Hello everyone!
In case you're wondering what I've been up to this summer, I've been working at Tesco to earn enough money to pay for my year abroad. Five nights a week, 10pm to 7am for the last three months. Fun, fun, fun.
I haven't had much time to do anything else, like seeing friends at home or staying in touch with friend abroad, so my apologies to those of you I've neglected.
I have however had time to do a bit of volunteering to build my CV. I've been helping out at a weekly soup run which has been a tremendous blessing but also a challenge. The people were great, but I was shocked to encounter such real need in Maidstone. I met a Polish guy who was sleeping rough down by the river. He literally had nothing but the clothes on his back. The team was able to give him a tent, a blanket and some clothes, and he was obviously blessed by it. But it really got me thinking about the poverty I will encounter in Rwanda. We were able to help this Polish guy because he was just one man. But what do you do when you meet need on such a large scale?
For example, if I meet a woman in Rwanda who needs some clothes, I can go down the market and buy her some. And when I run out of money, I can work my way through my own wardrobe. But after a few months, I'll be stone cold broke, unable to pay my rent, and left standing in the middle of Africa wearing only my granny pants. My point is, how do you refuse help to someone in need? Or how do you decide which people to stop and help and which which ones to walk right by? And what gives me the right to live in luxury when so many are dying in poverty?
And now that my departure date is only two weeks away, I'm feeling very unprepared for the coming year. I haven't thought much about the challenges that lie ahead, and I'm aware that I'm still a bit green when it comes to rural Africa!
