"Every human emotion possible"

I connected with Barb Da Costa today who has been working with the Rwandan village of Rugeuero and the Twa people. Barb was born in Tanzania, and although she works and lives in Toronto Canada, spends much of her time with her boyfriend working on development projects in Africa.

Barb said that the emotional impact of the Rwandan genocide is still very raw. She told me I would see the "pink jumpsuiters" everywhere. These are people who have been convicted of genocide and are required to wear the jumpsuits as part of their punishment. The "orange jumpsuits" are reserved for those still on trial. She warned me that their "eyes will be very distant" and that signs of the genocide and aftermath will be everywhere I go. She said that I will, "feel every human emotion possible on my journey. Sometimes all of them at the same time." Her own experience was that her time and work in Rwanda has changed her forever.

But take hope, she said that I will meet amazing people and that the population is on a vision of rebuilding a better Rwanda today. President Kagame has a vision of a corruption-free progressive country and that they are working hard to make this a reality. Barb will be going back in early 2010 and we are brainstorming on how we can help each other and build on each other's work for more impact. More to come...

Please visit Global Relief Development Partners and my site there at http://www.grdpartners.org/social_entrepreneurship/elizabeth_cox.php as well!

Elizabeth Goes to Africa

In December I will be traveling to Rwanda to work with local entrepreneurs. In my travels through many developing nations (including Costa Rica, Cuba, Thailand, former East Germany, D.R., Mexico and more) there is a glaring lack of a middle class, entrepreneurs, and trade routes. When a country is built on a social government system, a large lower class, and a small upper class there is a lack of democracy, taxable income, innovation, education and progress. My hope is that we can help Rwanda, who is rebuilding their government and country after the 1994 genocide, to become a stable and sustainable economy through the creation of a middle-class and eradication of mass poverty. My dream is that we create a succesful model that is replicable around the globe.

The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed about fund raising initiatives, how you can be involved, and IS making a difference. I will also keep you up-to-date with how the trip progresses and introduce you to some of Rwanda's entrepreneurs.

Thank you, Elizabeth Cox