Two Days and Counting...

Hi Everyone!

I just want to welcome you all to the blog I'll be using during my time in Africa this summer. I'm really not sure how often I'll be able to update it - sort of depends on the internet situation in Kigali. But I'll know more once I get there.

For those of you who don't know, I'm traveling to Kigali, Rwanda to participate in a Human Rights Conference with the NGO Global Youth Connect. There are about 13 American participants from ages 18-30. We will be discussing Human Rights in Rwanda and the US today and will also be doing a bit of volunteer fieldwork. For the most part, we will be staying at a guesthouse run by a Catholic Church, but there are a couple nights where we get to stay with a Rwandan family! My volunteer placement is with an organization called CIMS (Center for Information and Social Mobilization) - a group that focuses on land-related conflict involving the rural poor. I think it will be a great experience and a perfect warm up for my first semester at Georgetown (where I'll be taking classes towards a Master's in Conflict Resolution).

I'll be leaving the US on the 24th... it's actually going to be a great adventure. I fly from Newark to Brussels (8 hour flight) and then from Brussels to Kigali (another 8 hour flight) and then from Kigali to Entebbe, Uganda. (I bought a ticket to Uganda because it was 700 dollars cheaper... weird thing is, my plane stops in Kigali, but I'm not allowed to get off it). I get into Uganda around 11 pm and then take a 10 hour bus ride the next day from Kampala, Uganda to Kigali, Rwanda. If all goes as planned, I should be arriving at the guesthouse in Kigali on the evening of the 26th. Sounds fun eh? eh?

Okay, well hopefully my next post will be from an internet cafe somewhere in Kigali!!

Cheers,
Sarah