Delta Secondary 2010 grad Emily Lorenz will be leading a soon-to-be-assembled humanitarian group to Gashora, Rwanda next May.
A student in Capilano University's Global Stewardship Program, Lorenz will use her studies as a foundation for eventually becoming an NGO after graduation.
Representing Developing World Connections, an organization based out of Kamloops, Lorenz was accepted as group leader after completion of a thorough and detailed interview process. Based on prior humanitarian work in Cuba, Cambodia, Laos and Dominican Republic, Lorenz was commissioned by World Connections to become part of its organization.
Lorenz is giving first dibs to Delta residents by putting out a call for individuals in her community interested in learning more about the Developing World Connections project in east Africa with the potential of being accepted as a member of her travelling team.
"For anyone who has ever dreamt of taking advantage of an opportunity like this, you won't be disappointed," Lorenz said. "You'll be get-ting your hands dirty, working on a sustainable project alongside our host community. The experience will be life changing and different than anything you have ever done before."
An information evening on Wednesday, July 3 at 6: 45 p.m. at the Ladner Community Centre has been set up for individuals to learn more about performing humanitarian service in Rwanda next year.
Rwanda, a tropical country in east Africa, is small in comparison to its neighbours, the Congo and Tanzania. With a population of 11 million, it also has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the poorest countries on the planet.
Rwanda has two primary ethnic groups: the crop-growing Hutu and the Tutsi, the herdsmen. Today they co-exist peacefully, but that was not always the case.
Civil war erupted in 1994 with a staggering 800,000 Tutsis killed within a 100day period. The genocide committed by the Hutu disrupted and destroyed the very social and economic fiber of Rwanda.
To this day, the country still continues to recover from a war that reversed traditional gender responsibility. It was mainly men who lost their lives during the genocide, so in the absence of men, women stepped up and assumed the role of getting Rwanda back on its feet economically and socially.
Women became the pillars behind a massive reconstruction process that continues today. In the past decade, the international community, and Canada in particular, have supported this process. Organizations like Developing World Connections have answered the call by taking teams to provide global solidarity and support to people in the region.
