July 20, 2008 — As we pulled into what seemed to double as a parking lot and stage in front of the Robero Orphan Center in the hills above Kigali Sunday, one by one, three dozen young voices joined together, singing, "We are so happy to see you, we are so happy to see you."
Their song soon became the background for a fully choreographed dance routine expressing their gleeful welcome.
Slightly dazed from two days of not-uneventful travel, nine Virgin Islands teenagers emerged from the vans that had carried them to the planned get-together from the Rwandan capital.
After a round of "Amor, Amor" the orphans' harmonies filling the heavy air — the two groups began to mingle.
Robero orphans are attracted to earrings. They are also attracted to digital cameras, tacitly directing us to take their pictures and then show them to us.
Andrew Casazza took the game a step further, letting a young boy in a bright red shirt take a picture of him.
"How did he do?" I said.
"He was moving the camera all over the place," Andrew said, delighted with the encounter with the curious little boy.
We were not the only visitors to show up to hang out with the orphans and see the cultural dances that are routinely performed on Sundays at the center. It is school holiday in this tiny country just south of the equator in the heart of Africa, and we were introduced to another group that had set up "soca camp," and another summer program directed at girls. On an earlier tour of the Rwandan capital, we had seen brightly dressed women walking along the sides of the road everywhere we turned. Freddy Budaramani, our intrepid guide and protector for the next 15 days, had explained, "Sundays are for visiting."
The 100 or so orphans and supporters gathered in the dusty red driveway/stage were swaying and clapping in rhythm, as the next group of five dancers accompanied by as many drummers and singers ground up the earth beneath their skipping and prancing feet, nearly shrouding them in dust.
Soon the teenaged Rwandan dancers were holding out their arms to our Virgin Islanders, inviting them to join them. Stelli Warner and Jmoi Powell immediately took up the invitation.
This is why we came. In that moment, every hope of those of us who dreamed up this extraordinary experience for our young people was fulfilled.
"The orphans love when people come," Emmanuel Ngabire, one of the centers founders said later in a quiet moment behind the yellow cement building that houses the office, reception area and a bakery that helps support the center. Nearby a newly acquired milking cow a gift was being fed guinea grass by a young man referred to as "the cow boy."
Our official aspiring photo journalist Denzel Browne summed up the afternoon best in a moment we shared at the end of the day as we downloaded his photos.
"Its nice to go to a place that is still in contact with its culture," he said. "It really gives you a feel for where you are."
Editor's note: For more about the trip, read first lady Cecile deJongh's Travel Journal.
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