Dear American People

Dear American people,
I am writing this letter because at this very moment my students are also writing you a letter. It is a mandatory letter of gratitude to the organizers and funders of this holiday camp. It should express what they've learned (goal setting, self esteem, resilience), how they feel about the camp and invariably their undying love for a country funding their education. Over 500 secondary students gathered for four days of camp activities. It was a mix between a pep rally and a scary military cult-like experience.

Perhaps there is something awkward about a forced thank you note - but so too is it awkward to come across the USAID logo - FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE- every five feet in this country. It leads to them thinking America is a magical place that can afford not only the education, food and shelter of all of its children but Rwanda's too. So American people, thank you. Your tax dollars really are being used for something productive (beyond the excessive amount given to the military force/presence we exert). You could not have bestowed the money on a more grateful group. When asked what has helped you achieve your accomplishments to this point in your life, the group of thirty girls responded - being born a girl, faith in God and USAID. When asked one good thing that has happened to them in life they responded - the ability to be a student and the chance to learn. These are students who are living with HIV/AIDS or whose parents are. They may be orphans, they may have a single parent - whatever the situation they are deemed at risk and vulnerable by their community members.

They found the time this week to share their talents - mainly singing, dancing, rapping, comedy relief - talk about their dreams - mainly becoming a doctor and owning a car - and spending quality time making new friends and getting a free t-shirt (with the USAID logo on the sleeve of course).

The other students I know, who aren't OVCs here at camp, have paid extra money to stay at the boarding school over the holiday break to study for the national exam, which is in November. They are spending every waking moment, apart from side jobs , studying. The national exam dictates their future. Depending on their score they could get a scholarship to a university - the best in Butare, go to the secondary or tertiary university choice, or get left with just their secondary education for the rest of their lives. Money and available seats in the universities are all obstacles.

Sitting in this new culture with this new educational system reminds me of my last job in a student affairs office at Michigan State. My advisor coworkers would get frustrated with students who are indecisive about elective credit, and just wanted someone else to make the decision for them. At times it was coupled with ambiance about their educational trajectory, which is perhaps the most difficult student to work with. I see this situation from a new paradigm now. I have crossed the border and am now in a community/group based culture, versus the American, individual based culture. In America, an adolescent can sit there and ponder life. They can singularly decide what they want, where they want to attend school, what city to live in, what sort of family to have, all based on their own whim of desires. In a community based culture, an adolescent has depended on the opinion and needs of their community their whole life. Rwandan kids take multiple national exams that decide for them, based on 'the good of the country'. The first are in primary school. At the end of primary, the exam dictates what focus their secondary school education will have (science, literature, nursing, math, agriculture, etc.); or whether they are even allowed to attend secondary school, maybe they will go to vocational school. Even halfway through secondary, they are reassessed. If they aren't performing up to par, they are kicked out. No decision up to this point in their education has been their own. University is the first time they are allowed to choose a focus - that is if they get in. If I were to offer my secondary students an elective option, they would probably scratch their heads and possibly choose an extra English class so they could perform better in other classes, get to University, get a good job and be able to give money back to their family.