While we were out with our landlord, Odette, she was telling us how she came upon an extra $500 from the sale of something or other and decided to donate that money to help feed some of the poorest neighbors in Buhoro, our village. Katie and I jumped on the idea and asked if we could double the donation to increase the impact. She said yes and we gave her $500 in cash a day or two later.
On Wednesday night at 6pm, I got a text from Odette saying that she's at the end of the street and they could use some help. So, while Katie was teaching her class via zoom, all three kids and I walked down to the end of the street and met up with Odette. She walked us down to a courtyard of a house (behind a gate, of course) where there were several people, lots of chairs, and bags and bags of food.
Our job was to take 100kilo bags of rice, beans, and flour and divide them up into smaller bags for each family. They had lots of little bags and a scale and off we went.
It took a while to get 90 bags filled to just the right amount, but many hands make light work.
Eventually the girls walked home, but I was proud of them for jumping up and helping with no warning and absolutely no complaints.
The next step was to take one bag of 20lbs of rice, one bag of 20lbs of beans, and one bag of 20lbs of flour and put them into a bigger bag. FUN.
Next, we needed to deliver the big bags to the homes of the families most in need. There's a guy in the village that keeps a list of people and classifies them somehow. Not sure what the plan for delivery was without me, but they asked if we could use my car, so I ran home and got it and backed it up to the top of the road where the distribution house was located. We then carried the 60lb bags from the house, up to the car. The Rwandans were impressed by my shoulder carry of the heavy bags, but I've been watching for almost 4 months now and I've been waiting for my turn.
The poor Hyundai Tucson was loaded up with about 20 large bags, so a little more than half a ton. (in retrospect, I wish we had delivered a ton of food...but we did not) The Village Chief was my co-pilot and we drove deep into the neighborhood and parked the car. We each grabbed a bag and headed down thin alleys in total darkness as we made our way into the labyrinth of the village. My phone was dead, so I have no images, so I'll try to do it justice. The buildings are close to each other with what seems like no planning. So, you'll walk 20 feet down a little dirt path between two mud houses with water at your feet and an occasional rock, puddle (of what????), discarded sandal, stair, half wall, etc. At the end of the 20 feet you take a sharp left and drop 10 feet over the next 10 feet, because Kigali is nothing if it isn't a hill. Pass a few nice people and climb a makeshift three stair wooden ladder like bridge. There are dozens and dozens of residents along the way and they are very confused by my presence. I give the Mwiriwe greeting and get a big Mwiriwe back. Finally we arrive at a door and we knock. Eventually an old man comes out and the village chief explains that he lost his entire family in the genocide. Mwiriwe Musaza. We drop the bag and he thanks us passionately. Drop the second bag with a nice Umchachuro (old lady) and I get a big hug. Back to the car! Two more bags. Walk to another place. Over and over again. We moved the car a few times to get closer to other parts of town before the walk.
Then we went back to the house and got the rest of the bags that didn't fit on the first effort. The next stop was our street and we drove right by our house before stopping a few hundred feet up the road. Our neighbors, recognizing our car, followed us all the way. We got out and checked the list of the people who we were to deliver to and we continued to give out food. At this point, my neighbors were asking for food and the chief told them to buzz off, because they're not on the list. We're only helping the poorest 30 families tonight. I didn't quite beg, but I asked the chief if we could please give one package to Vestine and her 4 kids. "She's my neighbor...like right next door to me and she's got 4 kids." He acquiesced and her kids helped her get the food back home. Odette (neighbor, not landlord) was also there asking for food, but I didn't argue on her behalf because she lives alone with her husband. But, she does have kids that live with her sister in the rural area outside of Kigali. It really hurt to not be able to help some of my neighbors, but I just pointed to the chief and tried to explain that it's not my choice. He tells me where to carry a bag and I carry it there.
We closed up the car with 6 more bags left to distribute and headed back to the house. We hung out there for a while and I was really confused, but eventually figured out that the final bags were being picked up. So, we were just waiting for people to come by and get their stuff. I made a final plea for Odette to get one of the last bags as we seemed to be stalled out.
Chief looked at me and was just so confused. He told me Odette doesn't need this food. She's fine. Why am I trying to give this food to Odette? Then we realized he thought I was talking about our landlord, who had donated $500 to make this whole evening happen. That was an amazing moment. "No, no, no. Odette, not Odette!" He said yes and I got to drive home with one last bag for my neighbor.
I happily set the bag at her door step and gave her a big hug. She looked very confused and almost disappointed. Then Vestine pointed at the door and I saw the confusion. I placed her bag at her neighbors door!!!??? I quickly grabbed it and put it at her door and everyone laughed and I got a better hug from Odette (after she put it inside her home).
I think I got home at 10pm. It was the best 4 hours of the last 4 months.
I haven't been able to post about it, because it's emotionally exhausting to think about that night.
But we've been scheming a lot ever since that night and Katie and I have decided to do this again...sort of.
Here's the plan.
1. Buy roughly $200 worth of food (rice, flour, and beans) to get a bulk discount. (over 400lbs of dry food, more than 1,000lbs of cooked food)
2. With the help of Vestine and some others, split it up into sets of 3, 10lb bags for our neighbors.
3. Sell it to them for less than 4 bucks a bundle. (the value should be closer to $12)
Why sell it instead of give it?
We want them to pay something so that it's not a donation, but more like a co-op. It also helps keep it to the 20 families that we have a relationship with. We might be able to expand it later, but they have to be a paying member to be part of the co-op, so it creates a hurdle to entry just high enough for us to keep control over the size.
The quantity should provide about 180 servings, so 6 per day for a month. The cost to us is only $7.00 per family per month. (pay 11, get 4 back)
If you follow this blog and you want to feed one of the families, let us know. We'll accept monthly payments in multiples of $7 or annual payments in multiples of $84.
(cue the music) That's right, for only seven dollars, you can feed a family of 3 for an entire month. Pick up that phone, call this number, and make a difference. You won't regret it. And if you call in the next 5 minutes, we'll throw in this priceless imigongo artwork at no additional cost!
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