Hello everyone! First, let me say happy holidays to you and all of yours. It has been a wild year. I am going to keep this short however. I decided it was time to hear from someone else for a change. Russell MacDougall joined us for our last visit to the kids in February and wrote his thoughts and observations from the trip. All of this is to entice you reading this to entertain the thought of joining us one day in Rwanda. It is official, I will be going back to Rwanda April 17 through April 29th 2024. We have a few folks including Russell committed as well at this time. I will further update as that gets closer. But for now, I hope you enjoy Russell’s perspective. We can’t thank him enough. It is a little lengthy but for anyone who is looking to get an idea of what it would be like to visit, this is everything you’d like. Please reach out any time to help support and consider joining us! Happy holiday!
“When I was put on the street, I thought no one would care about me again.” – Francoise
This quote, said to us with Evode translating on our last day with the boys, was my biggest takeaway from my trip to Rwanda and something I continue to think about six months later. I’ll get more into that in a bit, but first I want to give you some background.
I traveled to Rwanda in February 2023 after hearing about it from Sully for fifteen years. When he emailed a group of us in July 2022 saying he wanted to do something different for his upcoming trip and bring more people to experience what Ubaka and Rwanda are all about, my wife and I responded immediately; we were in! We ended up spending ten days in Rwanda experiencing the country, culture, and local traditions, but, more importantly, meeting Evode and the boys and spending time at Ubaka.
Evode
I hear stories about Evode every time Sully comes back from Rwanda and thought there was no way the man could live up to the hype. I was wrong. Evode is a man who saw a problem in his community with the number of children being left on the streets and decided to do something about it. Before Ubaka was involved and money was being raised across the world, Evode was working with the kids, helping them as much as he could, and trying to teach them to be better people and make more of themselves. He’s dedicated the last twenty years of his life to helping these boys and hasn’t lost the desire to do more.
Even now, with eighteen boys living under his roof, he brings in kids from off the street once a week to give them a meal, some guidance, and a place to feel safe for a few hours. While we were there, we experienced two days of this outreach program, with more than a dozen kids showing up at the gates of Ubaka to get a meal and have a chance to play and be kids for a couple hours. We didn’t get to connect as well with these boys, but watching Evode sit with them and talk to them about their current situation and what their future could hold was one of the more powerful moments of the trip.
To the boys under his roof, Evode is a father figure who holds them to strict rules: no drugs, no drinking, and they must attend school and keep up with their studies. When they are old enough, they are expected to find work and move out to make room so Evode can bring in more kids. He has their respect and their love, which is a big deal for these boys. If one of them runs away, which happens from time to time when they are first brought in, he goes and finds them and brings them back. He explains to them that it’s not only him trying to help, but people all over the world raising money to give these boys a chance at a better life. Their connection is easy to see, even without understanding the language.
Aside from his interactions with the boys, Evode also invited us to eat at his table. We had almost all our meals with him and his family, enjoying traditional Rwandan food and drinks. We also spent time with his wife and three children, getting to know them better during the nights when the boys were doing their studies or had gone to bed.
The Boys
Our main reason for the trip was to make connections with the boys and see how much Ubaka has grown in the fifteen years since we had been donating. As we traveled around the city Evode and Sully would point out the different homes they had rented through the years before they were able to buy land and build the home that Ubaka is now. It was incredible to see how far they have come, how much they’ve grown even since we’ve been involved, and how that has allowed them to help more boys get off the street.
Most of the boys were excited and shy when we arrived. Most had met Sully before, but not all, and having six muzungus (“white people” in Kinyarwandan) show up suddenly had quite a few taken aback. But those walls quickly came down with the help of games, books, and especially soccer, where I got to show off my uncoordinated “talent.”
The soccer field in the yard was small and had a couple of holes and shrubs for boundaries, but it was where I got to know a lot of the boys as they dubbed me “Benzema,” a talented French soccer player, because of how I looked (not because of how I played). This is also where I started to learn their names, their nicknames, and see how they treated each other - competitively, but also very supportive through their play. We spent most of our first day playing all different types of games and just having fun with them.
Our second day we pulled out the dozens of books we brought and sat down either reading to the boys or having them read to us. We all spread out and found one or two boys to spend time with and help them as they worked to learn English or just enjoy the silly stories we brought. This was when I really connected with Boneri, who, after finishing one book, would hold up another and ask if we could read that one too. Just the day before he had seemed like one of the shyest kids, but after this experience he really broke out of his shell and become a bit like my shadow, always close by.
