May 15, 2008
Rwanda’s Alain Rwabukamba
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A new life in America is helping those back home
Eighteen-year-old Alain Rwabukamba grew up surrounded by the overwhelming horrors of tribal genocide in his native country of Rwanda. Now 18, he is receiving his high school diploma from The Harvey School on June 5, and looking forward to studying engineering at Manhattan College this coming fall.
His “American father” and mentor, Ed Ballen of Katonah, told The Ledger Alain has been blessed with “a fortunate serendipity” that started when the two met in 2006.
Mr. Ballen, his daughter Rachel and her friend and Harvey School classmate Amelia Lavin spent several weeks in Rwanda, doing volunteer work at Hameu Des Jeunes, an orphanage.
Alain, a cousin of Amelia’s by marriage, acted as translator for the American volunteers, and a fast friendship was born.
Since coming to America last summer and taking up residence with the Ballen family, Alain said his good fortune has translated into a strong desire to help his fellow Rwandans in their struggle to rebuild their country.
Taking a step in this direction, he is working with the Ballens and The Harvey School on a May 30 fund-raiser to benefit “Orphans in Transition: Friends of Hameu Des Jeunes,” a nonprofit organization he started with the Ballens to help orphans in Rwanda.
The fund-raiser will feature entertainment by Vanginanga, an internationally known Rwandan dance troupe; the Harvey Dancers; remarks from Joseph Nsengimana, Rwandan ambassador to the United Nations; and featured speaker Yvette Rugasaguhunga, a genocide survivor and human rights activist who now lives here and works for Lehman Brothers.
Life and death in Rwanda
Alain told The Ledger his childhood years growing up in Rwanda were haunted by the genocide that surrounded him and his family.
“I remember when I was in kindergarten in 1994, we would see the symbols of hatred splashed everywhere,” he said. “There were many things I could not do and many places I could not go. It was very dangerous. Bloodshed was all around me.”
The genocide that began in 1994 ultimately resulted in the death of 800,000 Rwandans. Between that and the AIDS pandemic, Rwanda now has more than 600,000 orphans out of a population of 9 million people.
“One of the hardest parts of growing up during this time was seeing the hatred around us and so many people that were trained to kill,” Alain said. “I saw the guns.
I saw people killed and lived with a sense of dread and threat. My father was put in prison the year I was born but fortunately no one in our immediate family was killed.”
Alain said his native country is now struggling to pull itself together after the genocide and has come a long way.
Coming to America
“I was always interested in coming to America because I had an older brother who came here to school and now lives in Connecticut,” said Alain. “When I met Mr. Ballen that summer, things began to happen.”
Alain has been living with Mr. Ballen and his family since he came to America last year.
Mr. Ballen’s wife, Sharon, approached The Harvey School before he came and they agreed to give Alain a full scholarship.
“I arrived on July 1 of 2007,” Alain said. “It was a brand new life. It has taken me a while to adjust to your culture, but I made some friends over last summer and by the time I went to school last fall I felt more comfortable.”
Mr. Ballen said Alain has done very well at acclimating himself to American life and that the small size of The Harvey School classes was a big help.
“To come to any new culture is always very hard,” he said. “You have to catch up culturally and socially. Alain never complained. It was probably even more difficult for him because Rwandans do not have a literature-based culture like we do, so their way of learning things is different.”
Alain said he was always interested in math and physics, which drew him to engineering.
“The language barrier for me is not so great in science,” he said. “But I am learning very well and looking forward to my studies in the fall.”
Orphans in Transition
Both Alain and Mr. Ballen said they hoped the community would turn out to support their May 30 fund-raiser.
“Things are getting better in my country, but there are still so many children there that need care and education,” Alain said.
Orphans in Transition: Friends of Hameu Des Jeunes is committed to helping orphans during three critical development transitions in a child’s life.
“The first is the early childhood education phase,” said Mr. Ballen. “This encourages learning and discovery through experience. The second and third phases take the children from preschool through middle school and on to a vocational high school for developing hands-on skills and competencies so students are able to gain employment and contribute to their communities.”
Mr. Ballen said the final overarching objective is to begin to rebuild a sense of community. “We want to build a group home and help to create small business to sustain community and provide jobs for children aging out of the orphanages,” he said. The ultimate goal is to provide leaders for post-genocide Rwanda.”
Alain says he holds hope for the future of his country and believes the upcoming fund-raiser will make a contribution.
“I am glad to be here in America and my family is glad I had the chance to come to this country,” he said. “I think this is a very good opportunity for me, but I will never forget what happened back home.”
Mr. Ballen said the May 30 fund-raiser is a step in the right direction.
“Entire families have been wiped out, and Orphans in Transition will help to establish educational opportunities that simply do not exist. It will also develop a way to avoid letting these orphans to become orphans again at the time they must leave the orphanage.”
Mr. Ballen said his timeline for getting Orphans in Transition fully up and running is about three years. “We are starting with the kindergarten program, which needs about $100,000 for us to set it up,” he said. “After that, we will move on to the other phases, with a total fund-raising goal of $300,000.”
The fund-raiser will be held at The Harvey School Performing Arts Center at 260 Jay St. in Katonah, beginning at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $50 for students and $100 for adults. Sponsor and special donor tickets are available in amounts ranging from $250 to $5,000 each. Anyone not attending the event may make a donation in the amount of their choice, payable to Orphans in Transition. Donations should be mailed to Ed Ballen, 5 Samuel Purdy Lane, Katonah, NY 10536.
For additional information about the event, contact Ed Ballen: edMB48@aol.com.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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