Humanitarian Work in Rwanda Results and Moving Forward. Blessed to Be a Witness.

My final update written on October 12, 2009.

I arrived safely back in the US just over a week ago and suffice it to say, it has taken some time to readjust. If I had to choose one thing that stands in the greatest contrast between life in Rwanda and life here and the one thing that I think we could take a lesson from, it would have to be the exceptional sense of humanity I experienced from the Rwandan people.

Essential human qualities of love, warmth, sharing, connection, brother and sisterhood seem to be the norm in Rwanda--not things, as they are here, we effort to attain or pretensively demonstrate. This showed up in simple ways such as the big and genuine smiles of so many we met (see below), being offered lunch by a very poor family of orphans, impromptu singing and dancing, and a felt sense that the color of your skin, style of your dress, social/professional status, etc. are meaningless and that you are seen and appreciated more by the virtue of your character. These qualities are embedded in the African spirit, that was clear, but also, interestingly, engendered by the lack of material prosperity and no doubt, by having survived one of the worst atrocities in history. Sometimes it takes the worst to bring out our best.

In this email I hope to give you an understanding of the results our team, led by Lori Leyden, had on the two groups of orphan genocide survivors we worked with. I also want to touch briefly on the vision for the evolution of our Heart-Centered Leadership program for the future... By no means was this trip a one off! There is much more work to be done and room for you to be involved. Again, this is a lengthy email, so if you are challenged for time or patience check out this photo album for the story-in-pictures, as well as the Moving Towards Peace blog for videos and previous email updates. You may also want to consider joining the main Moving Towards Peace mailing list to receive updates about getting involved in our upcoming service projects (e.g., Seva Cafe SB and Be Your Friend), especially for those who are in and around California.

If the plumbing fails and your kitchen floods, you have two main tasks before you: 1) Repair the plumbing (cause) and 2) Mop up the water (effect). The overwhelming majority of humanitarian projects are usually concerned with the latter task. Our central focus was the former, i.e., treating the root cause of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) resulting from the 1994 genocide with mature compassion and a sophisticated therapeutic skill set, that included both conventional (e.g., psychology) and "alternative" (e.g., Jin Shin Jyutsu) means. You can feel confident knowing that every penny of your investment directly contributed to the fundamental and lasting well being of several hundred deserving young souls who do not have ready access to the level of care that we delivered. This trip was not about band aids, temporary solutions, or vanity service ... it was about real change and loving service rendered in harmony with the needs presented to us. As such, you enabled a unique team that was blessed, this year, to facilitate and bear witness to numerous miracles and life-changing transformations (not to mention the ones we experienced in ourselves!). For that I give you thanks, as do all who you helped us care for, and I trust that your generosity will return in the form of unexpected grace or the good feeling that comes from knowing you have contributed to global kindness. Giving is receiving.

Lori just sent an email update I encourage you to read that discusses some of the results her work had, which included raising emergency funds to solidify temporary housing for an orphan forced out of her home (one room with no kitchen, toilet, or closet) by her sector chief. Relative to the results my work had, I encourage you to read an informal report I published online. While I did lead group exercises and conduct individual trauma counseling sessions, it was Jin Shin Jyutsu--a 3,000+ year-old medicinal art whose wisdom has been shared by various ancient cultures throughout the world to keep societies healthy, strong, and free of disease--that was my main offering and that which had the greatest impact.

