New Site! New Site!

The TCE site has been pretty much inoperable since Christmas (notice the last blog post was from December) for numerous technical reasons.

A good friend of mine, and an amazing web designer is currently in the process of scrapping the old one and making us something incredible from scratch.

Here's a little preview of what the front page will look like:

Education Extension

I've been loosely following the election in Rwanda. Apparently, the incumbent president, Paul Kagame, made a pledge to extend free education into secondary grades.

Although I know it's just a pledge during a campaign and not a "done deal", this would be an enormous step in the right direction for Rwanda. Education is a basic, human right and every child should get to attend, no matter the financial situation.

Check out the article in its entirety here.

The Light in Their Eyes

There shall be peace on earth, but not until

All children daily eat their fill,

Go warmly clad against the winter wind

And learn their lessons with a tranquil mind.

And then, released from hunger, fear and need

Regardless of their color, race or creed

Look upward smiling to their skies,

Their faith in life reflected in their eyes.

Quoted from here.

Amazing People in Amazing Places

An amazing woman that I'm privileged to know, Sarah, is a teacher in Prague. For International Children's Day on June 1st, she decided to work with our Kids for Africa program in order to raise awareness and funds toward Africa's education system. Her students created beautiful sheets that were sent to Rwanda and Uganda, along with hundreds of pencils and other school supplies. Here's the product of her work:

There will be some very surprised and happy kids in Africa with backpacks and pencils in Central Africa when school gets back in session in August.

UPDATE: I currently cannot update the TCE site (long, never-ending story). I'm working on getting someone to rebuild the site. For now, check for updates here and here.

Life

I'm (once again) welcoming myself back to the Internet.

Usually, my absences are due to the busyness of updating the site, figuring out fundraising, and dreaming up my Master Plans. It's time consuming to update 5 different versions of social networking, you now? So I always put this blog on the backburner, for "one day".

However, this lengthy absence isn't due to the grind of TCE and the mega-infinite possibilities of social media. This is due to... life.

Life has never been more challenging for the Hannah household in the last three months. For reasons that I won't go into over the World-Wide Web, I have been completely incapacitated since late January. Frankly, I haven't done what I needed to do with TCE, writing, my friends, and especially my family. I don't even think I've done what I needed to do in terms of LIVING.

I feel like I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of things. I finally have space to think about other things BESIDES what's going on in my personal life. It's good to breathe again.

love.

Quick Update

I just recently posted a poll that can be found at the bottom of this blog (scroll). The poll asks what our next fundraiser should be (or is the most interesting to you) and gives you three choices. We, as a board, have been throwing around all of these ideas and we want your input! If you don't like any of the choices, please leave an anonymous comment on this post and tell us what fundraiser YOU'D like to see. We'll gladly post your idea on TCE's blog after our next board meeting in January.

Thanks for your help!

love.

Promises

I love the new year. New beginnings are always exciting and challenging. And, as you've probably learned from this blog, I like a challenge.

I try to take that same approach with The Change Exchange. Our board is always looking for new beginnings and challenges, and especially projects and people we can sink our whole heart into.

I've been called a little too "touchy-feely" when choosing TCE's projects and passions. My answer to that is, "So what?". Of course we want to choose projects and locations that pull at our heartstrings and fill us with joy. I'm only human. My board and volunteers are only human. And if this part of the world and these people affect us in a very emotional way, then we hope that we can connect the way we feel to you and hope you join us. If we can connect our passions with yours, then we can work on the technical side of operations.

This is why "Feel with my heart. Then think with my head." is my first personal and professional resolution this year. Here are some of the others:

• Update. Update. Update.
• Show my directors and volunteers how much I appreciate them on regular basis
• REALLY work on some out of the box ideas I've come up with... and not be afraid of them
• Host the biggest fundraiser we've had yet

And finally....

• Go back to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi and see this beautiful baby ellie's face again!

love.

Their Hearts

This picture was taken at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda. At this memorial, there is a section dedicated specifically to the children lost during the genocide.

