Africa– the first place that I truly feel will be OUT of my comfort zone. I won’t be able to speak the languages, relate to the culture as well, and I’ll truly be “overseas” and WAY far away from home. I will be in Africa November 2018 – January 2019.
Africa is also a place where I am already expecting to experience some heartbreak based on the things I have read:
Rwanda: Still hurting from the horrific genocide of 1994, Rwanda searches for healing.
Originally home to three tribes, the Twa (known as pygmies), Hutus, and the Tutsis, Rwanda’s history of ethnic tension is long.
In 1994, over 800,000 Tutsis were killed and two million Rwandans were displaced. Barely two decades later, the memory is still too fresh.
While 38% of the population is Christian, the Christian God is considered synonymous with the traditional Rwandan god, Imana, to many.
Uganda: Much of Northern Uganda was hurt by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, which heavily recruited child soldiers. Child labor is still prominent today, along with child prostitution.
Refugees, both from Northern Uganda and Sudan, search for ways to buy food in a land without jobs.
It’s also one of the poorest countries in the world.
Kenya: The nation is home to 42 tribes, 69 languages, and 400,000 Somali refugees.
Despite its developed economy, half of Kenya’s population lives under the poverty line. Many suffer from preventable health problems like malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and pneumonia.
Due to rapid population growth, 73% of the population is under age 30.
Kenya has the 8th highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world, and 27% of females have undergone female genital mutilation.
// This is our motto // Your time to shine // Don’t wait in line // Y vamos por todo //
