I just came back from my second sojourn to the Miyukwayukwa refugee camp in Western Province. While there were nine of us on the first trip, this time it was just me, Peter, and Nchimunya, and I was running the show. It was a challenge and a lot of responsibility but, in the end, we accomplished what we set out to do. My favorite part of the trip was being invited to the hut of my friend Alan, a Rwandan refugee who has been living there for two years and who recently had twin baby girls. I had thus far never been in any of the homes in the camp and this one was of average size consisting of one room, about 10x15, split into two by a mud wall. His girls were beautiful.



The main purpose of the trip was to have the camp's first ever Grassroot Soccer graduation to celebrate the kids' completion of our program. We originally trained the facilitators in April and it's supposed to be an eight week course so it obviously took a little longer, but the important thing is that the kids are now equipped with all the information to be "HIV/AIDS prevention experts" as we like to say. And 240 kids graduated! So it was a huge success. We also awarded the educators for their hardwork and perseverance. However, right before our departure I learned from the heads of the program there that the educators were unhappy with the gifts they received. The best facilitators who put in the most energy felt that they deserved more for their efforts. This made me both furious and discouraged. We give and we give and instead of appreciation I get outstretched hands wanting more, more. It really made me upset because here I am giving them my time and energy and on top of that material gifts and I don't get anything in return, not even thanks. It was really a lesson in the meaning of selflessness. Apparently this behavior is not uncommon coming from refugees although I don't particularly like the implications of this generalization. Also, seeing past red, those who work the hardest with the program should be acknowledged for their extra effort. But I have until next month's trip to figure out how to accomplish this without creating a hierarchy that will cause any trainers to quit.