Our friendships would continue to grow throughout the week as we helped the boys with schoolwork, taught each other words in our respective languages, read more books, played more games, and spent quality time together. They taught us the Rwandan game called “Igisoro,” which looks a lot like Mancala, but is a very different game. The boys have one board that they share, so a crowd formed whenever they took it out. They would always have one of us play against one of them, but, in truth, we were just moving the beans around while the other boys told us what to do. I lost count of how many times Fisto or Patrick would say, “No, no, no!” and wave a finger before pointing to a different pile and a better move. When you take the beans from your opponent it is called eating and to this day, I can still hear the cries of, “Eat, eat, EATTTT!” because I would constantly forget.
Before we left, we visited a local market and bought our own board so we could share it with friends and family when we got back home. I could go on for pages about the different experiences and fun I had with the boys, making connections with almost all of them. Those connections were the whole point of going and their friendships are something that I continually think about.
Run the 1
This was my first time being present when Sully did a Run the 1 event. It was also the first time that he was able to run with the kids, and it was a powerful night. While he and Ben ran throughout the day to fulfill Sully’s self-imposed marathon distance, we all came together to run the final leg with the boys once they got out of school. As previously stated, I am not an athlete, nor am I a runner, so I “volunteered” to “run” at the back of our pack and pick up any stragglers that may have fallen behind the group. When we got to our end point at the stadium, I had three boys finish with me, including Boneri, who ran most of the way backwards or laterally without breaking a sweat.
We took a break, got some pictures, and then enjoyed a nice walk home, which gave me the opportunity to talk to Claude about his hopes to become a chef and his favorite dishes to make and eat.
Some Old Friends
We ran into a couple of boys (now men) who had grown up through Ubaka and were able to see where they are now. We took a trip early in the week to see Clever, who is in his last year of university and getting an engineering degree. To see what these boys could accomplish when given the opportunity was a big moment for all of us. He gave us a tour of his campus, showed us where he lives, and came out to dinner with us. Getting into university is a big deal in Rwanda. It’s not just being able to afford it, you have to test incredibly high in order to be selected. It is no easy task and Clever is a role model to some of the boys who hope to follow in his footsteps.
We also got to meet Is-yakah, who grew up with Evode and Ubaka before joining the military. He met us at Lake Kivu with his daughter and rode back with us to Kigali. He spoke to the boys to tell them that they need to study and listen to Evode and take advantage of this opportunity to better themselves. He also gifted the boys a TV for their study room that they use to listen to music and watch movies. He had done this long before we arrived, but it was cool to learn that it came from someone who had connections to Ubaka and wanted to give something back for the next generation of boys after seeing how much they used it.
Lastly, Joel showed up at Ubaka one day to hang out with the boys, reconnect with Sully, and play some games. Sully told us that when Joel was a young boy, they would take him into town and have him face off against the older men playing Igisoro. They would underestimate him and he would win most of his games. Sully described him as a goofball. He still has a contagious smile and laugh.
Gisenyi
While this trip was full of new experiences for us, Sully likes to try and do something special for the boys every time he visits to give them one as well. This year we all chipped in to rent a bus and take the boys out of the city to Lake Kivu in Gisenyi. It was a three-hour bus trip (one way) but the ride out was filled with excitement and a lot of singing from the back of the bus. We also used this time to talk to the boys about our lives, homes, and adventures. Any time you pulled out your phone, all the boys wanted to see were pictures of where you were from and where you have been. They would ask questions about climate, animals, and food, as well as what we did there. When it came to learning about other places in the world, they couldn’t get enough.
When we got to the lake, we found that a good amount of the boys didn’t know how to swim so we took the time to show each of them a few techniques, with varying levels of success. There were a lot of different floatation devices in use that day and they were getting a work out. Almost every boy stayed in the water from the time we arrived to the time we left - splashing, swimming, jumping off the dock, and running into the water.
We ate together on the bus on the way home - a treat of kebobs, potatoes, and juice. We had way too many potatoes and it became a challenge for each section of the bus to finish their serving! Those of us in the back did more than our fair share, with a chorus of “Potato!” “Potato! “Potato!” until all of them were gone. Tired from a day in the sun and way too many potatoes, the ride home was a lot quieter with less singing and more snoring.
After Gisenyi, it was our final day with the boys and we spent it in much the same way - trading stories, playing games, and soccer. You could feel a heaviness in the air, as they didn’t want us to go and we didn’t want to leave. We had an early dinner where we all ate together for our final meal. Afterwards, Evode got up and translated for us as we all spoke to the group about what this trip had meant to us and how we would be carrying these experiences for the rest of our lives.
