Cyangugu - Ngwino Nawe

I spent about 10 days in the South staying in a very comfortable house belonging to Rwanda Aid who support several projects in this part of Rwanda including the home/centre where I was based. There are about 60 children with varying degrees of disability including a number of Deaf children. I was astonished to find here 3 children who used to be at Butare. They had previously been at an orphanage called JAM - some South African religious based organisation but they have thrown out these wretched Deaf kids because it was claimed that they cost too much to educate in butare so the poor things were packed off to the deep South where they know no-one and this is to be their new home. I'm not impressed with Jam!
The centre is the personal project of a remarkable but terrifying woman called Therèse - hereinafter called T- Regina. She has very firm ideas on how the centre should be run and it is going to be quite a challenge to introduce any new ideas - likef or example giving children breakfast and maybe making the day a little less long - 7.30 to 5.00 with only an hour for lunch and two 20 minute breaks does seem to be rather taxing for children who already have quite a lot to contend with!
We started singing with a group of them and they were very happy to be doing the wheels on the bus and Head, shoulders, knees and toes so I'm hoping to build on this and play more games and activities when I return there next Tuesday.