Rwanda's Comeback!

There is a great article about Rwanda's optimism after the 1994 genocide...

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0428/p09s01-coop.html

Real World Rwanda!

I have a place to live when I am in Rwanda! Jean Paul found a 5 bedroom house with 2 indoor bathrooms, located in Gitarama, which is about 15 minutes from Byimana. It will also house a variety of folks in addition to myself:

• Theresa Perez, a Global Capacity Stakeholder and her friend Valerie Peters, leave the U.S. tonite to work in Byimana doing community health assessments for six months
• the two ten-person teams from Florida State University are coming for a month at a time to build a computer training center
• the two ten-person teams from Calvary Baptist Church who are coming in July and November
• Jonathan Hetler, Director of Operations for Global Capacity, is coming in July to help me set up operations

It will be a great experience and I am really looking forward to living in community with everyone. We joke about having a Confessionals room, like on the show Real World.

Microfinance Model

At this time I feel that the first phase of Global Capacity might be to help finance the start-up businesses of Rwandese people, namely villagers living in moderate to extreme poverty. I have been particularly interested in the field of microfinance and the concept of lending money to the poor so they can begin businesses of their own and start to transform their lives and their communities. Kiva is a very exciting and detailed microfinance site. It allows you to choose a certain entrepreneur in a developing country and invest in their business. After the money has been raised for that business, a local bank (which closely monitors the entrepreneur) gives them the loan. Then the entrepreneur pays the loan back, and in time the investor gets their money back. I became an investor for a woman in Cameroon named Neh Bertha.

I don't know if Global Capacity would work in the same way that Kiva does, but it's a model I would like to consider. We may just help to donate start-up costs for businesses, and not expect for them to pay us back. I would also like to help teach the potential Rwandese entrepreneurs principles of business and self-sustainability.

Skype

Hey folks! As a means to keep in touch when i am in Rwanda, looks like Skype is a cheap and easy option. Roaming charges on cell phones are way expensive. So, let's talk on Skype for free! You can download it here:

http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype

My user name is matayo.heinz. Let me know what yours is.

Global Capacity!

Most of you know about the job position change that my dad offered me in January. He would like to expand the scope of the company, Good Steward Software, and include humanitarian work. The purpose of the new position would be to help to improve the lives of those in developing nations, especially those in moderate to extreme poverty. I know this is a large mission and we are in the process of defining and refining, but basically I would head up efforts to bring new opportunities of life improvement and betterment to people in developing nations. Originally this new job position was going to be a division of Good Steward, but after thinking about it some more, we have decided to start a non-profit organization instead. Good Steward would be directly related and would financially fund the organization. Below is my dad’s original job description:

Duties:
Investigates, researches and develops methods to improve lives in developing countries.
Develops prototypes and incubators for multiplying/replicating indigenous business, agriculture, schools and social welfare establishments.
Promotes projects and develops supporters in U.S. based businesses and non-profit organizations.
Maintains part-year presence in both U.S. and developing countries.

Success metrics:
Number of lives touched/improved
Number of establishments created (businesses, farms, orphanages, schools, churches, training centers, etc)
Number of U.S. citizens that participate in a cross-cultural experience
Number of U.S. organizations that become supporters

I have not committed to this new position yet. As you know I will be spending six months in Rwanda later this year (starting in July) and I will not be making a formal decision until I am living there for a few months. The main reason for waiting to commit is because the new job would require me to live overseas for an extended period of time. I want to live overseas for a couple of months before I make a decision to see if this is something that I would be able to handle. It would be a huge transition and change for me and I want to be wise about it. (To be completely honest with you though, I am pretty sure I will take the job. It is an incredible opportunity and very much aligns with my heart and passion.)

We have started the non-profit, which we named Global Capacity. I am so very excited about it. The mission statement is to improve the quality of life in developing communities through the introduction and implementation of local self-sustainable agriculture, education, and business initiatives. I have developed a Board of Stakeholders, which is a group of individuals who are passionate about and committed to the mission and also have a specific area of expertise that is valuable to the development of the organization.

Global Capacity is in the very beginning stages and we would like your prayer as we continue to mold and shape this mission that we feel God has called us to. Thank you.

House, Car, Tate

I have been amazed at the provision that God has given me recently. Three large areas of need have been met when I am gone – what to do with my house, my car, and my dog Tate:

1. I have found a renter for my house for the 5 ½ months I will be gone. The renter is a family who goes to my church. The terms of the lease work out perfectly: July – December! I feel completely safe with them.
2. I lease my car and I recently found out that the lease ends on June 20 of this year. I was under the impression that it ended June 20 of next year. So, I won’t have a monthly lease payment to make when I am in Africa!
3. My aunt has enthusiastically asked to watch my dog Tate when I am gone. She lives near Allentown and already has a dog named Henry. Tate has a week-long trial run with her this month. My aunt (Sally) already has fun plans that include putting Henry and Tate in a decorated stroller for her town’s Fourth of July parade. If things don’t work out for Aunt Sally watching Tate, the family renting my house is interested in keeping him with them. So, praise God for taking care of all these arrangements!

I am so excited to see God work in more ways as I continue preparations for this trip!

Rwanda Here I Come!

Bitese? Amakuru? Meza neza. Imana aguhe umugisha. (Translation = What's up? How are you? I am fine. God bless you.)

I will be living near Kigali, Rwanda from July - December. I leave the US on June 30 and return on December 17. I will be doing research and investigation in hopes of developing processes for helping to improve the people's lives. I will also be spending time at Umuryango Boys' Home in the town of Byimana. This is the Home where some others and I spent two weeks this past summer. My heart is still there! I have decided to live in my own apartment when I am there, in a town called Gitarama, which is 4 miles from Byimana.

Check out my Photo Album if you haven't yet.

I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers (and maybe visits and emails!).

Murakoze! Thank you!