In the summer of 2013, we took a team to Rwanda for the first time. The germination of our first African project had actually started several years earlier. We broke out of Hong Kong, taking a team to Mainland China in 2006. We started planning in 2009, and subsequently took the first team out of Greater China to Cambodia in 2010. At roughly the same time when we went to Cambodia, we developed a plan for a project in Uganda, but could not find the necessary funding to turn it into reality, and ended up having to to say sorry to our partner. Unexpectedly, around 2012, we were offered funding from senior management for an internationalization project targeting Africa. We quickly found a lead linking us initially to Malawi through the NGO African Evangelical Enterprise. After some discussions, AEE recommended Rwanda instead and we agreed.
Why are we so keen to go to Africa? Firstly, we have learned from our own experiences as well as others that we can make a greater impact where the need is greater; and in general the need in Africa is greater than most other continents. This is particularly true in sub-Saharan Africa, where many of the poorest countries in the world are. Secondly, students also learn more where the cross-cultural challenge is greater; and the people and culture in Africa differ from ours arguably more than most other places in the world. Many Asian countries have strong cultural links with China, while European and American influence is strong in Hong Kong. Hence there is some degree of familiarity with these continents, which cannot be said about most of Africa. Unfortunately, Africa is also far away, imposing great financial and logistical costs. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa are also politically volatile. So we face many challenges on the way to Africa.
Rwanda, it turns out, offers a lot of very pertinent lessons. It is really as poor as we imagine. It does not have much natural resources. And it has suffered much from colonisation. In 1994, it went through a horrible genocide in which 800,000 people died without 100 days while the whole world watched. However, it has also been politically stable since around year 2,000. The government is relatively free of corruption, running the economy fairly effectively, keeping the country physically clean and safe, and consequently enjoying the confidence of the people. It has worked hard on reconciling the antagonists and having a lot of success. It makes us wonder how it does that, and what we can learn from them. Perhaps most importantly, in African Evangelical Enterprise we found a great partner. Their core strategy is to organise thousands of self-help groups, train the members of the groups in basic business skills, and to start small businesses together. We are eager to find out how it does that, and how we can work with them.
After many months of studies, negotiations, and preparations, we took 20 students to fly to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, via Doha in Qatar and Entebbe in Uganda. To save on the budget, we endured a 10 hour layover at the old, freezingly-cold airport at Doha going in and coming back. We even had Professor Walter Yuen, who instigated the whole Service-Learning enterprise when he was Vice-President for Academic Affairs in 2010, in our company. When our plane flew over the Arabian Peninsula, crossed the Red Sea and then flew over Ethiopia on the way to Uganda, it was an almost spiritual moment for us. It is said to be where modern humans originated. Yet it is generally perceived to be mysterious, at least slightly dangerous, full of excitement to be experienced. Enbebbe, the brief stop in Uganda, is famous for the daring rescue by Israeli commandos of hostages on an Air France airplane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists in 1976. It is yet another connection to momentous events in the world. When the plane flew over the as-big-as-an-ocean Lake Victoria, it was another dramatic moment. Our first trip to Rwanda opens another chapter in our service-learning adventure.
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