(Day 2) Anne:

As Dorthe said, we started our morning with the main branch devotions… Back to basics: “Why should we save?” The answer was of course: “For the day when we won’t be able to provide for ourselves.” The whole notion of wealth gets back to this. When we sit and listen to these people, I can’t help thinking of our consumer society… Well, watching them and witnessing their entrepreneurship gets us thinking. Especially when John Magnay (Opportunity’s Senior Agricultural Advisor in Africa) sets the objective at the level of Africa: “Africa should feed itself.” Seeing farmers at work, with plots of land no bigger than 10 by 10 meters, casts a very practical light on the theories we have in the West on the subject. A few hours of conversations can’t really fit here, but we opened our eyes and ears.

(The tailor client I met)

As previously, I end my day truly moved by the energy and self-esteem of Rwanda’s people: they step on a ladder (Urwego—in Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB)—means “ladder”) and are proud to repay their loans and grow their businesses. I was impressed by the beautiful tailor woman who had employed young men sewing on her four machines, and she had trained some of her employees so that they could start their own businesses. Obviously, it feels good here tonight. A demain.

(Dorthe, me and Elizabeth)

(Source: opportunityinrwanda.wordpress.com)