Once we had all spoken, some of the boys stood up and shared their feelings as well; quite a few tears started to fall. This was when Francoise stood up and said, “When I was put on the street, I thought no one would care about me again.”
This is what I will forever carry from this trip. That a child under ten could think that no one has, is, or ever will care about them or love them is heartbreaking. I thought I understood what Ubaka was doing and what my donation was going towards, but this opened my eyes to how much more it means. They call Francoise “Sungura,” which is Swahili for “rabbit,” because of the way he plays soccer. He’s quick, agile, and one of the most competitive boys; he almost always has a soccer ball in his hands. He’s smart, funny, and an artist. During Run the 1, he stayed behind with Evode and helped push him up the hills to make sure he would finish with them. He’s a leader to the boys and, without Ubaka, there is no telling who, where, or what he would be. Because of Evode, he is better. Because of Ubaka, he has a future. It was a powerful moment to see firsthand. A little of our money in the right hands can change lives. I urge anyone who can to donate, whether its during the fundraiser for Run the 1 or through the website, because there are far too many more Sunguras out there who could be great.
In closing, thank you for reading all of this; it means a lot to me. Also, if you read all this, the boys would like you to know they say muraho (hello). Almost every boy throughout our ten days told me some form of, “Greet your family for me!” or “Greet your friends for me!”- just one more thing that stood out about them.
I hope this shared a different perspective of Ubaka and amplified the message Sully has been telling us for over a decade. This is incredible work being done by incredible people and they can always use more help.
Before we talked to the boys, Sully told us to prepare something so we weren’t caught off guard. He told us many times, before and throughout, not to promise anything to the boys unless we were 100% sure we could fulfill it. I ended my message by telling them that I would return - and I plan to, in April of 2024. We’d love it if you would join us.
Komeza Komera (Continue to Be Strong)
Russ
P.S. I’ve added a bit under these pictures about other experiences we had in Rwanda for you to read as well. The country and its people are incredibly welcoming.
Seeing Rwanda
I had some reservations about heading to Rwanda and they were echoed by some of our friends and family. From the moment we arrived, we could tell that those reservations were over nothing. The people of Rwanda welcomed us with open arms and did their best to answer our questions, get us where we needed to go, and make us feel safe and comfortable. I can’t emphasize enough how many people looked out for us or helped us on a day-to-day basis.
While the main reason of the trip was to meet Evode and the boys and visit Ubaka, this was our first trip to Africa and we wanted to be able to experience its culture as well. We took one overnight trip during our stay, but aside from that, our adventures were done during the day while the boys were at school.
Nyamirambo Women’s Center
We went to the Nyamirambo Women’s Center for a tour of their neighborhood and to learn their story. The Center was started in 2008 by a group of eighteen women who were looking to better themselves. They have grown a lot in the past fifteen years. They now have over fifty employees and offer free education for women in English, sewing, computer technology, and hair styling, just to name a few. Our tour took us through their work areas where they create gifts and patterned fabrics that are shipped globally. We also went to hair salons they created, the neighborhood market, and saw murals painted on almost every available space. At the end of the tour, we had lunch in the home of one of the original eighteen women, as she had prepared us an incredible spread of traditional food. For more information (and a better description of who and what they are) check out their website: http://www.nwc-umutima.org/about.html
The Genocide Memorial
All the first timers took an afternoon trip to the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. In Rwanda, they own their past and educate themselves and others in hopes that history will not repeat itself. It is against the law in Rwanda to claim that the genocide did not happen. The site of the memorial in Kigali was chosen because it is the location of mass graves for over 250,000 residents killed during the Genocide. It is a somber experience to spend time in the memorial and not one that you quickly forget.
Volcanoes National Park
Our overnight trip took us to Volcanoes National Park. Here we spent the afternoon canoeing down a peaceful river and taking in all the beautiful nature Rwanda has to offer. The next morning, we were up early to head to the park where we hiked into a protected forest and were quickly surrounded by a pod of over 120 monkeys going about their day. We spent 45 minutes in awe as monkeys jumped, ran, and swung all around us. Volcanoes National Park is known for their gorilla treks as well, but the golden monkeys are a less expensive, less physically demanding option that was still very rewarding.
Thank you for reading all this and looking at the pictures. Hopefully this shined a light on how incredible Ubaka and Rwanda truly are. I urge you to donate if you are able or, better yet, to join us on our next adventure!