help me, rwanda

"i wish i could put a basket made in rwanda in the home of every american. made by the rwandans that are part of these reconciliation cooperatives, where hutus and tutsis are now living together, working together, and making their baskets together. here are people who've been through things that no american will ever know. and they've concluded, after being humbled by their own rage and the pain of their losses, that what we have in common is so much more important than our differences. i think that would be the greatest gift you could ever give to america."

-president bill clinton, when asked which single gift from abroad he would give to his own culture

so, in light of the good news that jane has received to date, and the fact that we are in a holding pattern for two weeks (waiting on tests), we make a decision. i will leave this week for rwanda, as planned, to continue my work on the village which is rising from the hills of rwamagana ... a home which will shelter, inspire, teach, and nurture 500 orphans from the genocide which tore this east african nation apart in 1994.

i am reluctant to go at this time, but jane's energy, positive attitude, and guarded optimism give me the resolve to see this work through. i hear her say constantly 'how much worse off things could be'. amazing. here is a woman, just a couple of weeks after life-changing surgery concluding that she has it pretty good!

so off i go ... to the heart of africa, to be inspired on another level, knowing that jane will be well taken care of. gilda is flying in from montreal for some 'bff' time, followed by my parents with chicken soup and smothering love! so i'll muddle through (despite jane's teasing that i have to run away to sub-saharan africa for a 'break' - crazy!), and will do my work, drink my muetzig beer, and hopefully help to repair the world!

we send all of you a proverbial rwandan basket!