Musings - "I'm Going to be President!"

During our last visit to Rwanda in October, as we were preparing for our move, Mimi found herself surrounded by curious children as she was waiting in the car.  They started conversing, mostly trying out their few English words.  However, one young girl, perhaps about 10 years of age, seemed to be very fluent in English and was translating for several of the others.  In an attempt to compliment her, Mimi said "Your English is perfect!  You should be an English teacher some day!"  The girl responded, "I'm not going to be a teacher; I'm going to be the President of Rwanda some day!"

This one comment encapsules much of what we love about Rwanda.  There is a keen sense of the value of women, who are generally treated with great respect.  Rwanda boasts a 55% majority of women elected to Parliament, and many of the cabinet ministers are women.  But more importantly, when a poor farm girl can proudly set her sights on becoming president of the country, she demonstrates the hope and vision for the future that has made this country one of the most dynamic populations in Africa.  Change has been in the air since the country as a whole decided to put the horror of a genocide behind them by reconciling murderer and victim, and re-develop almost every social and governmental institution.  There is still the weight of grinding poverty and a stratified economy, but there is also the hope that one of today's bright children will become tomorrow's elected president; a hope that is very much lacking in much of the rest of Africa.