Day 4 - Kigali

My favorite thing about today was when two young women (Faith and Leila) who had been attending our workshop for film students this morning approached me at the very end to talk to me. Both of them were tall and reed thin and stunning -- they looked like sisters (but were not) and a lot like a darker version of the model Iman. They were incredibly shy and were holding hands with one another to make themselves braver and had huge smiles and were giggling in the most endearing way imaginable. They wanted to tell me that they had both been actresses in a film recently, made by their fellow students at the film institute and that they wanted to do more films. They were so gentle and soft-spoken that I had to stand inches away (well, under them, really) just to hear them, and had to coax them to tell me what they wanted to say. They promised that they would read the handout I had given them about documentary storytelling tonight and would think of a project that they wanted to work on together so that we could talk about it at tomorrow's workshop. They were just so cute and childlike and it completely melted my heart. It was pretty clear from their questions that they didn't entirely understand everything we had just taught them, but it really didn't matter. What mattered for them (and many other students here) was that they had met someone who maybe they could contact in the future for help on their work if they needed it. So many professionals and artists and educators were wiped out during the genocide that there is a huge need for mentors, especially for women, but really for everyone. Many (if not most) of the students have asked me for my email address. At first I was really hesitant -- I only wanted to give it out to the faculty. (If you've traveled a bit you know that often these email friendships eventually turn into requests for money and help with visas, and it's hard and uncomfortable to deal with. By the end of this trip, we will have had classes with well over 100 students so it has the potential to get completely overwhelming.) But I don't get the sense at all that that's what these students are after. I really do think that they just want advice and some encouragement for the work that they are doing. This isn't a country that is really looking for handouts. They want to pull themselves up.
When I really think about it, I figure that there are a lot worse ways to use my time than to maybe spend a few hours a week sharing emails with some people who I perhaps don't know very well, but I really like a lot.