In a country where the average life expectancy is just 50 years old and at least 40% of the population are under age 15, it is a rare occurrence to sit down for lunch with an Octogenarian. So I thoroughly enjoyed the visit we had last week with a Rwandan couple in their eighties who have lived their whole lives walking up and down Rwanda’s abundant hillsides.
At 88 and 82, Baba and Mama Nicholas (It is simpler to call them by the name of their son since Kinyarwanda names are hard to pronounce) are still full of life, physically active, and mentally sharp. During a heavy lunch of cassava, matoke, beans, and chick peas they recounted stories from the days when missionaries first came to their area and the locals were astounded when they toppled cows without even touching them (they had used guns to shoot them). I cannot believe how much they have seen in their lifetime.
Baba and Mama Nicholas are the adopted Rwandan grandparents to my son, Jordan Kwizera, who received his Rwandan name and the gift of a cow a couple years ago from their son Nicholas and his wife Elsie. The trek to see their home in a remote rural area was made to verify that the aforementioned cow does in fact exist. It does. It is not yet full grown and is a cross between a high milk yielding Friesian and a traditional Ankole cow.
After spending time in conversation, some quality time together with Jordan’s cow, and trying to find a politest way to explain why we could not possibly finish our carb loaded meal, we trekked with Baba and Mama Nicholas and every child in the surrounding area, back to our vehicles. Baba Nicholas barely even used his walking stick.
Baba and Mama Nicholas still live the simple rural life that they have lived for the past eighty years. Their son Nicholas was one of the first children in his village to complete primary school and was one of the only children in his entire district to attend University. Today he has his PhD in agriculture and is the chairman of the board for the Wellspring Academy. Nicholas’ children attend the Wellspring Academy, are receiving a top notch education, and will likely go onto university and be future leaders within their nation.
The time we spent together hearing Baba Nicholas recount what life was like seventy years ago in Rwanda made me think about the children at the Wellspring Academy. What will life look like in Rwanda seventy years from now? What will his grandchildren speak about when they are his age? Will they share about renewed tragedy and ethnic conflict? Or will they have a more hopeful tale to share, a story of how God used his people to transform Rwanda into a powerful example of what he can do in the midst of devastation and a story of how God used them as leaders to shape their nation?
We talk often about the unique window of opportunity that currently exists in Rwanda because we truly believe the future can be different than the past. With the Wellspring Academy we have the opportunity to shape a generation of young people who will help make the next seventy years of Rwandan history entirely different from the past seventy years. That is truly a privileged calling!
No comments:
Post a Comment