Final Reflection: Beginnings and Endings

I’ve been reflecting on the truth of impermanence. Our lives are so ephemeral and continually cyclical in the beginnings and endings of experience. One reality can feel so all-encompassing and once we shift into a new context, it becomes removed and distant so quickly. While in Rwanda I slipped into a rhythm of living that involved sleeping under a mosquito net, sponge baths in the evening, reflective conversations with Chris, Ja’Hari and Kamiya over lunch and dinner, answering questions from Maranyundo students, dry dusty heat, expansive views of the hilly, rural Rwandan landscape, time to read and reflect without the interruption of texting or phone calls, hearing Kinyarwanda, rice, beans, “chips,” and tomato-based vegetable dishes, quiet observations in the back of light filled classrooms containing wooden desks, chalkboards and blue and white uniformed girls attentive to their formal learning, people walking and biking on the sides of roads…all of this became my world and the experience fully inhabited my consciousness.

Now, three weeks after returning to the U.S, Rwanda has shifted into a place of memory. Of course there is a part of the experience that is living and breathing inside of me and that will influence my sense of the self and world in ways that I still do not yet know. However, I do know that I was given a very special glimpse into a beloved learning community filled with visionary young minds and open hearts. Here are my responses to our final reflective prompts:

What I learned...

My belief has always been that young people have the capacity to organize themselves and inspire each other in the most profound and impactful ways. I have worked hard to honor student leadership and voice in my work as an educator. However, while at Maranyundo I was able to witness a context in which young people were given the autonomy to lead each other in creating a loving and supportive culture. I learned that my ideals about youth leadership are possible.

How my perspectives shifted...

Observing Davis’s class taught me that culturally relevant instruction has no formula. My notions about “good” teaching and learning have broadened; I was given the opportunity to see firsthand how the cultural context and history of a school and community are paramount to what an effective learning environment looks like.

Short term impact...

Right now I hold lots of memories of bright smiling faces and a nostalgia for engaging in inquisitive conversations with the motivated young women at Maranyundo.

Long term impact...

I know that I will continue to find ways to connect with young women in Afrika and across the Diaspora. This may happen in the formal role of “educator” or it may happen in a different capacity. However, I know that my experience at Maranyundo further solidified my commitment to supporting young women, especially among young women of Afrikan descent, on their journey of self-actualization.

Something I'll never forget...

On the last day of our trip, I was given two very precious gifts, both from 9th grade students at Maranyundo. Angel wrote me a letter that reminded me about why I am a Humanities teacher. Part of it reads:

“Thank you for the time we spent together and for your love towards Africa and especially towards Rwanda. It makes me proud and thankful that there are people like you in the States who think that Africa is not a dark continent of savages but a continent of hope. I was indeed surprised and thrilled about the way you think and see Africa. I just want to tell you that you are not mistaken because Africa is really great and superb.”

In Humanities 1, I talk with my students about perspective and bias and the importance of interrogating our worldviews, particularly as it relates to the continent that gave birth to humanity. There are no words to describe what it means to live this truth outside of the classroom and to see the significance of cross-continental sharing embodied in my relationship with Angel.

Right before I got in the car to the airport, another student, Nadine, who identifies as a poet, read me her poem “Big Small People” that she co-wrote and performed with a friend. The first stanza reads:

“We are the new generation

Not afraid to be us

Empowered to be change makers

Uniquely gifted, black and talented

Shining like stars we are

We are the African children”

These are words that I will never forget. The determination and courage expressed in each verse are everything.

(Nadine reading her poem during my last few moments at Maranyundo)