Hope and Resilience Recap

Presentation at Free Dinner and a Movie: As We Forgive event

Tuesday, July 25, 2012

Good evening everyone and thanks for coming out to our movie night. We are all in different places with our understanding and experience of the genocide. Some folks here have been to Rwanda and in doing so have met survivors and maybe even murderers. Others haven’t been there but might have seen movies about the genocide. Yet others here tonight might have just had their first glimpse into the horrific event and the entire scope just hasn’t hit them yet. No matter what place you are at, we are all humans and share the universal emotions of hope, reconciliation and forgiveness. 


Many of you are familiar with our work in Rwanda but there are some new faces, so a special welcome to you. Our main focus is the Right2School program, which provides scholarships for middle school and high school students in Rwanda. Our scholarships pay for all of the expenses that our students incur while they are in school. These costs are: tuition, school materials, health insurance, transportation, a mattress, sheets, pillows, a lockbox, a mosquito net, a basin for washing and laundry, a squeegie for cleaning, a towel, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and two school uniforms. As you can hopefully tell from the long list of items we provide that we care deeply for our students.  Because we want them to reach their highest potential, we are doing our best to give them the most positive experience possible while they are in school. 


Why are we providing scholarships? The Rwanda Govt has said that only 1 in 10 kids between the ages of 13 and 18 years of age attend middle school or high school. That’s 10%. That is a ridiculous number that we are working to change. These kids have been dealt an unfair hand in life due to the situations they were born into. We see it as our responsibility to work with the youth in Rwanda to help create a better future for themselves, their family, and their country. We currently have 35 students that we are supporting, ranging from 13 to 22 years-old. 


There are three efforts we are working on for the rest of the year, which are on the back of your tickets: Monthly Plans – http://globalcapacity.org/monthly-plans


Help Save a Baby’s Life - http://globalcapacity.org/help-save-a-babys-life


Rwandan Marketplace Parties – http://globalcapacity.org/marketplace-parties


So, that’s a bit about what we are doing. 


The subject of hope seems to be very timely for our community and for our nation. This past weekend, my wife and I watched the reports on TV about the movie theatre massacre in Colorado. We were stunned. Who could fathom that a night out to the movies could end in such tragedy, such despair, such suffering. Every life is precious – but somehow when a 6 year-old girl is murdered the crime seems even more heinous. How will her parents move on? On a local level, this past year has been devastating as we have dealt with the child abuse trial and the charges against Jerry Sandusky and accusations against Penn State leadership. As a community we were shocked over what was happening in our Happy Valley over the past 15 years. The victims of the child abuse have a lifetime of healing to endure. What will it take for them to come to a place of peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness over what has happened to them? Yes, we are all indeed broken individuals in need of answers and resolve. 


As I have gotten involved with people’s lives in Rwanda, I have witnessed the resilience of the human spirit. They have an assurance and confidence about them that is remarkable and surprising. They don’t let the tragic past keep them down but rather stick their chins up high and work towards overcoming the history they have been dealt. The people do not want this event to define their identity but rather virtues such as hope, perseverance, and strength. Time and time again I am amazed at their resilience, and I know that we have a lot to learn from them. We are going to be hearing from one of our students, Isaac, who is in 11th grade.  


Watch Video of Isaac


Our students have seen more evil, more death, more pain than most of us will ever endure in a lifetime. What is it that brings someone hope when they have nothing left? You might not have experienced loss on the same scale, but surely in your life you have dealt with some sort of it. What is it that makes you overcome it and move on? How is a person able to forgive their parents’ murderer and call them a friend and neighbor again? Truly the human spirit is full of resolve and resilience and the people in Rwanda are testament to that. One day we can hopefully say the same about those in Aurora, CO or the victims here in Happy Valley and beyond. 


It has been our pleasure to work in Rwanda and provide hope for the extremely poor students there. As Isaac said in his video, we are giving him hope by providing him with an education. In most if not all cases, school is giving these kids a much better and brighter future and we are excited to see them fulfill this. 


Thank you very much. I’ll be sticking around during the discussion, so feel free to ask me any questions.


-Matthew Heinz