But this weekend we got the fabulous news that the school that Sister Ann founded in Nyamata is now ranked as the number 2 secondary school in the country and the number 1 girls school in the country!!  Results are based on results of the national exams given to all 9th graders.  I believe that it is the first time an all girls school has come in the top ten.

In a sometimes humorous side effect, every one of the 360 Benebikira Sisters’ phone has rung off the hook since the announcement on Saturday.  The phone calls start about 7:00 in the morning and last till 10:00pm or so.  Likewise there is a constant stream of cars at the headmistress offices of people who believe they’ll have better luck in person.  unfortunately the school is at maximum capacity, but I sense expansion in their future.

You can learn more about the school here:

http://www.maranyundo.org/

And here is a great article on the school’s beginnings:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/04/25/sister_ann_builds_her_dream_school/

Patients waiting at the Save health center

This morning I walked to the near by health center in Save with Sister Lousia.  She is the animatrice, a french word that I don’t think has much meaning to most Americans or those who haven’t attended boarding school.  The animatrice is essentially in charge of the students during every non-classroom minute.  She makes sure that they rise on time, do their home work, eat their meals, do the laundry, handles discipline problems and takes them to the health center or hospital when they are sick, which as every parent knows is frequently in the middle of the night.  Suffice it to say that her days are long.   Because the student body at Immaculate Conception High School is over 600, she has four assistants.

School just started a few days ago and therefore Sister Lousia needed to go to the clinic to make sure that all the students’ health records and insurance cards were in order.  She graciously let me tag along.  We met Sister Berta who is the pharmacist at the Save health clinic along the way.  The Benebikira staff many of the health centers across Rwanda.  Sister Berta told me that the most common thing that brought people to the clinic here in Save is malaria.

Sister Berta in the pharmacy storeroom at Save health clinic

It’s a cold rainy afternoon, so I’ve spent a bit of time curled up on the sofa in Sister Augusta’s modest office reading about Oprah’s roots.  Sister Theresa  popped her head into the office to say “hello”  a few minutes ago as she returned home from the near by school where she is the Dean of Studies.  Sister Theresa is a woman of 50-something years, who speaks 4 languages and earned a PhD in Education in Rome many years ago.  She looked at the book and asked what I was reading.  “Oh”, I say, “It’s a book about Oprah.”  Blank stare.  “She’s very famous,”  I add.  “Where?” asks Sister Theresa.  “In America,” I respond “But really all over the world.”   Shoulder shrugs.  “I don’t know her”  says Sister Theresa, as she picks her laptop up and heads out of the office.

No offense to Oprah, but I love this woman! 

The funeral was held in Butare.  Anyone familiar with a Christian-based funeral service would recognize most of what transpired.  Much was different.  Women dressed in bold, bright colors.  Two hours of song and prayer at the grave side after the funeral mass in the church.  Much was the same.   Two small frightened boys, clearly not understanding what had happened to their father.  Grief looks the same everywhere it seems.

Graveside funeral service in Butare

I’m trying to make myself useful while here.  For the most part the sisters decline my help, not because they are sisters, but because they are Rwandan and I am a guest.  But it seems I may have found a job I can do, shelling fresh beans.  Today is the second day that they’ve let me help.  It’s a peaceful and social job to sit for an hour or so and shell beans with them.  They are also delicious on the dinner table.

 The view of the chapel and garden is what I see each morning when I open my door.  It’s incredibly peaceful and beautiful.  Things are quiet and restive right now.  In a few days more than six hundred students will return from the Christmas break and inhabit the dorms just beyond the chapel.

Later in the afternoon, Sister Marta and I strolled through the town of Nyamata.  It was an opportunity for me to soak up some sunshine, get to know Sister Marta who has only recently come to Rwanda from Kenya and become reacquainted with Nyamata.   As we were returning to the school, an elderly lady on her way home from church stopped to greet us.  She and Sister Marta conversed for a while and then she turned to me.  I could not understand what she said, but knew it was friendly.  Sister Marta then translated.  This wonderful woman thanked me for visiting her country, her town and told me that today she would ask God to grant me a good new year.

I feel I’ve chosen wisely. 

I arrived tired, but safely on Thursday afternoon. I guess I really should pay more attention to my airline tickets. I had no idea I would be making a pit stop in Bujumbura on my way to Kigali this time. Yes, the flight time did seem to be a little on the long side, but I thought perhaps I misremembered my last trip.  Anyway,  I spent approximately 45 minutes in Brundi.  No, I did not leave the plane, but I am still adding it to my list of countries visited even if this is cheating a little bit.

The country seems lushly green from the air.   And as an extra bonus, I had a wonderful view of Lake Victoria on the flight to Bujumbura.

Happy New Year Everyone!