Here is where I found this plaque, under a blown up black and white photo of a smiling, chubby baby. His information said he was less than a year old when he and his older brother watched their mother bludgeoned to death by a dull machete.

I want to print out this picture and carry it around with me, so when someone criticizes my dedication to African children, as opposed to American children, I can quit with the "We're all citizens of the world" and "Children are children, no matter which continent they reside" philosophies. I just want to be brave enough to quit my loquaciousness cold turkey and hold up a simple picture. And then walk away. Point made.

These kids are just kids, and they didn't make themselves orphans. The horrors and tragedies they have faced have nothing to do with them. Their innocence didn't cause a civil war. Their love for their caretakers didn't cause them to die at the hands of misinterpreted evil. Their need for food and shelter didn't cause their country to suffer in inexplicable poverty. Their love didn't cause their fate.

During this holiday season, remember that there are kids in this world that won't be celebrating with their loved ones, or not at all. Yes, some of these kids reside in America. And some of them in Africa. But I try to remember that each of us has our place in the world, our mission. Yours may be to focus on the country in which you work and play, and that's okay. But mine is where my heart lives, and that's in Africa.

With that being said, I'll be taking a short (seriously this time) hiatus from blogging, writing, TCE email accounts, and web updates this holiday in order to fully appreciate my outstanding family and support system. And to especially spend time with the child in my life, my brother Zack. I can't wait to celebrate with him. See you January 2nd.

love.

Remembering Rwanda

I can't believe it's been almost five months since I was in Africa. It has this funny effect on me really. I'm just starting to notice a trend.

Step One: I spend months preparing myself: mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I reflect, spend more minutes running more miles, pack, re-pack, and look over my journals to remind myself of the things I wish I would have brought the last time. (Last time, I wished I had brought dry laundry soap to wash my clothes in the sink. This time, I brought the soap, but I wish I would have been thinking enough to bring a rubber plug for the sink. Genius).

Step Two: I spend all of this built-up energy, peace, and patience in Africa. It's kind of like building up your savings account just so you can blow it all at Christmas. And sometimes, you use all of your savings within a thirty-day timespan and still max out your Visa. That's where I was this time around. Completely in the red. More on that later.

Step Three: Come home with a negative balance (in every literal and metaphorical sense of the phrase) and spend the next few months recharging. Once I feel like I'm back in a healthy balance, I can start actually remembering my experiences, categorizing them, and dreaming up witty ways in which to retell them.

I love to reflect and I love to write. So I always go overseas with the intention of blogging while I'm there. But I never follow through on that; I always scribble thoughts and key words that will help me unlock my memories in my paper journal. And that's about as far as I get. I'm realizing that it's just a process. Probably the same reason why I'm particularly bad at taking pictures in the moment. I'm always afraid I'll really miss the moment while I'm look through the camera lense.

This time it took me an exceptionally long time to get myself together in order to start writing again. I think this had a lot to do with factors outside of The Change Exchange. This time around, I got back from Africa, already in the red, and immediately started teaching at a new school, in a totally different environment, and in a high-stress position. Compound that with two graduate school classes, nine papers, three PowerPoint presentations, a grant and book proposal, two speeches, and four Board meetings later, I was so far in the red that it was burgundy. I never got a chance to recharge.

Now I blog to you from my living room couch, on a sunny, cold day in Michigan, in my pajamas at 2:30pm. All of my Christmas presents are wrapped under my tree. My house is the cleanest it's been in four months. My bills are paid, my dog is snoozing in my lap, and I have absolutely no work to do for classes or school. After five days of endless napping, eating and indulgence in hot baths, rendezvous with friends, and creative endeavors, I feel... human again. I'm ready.

Note to self: Write down "give myself more than a week after Africa before I start work and school" in journal. Another thing I wish I would have had this time around.

love.

Back Online

Hi internet world!

It's been a tumultuous few months in the technological world for The Change Exchange. To make a long story short, our site has been down for the better part of four months. That means for the better part of four months, I've been frantically trying to figure out how to update it. Finally, it's up and running, which means I can breathe and blog once again.

Stay tuned for updates and photos from my latest trip to Africa.

love.