Getting the Ball Rolling

Hey folks!
 I have just set up this blog to start getting people in the loop on what is going on with my trip and what I'm up to in preparation. As of now I have roughly $2000 saved for my travels. That's almost enough money for my round-trip plane ticket. The total amount of money I will need for this trip is roughly $4500. I'm working with my dad to set up a link that will be posted on here for people to donate money directly to my travels and living expenses while in Rwanda.

Apart from the whole money situation, I have been running a cleat drive to collect cleats for the boys in the orphanage I will be volunteering at. The orphanage is called Les Enfants De Dieu, locates just outside the country's capitol of Kigali. It's an all boys orphanage that is run entirely by the student body. You can read more about the orphanage here: www.enfantsdedieu.org. I reached out to a high school student from Peoples Academy in Morrisville, Vermont to help me with the cleat drive I and to raise money to have the cleats shipped over. More information on the progress of this project to come!

My friend Elena, who traveled with me in 2009, is spending the entire academic year with the orphanage. We will both be teaching English, and working with the students on their studies. I am also planning to spend time at a pre-school we like to call "Teddy's." Also located in the capitol, this is a school that 390 students attend, and there are only 7 classrooms. The building has no electricity or running water, a tin roof containing multiple holes, clay walls which crumble easily, and a floor made of dirt that creates a lot of dust on hot days and mud when it rains. I will be working with these students on their English skills as well.

Thanks for checking out the new blog, and I'll keep in touch with any new steps I have taken in this whole process!