Oddess, the waiter at the guest house’s restaurant, greeted me with an enthused “amakuru!” when he saw me return from Musanze two days ago. I’ve been traveling around Rwanda this week, organizing some pieces on the ground for our upcoming projects, and I hadn’t seen Oddess since I left Kigali a few days ago. His greeting reminded me that it takes only a few days in Rwanda for people to become friendly.

I’ve been fortunate this week to have met with so many wonderful people with whom we’ll be working this summer. There’s Oddess, of course, and also Aloys, who manages the reception at the guest house in Kigali. On my first day here, Aloys was kind enough to show me around the area, to show me where to buy bananas and SIM cards. As we were walking up the steep hill that leads to the central roundabout in this area (get ready, everyone, it’s a climb!), Aloys explained how the road, which used to be one road with traffic moving in both directions, has been split into two. Now, two roads trace up and down the hill of KN1 Road, separated by a median where flowers dot the grass and street lamps rise up like trees. The project, undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), is designed to reduce the traffic jams in Kigali. Aloys said the construction of the KN 1 Road near the Auberge took about a year to complete. It reminds me that in this rapidly changing world, Rwanda moves at an even faster pace, having made generous strides not just in its construction projects but in its economy, healthcare, and in the way it has striven for reconciliation and renewal over the past 24 years.

At the hospital guest house where we’re staying, I’ve met Dr. William, the new director, who carefully took me through each room of the guest house to ensure everything would be all set for our arrival. And there’s Ngabo, who will help us cook the food we purchase at the market in Nyamata, and Elie, the hospital’s finance director. I’ve spent a lot of time, too, with the folks who help run the community organizations we’ll work with during our service projects: Claver, of the CECHE Foundation, and Eugene, of Foundation AVEH. Both men are incredible models for our students, giving their time to make their communities more inclusive of disabled children. They do this work in addition to their regular jobs because they know it’s important. Claver’s colleague, Joseph, even helped organize our program all the way from Tel Aviv, where he is studying for a degree! Even though AVEH is an old community partnership and CECHE is a new one, they’ve both welcomed us into their communities, with equal enthusiasm, happy to have us back and happy to have new friends.

This week, I also had the chance to see my friend Walter, with whom I had the privilege of working last time I was in Rwanda. Walter helped me do some translation work in Nyamata for one day last week, but we enjoyed catching up and updating each other about our lives. Walter, who recently married, mentioned that the village where I lived one summer a few years ago now has a paved main road and electricity access for everyone—a far step from how it was last time I visited. While we hadn’t seen each other in a while, Walter was just as gracious and hilarious as I remembered. It was lovely to see an old friend, and just as nice to meet another new friend in Norbert, our guide from Amahoro who will help us out with transportation over the next few weeks. Norbert joined us for dinner last night after the students arrived from the airport. Over rice, beef stew, fried plantains, chips, sauteed veggies, and Fanta, we celebrated Norbert’s graduation from eco-tourism school and, most important, the arrival of our students in Rwanda.

Greeting the students in Rwanda gave me a new surge of energy. Around the table, talking and laughing, they were already beginning to make new friendships that will grow even deeper over the course of this summer. They’ve now met Norbert and Aloys and Oddess, too, and when we leave for Nyamata, they’ll meet Dr. William and Eugene and Claver and all of the others whom I’ve come to know this week. I’m grateful for the relationships Putney has with our partners in Rwanda and even more grateful for the new relationships that await all of us here. I’ve no doubt that just as things in Rwanda change quickly, so, too, will the friendships in our group grow, encouraged by common goals, lots of laughs, and a desire to know more about this place and each other.

Community Service Rwanda 2018, here we come!

— Kayla & Zach