Kwizera Alfred's Hope

Picture Hope: Kwizera Alfred, Musician from LittlePurpleCow Productions on Vimeo.

Five minute video interview.

Alfred came in and out of Alex and Goreth's home during our stay in Rwanda, sharing tea and stories with us. And when he spoke in a soft voice about his dream of sharing his music with the world, I could feel his unwavering faith in that dream. A faith that has been tested by the loss of his parents, lack of finances, and a commitment to help provide food, shelter, and school tuition for his brothers and sisters. "So how do you hold on to hope?" I wondered aloud during one of his stories.

"You have to trust. I trust everyone, and believe that God is there for me – even when I have no one and nothing," he replied. And then he placed his trust in me, and insisted that I accept his bible as a gift just before we left Rwanda. Packing that bible was difficult for me. I don't deserve it. And as the months have passed, seeing that bible beside my bed has been a gentle reminder of Alfred's presence. A visible sign of his faith. There's not much that I can do for him, but share his light with you. And hope you'll share it too. 

Just Boys

After spending several days in Konombe, a suburban area in Kigali, Jen and I moved out to the village in Umutara. Soon after I passed the girl carrying sticks, this group of young boys appeared in the distance. They chased a thin bicycle tire with a stick along the path, chattering and tugging on each other with excitement. I wondered how they might react when they got close to me. "Bite," I said breathlessly as they began to slow and creep in close to me. ("Bite" is pronounced "bee-tay", meaning "hi, how are you?" in Kinyarwanda) Within an instant, they were enamored with my camera, making goofy faces in my big wide angle lens and laughing at the images and video sequences I captured and played back for them. Such sweetness. Pure innocence. Just boys being boys.

All Right

Most of the time when you think of Rwanda the first thing that comes to mind is the genocide, that fateful moment in 1994 when almost a million people were killed in less than 100 days while the world looked on. While the aftermath of the genocide is still major news for most media outlets considering Rwanda, the real story of everyday life is much more hopeful. Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, is a boom town, with bamboo scaffolding scaling construction on every corner. Rwanda has the highest percentage of female elected officials in the world, and the country's communication strategy includes laying fiber optic cable right along the brand new energy grid. Despite being among the world's poorest countries, a spirit of positivity fuels forward motion in Rwanda, and everywhere we went we could feel it.

In the stories of recovery from great trauma.

In the tales of love found after all hope was lost.

In the platefuls of green bananas served up each night with so much enthusiasm and kindness.

In the backroom at the barbershop where something as normal and everyday as having someone wash your hair on an uneventful Wednesday is proof positive everything really is all right.