Public Meeting

What an awesome day yesterday!

I headed to Rose's for about ten and hung around waiting for D to turn up with the camera. As it was, Rose found me first and I headed up the road with her and Florence. Teresa, our Secretary, helps at a local primary school which they lent us for the day to hold our first public meeting!

Was just a room with some small wooden benches but, by the time I got there, I could hardly believe my eyes! Around 60 people from all over Kigali had turned up, plus our two Canadian volunteers Kate & Cassandra, which was absolutely awesome. Rose and the pastor seemed in their element actually - she's got the makings of a public speaker in her yet! She'd organised them into discussion groups based on region, to discuss needs.

By the time they left, we had the foundations of parent networks in a whole load of districts in Kigali including Kacyiru, Kicukiro and Kimihurura. The greatest concern was for access to employment for single parents and we also got our first statistic. Did you know that around 3% of our members are single dads? :op

(Yes, so that's two out of about sixty - but that's still a statistic darnit!!)

Heehee.

D came along to take pickies, as did a guy from the Ministry, who had to take documentary evidence for which we paid the privilege of FRW 3,000 *sigh* Oh, oiling the wheels of bureaucracy. I just contented myself with blowing up the remainder of M's party balloons, handing out Cadbury’s chocolate éclairs and biros.

It really was a most excellent day, all credit due to Ms. R (Rose) for her outstanding tenacity in the face of Rwandan red-tape, and for being so bloody self-motivated. I predict great things for this organisation. Pictures of doe-eyed children and determined looking single parents will go a long way to achieving that! C'mon, just look - can you resist?

Anyway, after that D, came back to mine. We bought ice-cream and pizza and lay on the bed watching movies the whole afternoon: Gross Point Blank, Pushing Tin and my all-time favourite, Crash. It was well past dark by the time he finally headed home *sigh* Oh that man of mine. So, I broke, okay? What more can I say. We all knew I would, didn't we? But this time he stays firmly on the other side of the front door.

It was a good evening, though. Just what I needed to get my feet back on the ground after the folks flying home.

Today is lazy city. He's coming over later to drop off the photos and I'm lending him my video camera so he can follow Rose around and take footage of single parent stories to make into a promotional DVD.

Anyway, back to lounging and feeling proud.