Gisenyi: Getting Down to Business...

Upon our arrival in Rwanda we were fortunate enough to be greeted by our good friends Dou Dou and Solange. We traveled through the sunset to Dou Dou’s home in Gisenyi that would serve as our temporary base until our new headquarters was ready. Though we entered Gisenyi with tired bodies, our minds were eager and alive with the knowledge of the incredible work we knew we could accomplish through diligence and dedication. The next morning we wasted no time getting our operations up and running by establishing internet connection and setting up meetings for the following weeks. HAVING ATTAINED THE OLPC CONTRACT (Sorry this point cannot be stressed enough) we had much work to do in terms of setting the program up for success. Over the next week Alyssa and Alex met with U.L.K. Gisenyi, the school that UNGANA is working alongside to deploy the 100 XO laptops. Pleasantly surprised by the obedience and energy of the students as they formed lines and sang out chants in order of their grade, Alyssa and Alex knew they stood before the bright future of Rwanda. They left U.L.K. feeling inspired about their role in providing opportunities to the youth of Rwanda. This mindset would however be transformed in their search for an orphanage to employ the Club Go Volunteer program. The jarring realization about the vast amount of assistance needed to provide for the hundreds of orphans in Gisenyi alone is overwhelming and daunting. As heart-wrenching a picture that the orphanages depicted, the amazing spirit of the children and workers could not help but inspire some action and hope. With that, the UNGANA Foundation, in addition to helping 300 youths acquire the skills they need to become the future leaders of Rwanda, are currently seeking donations to provide basic needs to the nursery branch of a local Gisenyi orphanage. If you are interested in donating supplies, please email unganafoundation@gmail.com for more information. Although the UNGANA team is busy with meetings, project planning and all the other elements that go into setting up a new organization, they somehow find time to catch up with their regional friends. It goes without saying that the organization has been truly blessed with an amazing network of people at home and in Gisenyi. Through our friendships with Rwandans and Congolese we are able to gain valuable insight into our host community while establishing life-long bonds. And now that we have established our operational headquarters we truly feel as though we are on our way to becoming a valuable addition the Gisenyi community. We are honored to be able to work with such amazing people in a truly beautiful country and will keep you all posted about our work. For the latest daily information you can check us out on Twitter by searching tweetUNGANA, on Facebook, or on our website www.unganafoundation.org.