After nearly 35 hours of travel across two countries, I arrived in Kigali late Sunday afternoon. By the time we pulled away from the airport, I was carrying that familiar mixture of fatigue and gratitude that comes at the end of a long journey and the beginning of work that matters. Mapendo mentioned that traffic was slower than usual because it was Sunday, but Kigali still felt like Kigali to me. Moto taxis moved in and out of cars with practiced ease, the green hills rose beyond the road, and the city carried on in that steady rhythm that always seems to welcome you back before you have fully caught your breath.
We stopped at a small café on the way to the villa, and I had my first Fanta Citron since returning. That cool, bright taste felt strangely familiar, like one of those small details that tells your body what your mind is still trying to catch up to: you are here again.
"Trauma-informed care isn't a program you implement. It's a posture you inhabit. And nowhere has that truth landed harder for me than in this vehicle, on this road, watching Kigali settle into the late afternoon." — Dr. Laurie Bailey, field notes
The Villa
We made one more stop at the grocery store for a few necessities before heading up the steep path to the villa. Cynthia, the caretaker, greeted me with the kind of warmth that settles a place before you have even set your bags down. We carried my luggage upstairs to a large room, and not long after that I was asleep beneath the white curtain of the mosquito net stretched over the bed.
There is a particular kind of sleep that comes after international travel. It is not graceful. It is not measured. It is surrender.
This morning I sat at the table eating breakfast, looking out at the beauty around me. The air was cool, the breeze steady, and everything outside seemed to hold that familiar mix of calm and purpose that I have missed. It is good to be back.
I also brought two suitcases full of school and medical supplies. We ran into a bit of an issue at customs, so today we will work on retrieving those items that were retained so they can get where they are meant to go. The work is always meaningful, and sometimes the first part of that work is simply persistence.
Later today I will meet with a teammate from Rwanda Children to take care of logistics and prepare for the rest of the team to arrive early tomorrow morning. For now, the trip is still in that in-between space — not fully begun, but no longer just anticipated.
I am reminded again that none of this is done alone. This trip is carried by the generosity, prayers, encouragement, and practical support of so many people who gave what they could so that laptops, school supplies, and medical supplies could make this journey too. I am deeply grateful to be here, and grateful to begin again.
More dispatches coming as we go.