Travelling with a purpose- A volunteering trip to Rwanda

For the past few years, I have been thinking of using my travel to add value to my life, as well as the lives of others. Last year, I decided it was time to change and I happened to go on a volunteering trip to Rwanda and that made all the difference in my life and my perspective. The biggest advantage of travelling with a purpose- I explored an entire culture, helped people and learnt a lot about life, that I wouldn’t have learnt if I hadn’t explored the world.

A beautiful Giraffe in the Kruger national park  

Some African lentil soup with bread!
A vegetarian's delight!!

When we think of a continent like Africa, we imagine guns and violence on the street. Well, it was the other way round. After arriving in Rwanda, I realised what a peaceful continent Africa was. I understood that misconceptions are cleared with first hand experience only. I travelled far and across Rwanda, doing activities like canoeing and safari while meeting new people and of course exploring new food! So that was the travel part- my purpose was about to begin. I spent two weeks volunteering with three groups of women who had different challenges and were trying to build a life.

The Amahoro Group of women proudly displaying their handicrafts!!

The first group was the Amahoro group. The Amohoro group- literally the women of peace- were a group of HIV positive women who had been ostracised by their society and were left to fend for themselves. Despite all their hardships and the added burden of their disease, these women were trying to create a community of similar people, using a business of handicrafts to sustain themselves. I saw this as an opportunity to use the skills I had gained in business school and promote their products. With beautiful skills that they had painfully developed over time, I helped them promote their products across the globe using social media, developed good packaging and content for them and ultimately created a guide to promotion which could be used by other volunteers.

The beautiful hand woven sisal baskets made by the Amahoro
 women! A plethora of bright African designs and colours !!

Helping the Amahoro women  take beautiful photos for
their Facebook page

The second group that I worked with was a group of teenage pregnant mothers. These teenage girls were either raped or left by their husbands and with no one to take care of themselves and their kids, they faced life in a way no other teenager would imagine. They were using their knitting skills creating small products for the local market. I spent a few days working with them on their farms and helping them knit. I saw a feeling of togetherness and the joy their work was bringing to them. It was then that I realized my priorities in life – family, friends and fun.

The third group I worked with was a group of former prostitutes. They couldn’t do business anymore as their pimp was harsh or they were told they weren’t beautiful. The society had inflicted some serious self esteem issues on these women for a profession they got into out of desperation. They were trying to follow suit of the Amahoro group, making handicrafts using whatever meagre skills they had. They were also doing some sewing. While spend in some time with them, they told me their products were not sold easily. I realised that due to the lack of skills (which the Amahoro group had developed over a long period) people didn’t prefer their products as they were rustically crafted. The next day, I suggested them to focus on sewing. They readily agreed and then using some donations I had collected from India, I bought them a sewing machine. Now the group uses the sewing machine to sew clothes on three days a week and rents the machine out on the other four days. They have created a nice business for themselves and they are able to sustain themselves and their families.

Explaining all group leaders about business, banking and cooperatives
to create a sustainable livelihood.

My brief time in Rwanda has taught me many things. I have learnt to value life and all that I have been blessed with. While we are worrying about trivial problems like the maid hasn’t come or a pending exam, we forget that there are millions who are finding it difficult to meet their basic needs.

My biggest learning- People go through a lot of hardships in their lives, but enduring them head-on creates a bright future. My recommendation, take a few days off from your life and travel to help someone while you learn from them and explore yourself.

Hope you have liked my experience. If you want to know more about the Amahoro Group, follow them on Facebook. Please do leave your comments, suggestions, feedback and subscribe to our blog for more posts from Hyperpsyche!