The PTSD symptoms (as communicated to us) strongest in the two groups of orphans we worked with, in no particular order, were: deep sorrow from having had so much family killed; painful memories (many witnessed their parents get murdered, often brutally); hopelessness concerning the future (many live alone in abject poverty and don't see a way of improving their circumstances); feeling unloved and forgotten; a feeling of not belonging; and mistrust of people. I will add that there were several with physical symptoms as well, mostly from being beaten or cut by machete during the genocide. To summarize the report, Jin Shin Jyutsu was a natural fit and was embraced by everybody I worked with, including staff members at both the school for orphans and Solace Ministries. You might think somebody would have raised an eyebrow or downplayed the role simple hands on could have in the face of such severe issues. Not so. Since hands on care like this was an integral part of ancient African shamanistic culture, my sense was that it was familiar on a subconscious level. Florence (pictured above) stands out as a great success story. We visited her twice in the hospital, both times she had been admitted with extreme anxiety symptoms making her unable to speak or move or be amongst her classmates. On the 2nd visit, she had been in the hospital for four days in a severely dissociated state. Nearing completion of our less than 30-minute session, she came back to life, actually laughed--to the elation and shock of all in the room--and was soon on her feet, communicative, and next escorted back to school. The story of Jean, which I previously wrote about but is worth repeating, also stands out. Nearing the end of his session, he went into a state of deep catharsis--writhing on the floor with fists clenched, tears were streaming down his face. After we finished, he let me know that he hadn't cried in years--that not even witnessing his parents get murdered (or that memory) would make him cry, though he always felt the need for it to happen. Changes like these last a lifetime and there were several other equally important, but not as outwardly dramatic transformations I witnessed. Much more important, however, was the visible aura of peace and harmony I saw envelope just about everybody I worked with, which was reported to me as a feeling of calm and relaxation. This is actually grace, and is one of the more esoteric benefits Jin Shin Jyutsu confers. This grace, even if experienced once, can change a life by presenting unexpected opportunities or by driving you down a new path you didn't know existed. Perhaps this is the greatest need of the orphans given their difficult, highly challenging circumstances that seem to have no outward solution.

But we know there is a solution given the impressive progress we saw in the short period of time working with these amazing people who have so much to teach us about strength of character, resilience, and love. This leads me to the conclusion of the report--our vision for the future evolution of the program. It is, in a word, training. A good amount of time was spent this year (and in previous years of the program) teaching self-help methods (e.g., yogic breathing exercises to prevent trauma incidents) so that everybody we worked with had some tools in their pocket to continue on with their therapeutic process in our absence. However, a greater investment of time is needed in this regard and will be more of a focus moving forward. I personally would love to teach a customized Jin Shin Jyutsu curriculum to some of the 130 leaders that Lori has already trained, so that treatments could be given year round. The goal is to form a self-sustaining environment of care and by so doing continue the therapeutic snowball effect and create opportunity.

I've spoken before about the larger message of hope that is going on in Rwanda, the following from Lori captures it beautifully, "If they [genocide survivors] can survive the greatest of human tragedies, prolonged hopelessness and poverty and still emerge with a willingness to forgive, to reconcile and help others do the same, then our commitment to them is also a commitment to a new standard of hope and healing for ourselves and our world." Indeed. It's a powerful message loud enough for all of us to hear and a shining example of another way to resolve human conflict that does not involve violence or war. Thanks to Eric Huurre, the filmmaker, who traveled with us and captured close to 30 hours of footage, we have the distinct opportunity to broadcast this message to the rest of the world via a documentary film. The cost of this film will be approximately $50k, so any referrals to angel investors or grant organizations are appreciated.

We are all brothers and sisters of one human family living in a special time. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for allowing me the special opportunity to serve in Rwanda. We are blessed to be a witness. Please call me if you feel like discussing any of this with me live or if you simply need somebody to talk to one day (805.699.6511), I'd love to hear your voice. If you are in the Santa Barbara area or passing through and interested in experiencing Jin Shin Jyutsu, I see clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call or email me to make an appointment. If you are interested in helping to provide electricity to the Remera Mbogo school for orphans (one of the poorest schools in all of Kigali) where we spent much of our time, Lori is trying to raise $1,500 urgently. You can make donations online or email her for more information.

Until next time. May blessings shower upon you, your family, and your community.

Imana Iguwe Umagishu (God Bless You).

Christopher