Sorry I have not been posting my workouts and meals all summer. The beginning of June my mother and sister and I went to Africa. My father passed away in March 2012,and prior to his passing my parents had a charitable lead trust set up. In memory of my father we donated a well in Uganda, which was the reason for our trip. We started our trip in Rwanda and did a week of excursions before traveling to Uganda to spend time with the village where the well was donated. Traveling to a third world country was the most eye opening experience of my life.
Rwanda was a great country filled with wonderful people. The amount of people prior to my departure that told me to be safe with the most urgent of tones is not measureable. Many people because of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 thought that it was not a safe place to travel to; that the possibility of something happening to us was very high. Once I got to Rwanda I realized it was much to the contrary. The country was one of the cleanest countries I have ever been to, the people were all so friendly, there were constantly people walking, there were open air markets everywhere, and a large amount of people there spoke English. We joked that we couldn't drive a mile without seeing someone walking, even children under 5 years old. We asked our guide Sam "Are their parents not afraid of them getting kidnapped?" and Sam said "no that does not happen". The part that made me feel the safest, is that their country believes that they pay their military, even when they are not "at war" so everyday at 4pm until the the sun comes up in the morning the military walk around and patrol the towns to make sure everyone is safe. The neatest part for me was learning that every month the last Saturday the entire country, even the president, go out and clean the country.
Our first day in Kigali, Rwanda we went to the genocide memorial museum, which enlightened me more then I could've imagined. After hearing the history of what exactly happened (which is contrary to what most of the world thinks occurred), my mom, sister and I began asking our guides and people around us about it. Both of our tour guides had family that died in the genocide, and so did the museum guide. No one we talked to seemed bitter about it. It seems as though the country has come to this understanding that it was an awful thing and that they never want it to be repeated. All those that suffered loss from it seem very forgiving and ready to rebuild their country. I thought that the unity I witnessed between the Rwandans just 20 short years later was astounding. I would highly urge anyone wanting to travel to Africa to travel to Rwanda, it is a very safe, clean and friendly country.
Rwanda was eye opening because even though they do not have all the resources necessary to live, they are still the most friendly upbeat people. Uganda was very different from Rwanda, it was not as safe, not as clean, and the people were not as friendly. I am so thankful that we had a chance to experience both countries, and have a chance to help try and enrich the Ugandan's lives. It was the most humbling experience of my life, it made me appreciate having the opportunity to be born and raised in America where I don't have to worry about the simplest and most vital resource to life, clean water. I now wake up everyday and thank God for my life. No matter what challenges and tragedies happen in my life, it could always be far worse. I pray that the people in those countries can be helped and their standard of living can be raised. It sounds weird to say but I am so grateful for experiencing the unexpected loss of my father, because it helped me gain a new outlook on life, what is important, and it has lead me to experiences such as these, being able to help others. After being in the accident with my father, where I could easily not be alive right now, I truly believe a God does exist, and that I was saved for a reason. I am grateful for these experiences because they take me one step closer to truly realizing what my purpose in this life is. I am the most grateful to my mother for giving us the opportunity to experience the trip and everything that came with it.
At the end of the day, be grateful for your life and the chances you have been given, if your experiencing a low in your life know it will get better, and never miss a chance to tell the ones you love that you love them.
Love,
Mandy
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