Guest Post by @travoholic
I’ve been fascinated by Rwanda for years, devouring book after book about the 1994 genocide, mostly. Like most people, I’m sure, I find it impossible to fathom the events over 100 days in 1994 and I wanted to learn more about a place where such horrible things could happen.
I arrived in Kigali last month with plans to explore the city while catching up on some work (I’m a web developer and work online). Since my arrival I’ve been meeting all sorts of amazing people, both expats and local, working on some amazing projects to help Rwanda develop and escape its violent past. Many are volunteers and many more are here working for wages much lower than they could demand back at home. Speaking to these people and hearing about all of the great work they’re doing was inspiring and I’ve also come away from many of the conversations with lists of places who could use volunteers.
Teaching English and working with orphans were both obvious options and I would have happily helped and I’m sure had an amazing experience in either capacity but I was far more interested in doing something that used my skills as a web designer. I decided to take action and started to search for some way to help using my nerdy skills.
I discovered the Tubahumurize Association through a former volunteer’s blog and I immediately wanted to know how I could help. The Tubahumurize Association in Kigali was started by an inspiring woman called Jeanne after a good friend of hers was murdered by her abusive husband. Jeanne was driven to start a woman’s group where some of the most marginalized people in Rwandan society (genocide survivors, victims of rape, HIV sufferers) could meet together to share stories and console one another. Her group has since grown to include counseling, micro credit loans, human rights advocacy, training in practical skills (like sewing), a quilt and necklace making co-op, a meal program and all sorts of educational courses.
I noticed that they didn’t seem to have a website so I got in touch and asked Jeanne if she would like to meet up. She was so welcoming and over the moon when I told her I hoped to help build a website and then train her or a few people on how to update it. She explained some of the problems her organization was facing due to a lack of funding and I really feel like, while not a solution to fundraising problems, having a website is a step in the right direction. She has lots of ideas and I’m excited not only to be able to help but also to meet and work with such an amazing person.
So if you can’t find a volunteering opportunity that’s a good fit for you, make one! Be proactive. Contact groups to pitch your skills and ideas and I believe you’ll always find some takers. Here’s the tricky part though… you won’t have an in-country contact, you won’t have a support network back at home, you won’t get a t-shirt and you probably won’t get the coveted free food and accommodation deal that so many would-be volunteers are hunting for. But people like Jeanne and others who start their own initiatives don’t get free accommodation, either.
They spend their own time and money on helping others and for me, it’s these people who truly inspire. For someone to see an injustice and take action and do something about it is a huge step, especially when, like Jeanne, you end up with a lot of people depending on you. With this type of volunteering nobody will be holding your hand but you will also have the freedom to seek out an organization that really resonates with you and meet people who are getting important things done on a daily basis without the support of major international volunteer networks.
So with this in mind I encourage you to see what you can do to help. You know what you’re good at; now find people who need your skills. Start in your hometown and then try it out on your next trip, you might just become hooked!
Kirsty
Kirsty left Canada in 2001 and has been traveling, working, and volunteering abroad ever since. She has spent 11 months out of the past two years as a volunteer doing disaster relief work and is currently in Africa looking for interesting projects to help out with. She has written an ebook called The Underground Guide to International Volunteering that she hopes will inspire other travelers to give back as they travel. You can follow her travels on her blog, Nerdy Nomad.
