The Job

A beautiful day in Kigali, Rwanda, as I sit outside overlooking the rolling hills and am listening to the sounds of people going about their daily lives, i am struck by a light breeze swirling around in a perfect 74 degree temperature, and I think to myself, it dosen't get any better than this (unless Joe was here with some clove's). With a temperature usually ranging between 70 and 85 degrees, having consistently 3 meals a day, helping to develop areas that live without basic needs, expierencing Muzungu celebrity status, and being surrounded by amazing people is going to make it tough to leave on August 8th. I cannot believe it is already half over and I have only a month left. The time is flying by so fast and I still have so many things I want to do. But I am excited for the next month, the projects that Jim and I have been working on are coming together, creating alot of aniticipation and excitement. I know many of you are questioning my work at the office since I mainly have been writing about other events, but I want you to know work has been done and what has come of it so far.

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The resettlement camp project that I have mentioned in the previous posts is really starting to take off. After Dwight read the report Jim and I had written and after long discussions we have now moved to the next process, which is writing a concept paper. The point of a concept paper is primarily to provide a brief overview of a 3 year project plan that: identifies the critical issues, how Food for the Hungry plans to address such issues, and includes a budget proposal. The concept paper will then be sent to the Food for the Hungry National office in Switzerland, in hopes that they will share our vision and provide financial support. If that is true then, in collaboration with the district, we will draft a very detailed project proposal addressing each issue with efforts that will be implemented by Food for the Hungry, in partnership with other organizations, to bring transformational development to the Retete Resettlement Camp. Last week we finished up our concept paper on Friday and sent it to the Country director in Swizterland. Now we wait for Switzerlands response and will then restructure our proposal according to the amont of money that they see best fit. If this is succcessful, Dwight wishes to at one point have these type of efforts in all of the 19 resettlement camps. The whole process has been an amazing learning expierence and is almost surreal that I am invovled in a project that could affect the lives of thousands of people.

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The other project that we are in the process of developing is an internet based child sponsorship program, called e-sponsorship. Even though I have already explained e-sponsorship, I am going to refresh your memories. E-sponsorship is a new way to conduct child sponsorships, in which Food for the Hungry for the most part would be the first to implement anything like it. The program would utilize the internet and various media sources to create a more personal relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored child. Jim and I have basically been left to brainstorm and develop what this sponsorship would look like. The bases of all our ideas derives from allowing the sponsor to become part of the program. We want the sponsor to be fully particpatory in the program and allow, but not expect, the sponser to engage more in the program. Very very briefly the program would include three options, adopt-a-child, adopt-a-family, and adopt-a-community, and the sponor or sponsors would choose according to their desired efforts. Once a person becomes a sponsor they are given a user account, which leads them to their own personal webpage of their adopoted unit. To make the page as personal as possible it would include these features:

• A picture of their child and information pertaining to their childs age, area, family, etc... - A
• refer a friend program, in which everytime a sponsor persuades a friend to sponser a child 10 dollars is credited to their account to be put towards visitng their sponsored child.
• A bi-monthly child video and on altnernating months a community video
• Providing Weather and Regional news updates of the childs area
• An updated list of airline tickets from the sponsors hometown and into Kigali, also offering links to informaiton on fundraising ideas and tips
• Access to email, where the sponsor would be able to provide messages and video and picture uploads of themselves, family, or group.

That is the very brief update of where we are at with the brainstorming process on the sponsor's end of it. We are now working on the child, family, and community management aspect of the program. So that is a look at the working side of my time here in Rwanda for all you skeptics. I have been busy, but it has been good times, great oldies. Anywayz it took me a really long time to sum all that up and I need to do some reading. So I love and miss you all!