Yesterday we went to New Destiny for the first time to visit with the widows and orphans who have banded together in order to sew, make beads and garden as a cooperative. This is the group that we brought the first sewing machine to and it was great joy to see their new building with 15 sewing machines! I was eager to jump in and help them with their sewing projects and so promptly planted myself in front of one of the machines. Without an interpreter, I began to find out the Kinyarwandan names for needle, thread, bobbin, etc and to try and teach them the english words - that was a lot of fun! However, when I began to actually use the machine, I discovered that this is a "horse of a different color." After breaking a couple needles, struggling to get the tension right and trying to get the foot treadle to cooperate, I was forced to deal with the reality of sewing in Rwanda. I had an ideal in my head but I ran smack dab into Rwandan reality. I had visions of us efficiently diving into the project of shopping bags, perhaps with me leading the way. What I discovered is that sewing in a dark, stuffy room with uncooperative machines is hard work.
The garden was even more overwhelming to me - not the neat, tidy rows of vegetables that I'm accustomed to but rather fields of weeds and plants growing together in disarray. I'm not quite sure if this needs to be but I did acknowledge that working in the African heat with primitive tools is grueling.
So today we went back to New Destiny and I was determined to try a new approach. Learning how to sew from them and getting a real feel for what it's like to produce something in their sewing room. What happened instead is that we got a late arrival after wandering the market with Steven in search of a new place to house their operations. When we got there, they were not prepared to sew because they had decided to work on beads instead. After adjusting my expectations, once again, I sat and talked with them about their machines: what they need, how many were inoperable (most!) and how simple it would be to get them going again. I also got to hand out the sewing supplies that had been sent from Betty Ann and that was such a delight.
So, adjusting my expectations has been, once again, the constant challenge as I learn to unplug, relax, let go and take cues from my Rwandan friends. I am definitely back in Rwanda.
