First Day of My Internship (Witnessing the World)

For our internship here in Rwanda, Madi (another Gap Year student) and I are interning at a large coffee exporting business called Rwanda Trading Company (under the umbrella of Westrock Coffee in the USA). The business is an interesting mix of business and humanitarian ideals (they were originally started as a social experiment to see if other countries could begin corporations in Rwanda to create economic activity). They employ nearly all locals both in the office and out farming in the fields. Additionally, they provide all their farmers with agricultural training and agronomy advice, cows for nutrition and additional income, clean drinking water in the community, and immediate cash payment with receipts. Starting out with some excitement, Madi and I spent our first day on the job traveling about two hours out of the city of Kigali (where I live with my host family) to a washing station, which is basically a place where coffee farmers meet to sort and wash their raw beans and to sell them. In order to write and advertise their stories to the international coffee customers (on the back of the coffee bags), Madi and I were traveling to the site to interview 29 of the farmers about their lives. That way, we can show how buying our coffee affects real lives. It's amazing to look at the American economy from the outside. Everything we buy affects someone either adversely (sweat shops) or positively (like my company and others that are very conscientious of their employees). On the way to the fields, I watched out my window as the bustling city of Kigali morphed into vast rural fields and dispersed houses and shops. The country is gorgeous. 

A sad reminder that the genocide affected all corners of the country,

I saw a memorial burial and mass grave on the way to the interview. However, contrasting the painful past with the bright future, I also noticed some attractive, western influenced condos. Joseph, the translator for the interviews, says foreigners rent these condos. I'm still not sure I heard him correctly, but I think he said Brad Pitt stays in one of those. I’d believe it. If I could rent a getaway in the foothills of this lush and largely untouched region, I would too. When I asked Joseph why the homes seemed to be in clusters when they’re surrounded by so much open space, he gave me an answer that exemplifies the organized personality of the country (there are many examples of such). Apparently the government mandates that citizens live in close proximity so that it can administer clean water and electricity in groups. The other parts of the country are allotted for farming and cultivation. 

While driving, we also went through a self-sufficient community. They farm their own food, sew their own clothes, and just live in community together. It's like a non-religious Amish commune. In all of these different regions, I try to imagine my life there. Here, I imagine working on the farms with my brothers or working in the kitchen with my mom. I imagine having family time at night. With nothing to do but share life together, we would all sit in a circle for games and story time. Mom and dad would occasionally talk of the genocide; I would have been born mere months after the destruction of our society. They would recount the horror of hiding and the pain of seeing their family and friends die by machete. Mom would have been pregnant with me at the time. On the other hand, maybe mom and dad would recount actually doing the killing. Remembering the propaganda that convinced then there was no way to go on living with the opposing tribe existing, they would recount the blind hatred and resulting shame and chaos. But our story time wouldn't end with such despair; the family would together recount the successful rebuilding of the country. The unbelievable forgiveness and rebirth. My own birth months later (December, 1994) would have served as a metaphor for new beginnings in the country. I imagine living in that closed community and growing old there. I would fall in love with a boy down the street, and we would start the process all over, never wanting anything more. I would experience deep relationship and simple living. Looking over the mountains of my home, which would be all I ever knew, I would experience God as I grew closer to him in my prayers. Life would be simple, hard, and rewarding. Doesn't sound too bad. 

Additionally, on a two hour drive, we passed three World Vision centers, and I realized I’m really here. I’m in the real world witnessing the lives many Americans only see in pictures. The videos about clean water and dirty children in uniforms attending school? Those videos correlate to real people, real experiences. It's amazing how big and simultaneously small our world is. I think I’m still figuring out exactly how I’ll play into it. One day at a time…

Anyways, my first day at my internship was really exciting and interesting. I love getting to travel to remote regions of this beautiful country, and I’m sure there will be more exciting adventures to come. Serving as an inspiration, these people are hard-working, personable, and full of faith. It’s an honor to get to hear their stories, both through my interviews with the farmers and my relationships at my work and host home.