrived for a couple of days. We’ll be spending time with them and hearing their stories. As some may know, we had to re-direct our trip from Burundi due to political unrest, and came to Rwanda, as we already had relationships here. So, we brought a few of those friends to visit with us here. We are calling it our Burundi days.