International Relations, Social Welfare '26

7/13/2023

July 13th, 2023

Our belief in our abilities will lead to our success, so let's make every effort to be more aggressive and strong every day.The best way to achieve this is to set goals and push ourselves to achieve them. Embrace failure and mistakes, as these are essential for learning and growing. Whenever you put your mind to something, you can achieve it. Believing in yourself and staying motivated is the key. And lastly, we should never lose faith in our own abilities No matter how difficult the situation is, we should always remember that we are capable of overcoming any challenge. We must remain determined and never give up. Believing in ourselves is the key to success. From Makka's illustration page, that's all I have to say. Thank you for visiting Makka's illustration page. My hope is that you gained some lesson or motivation from it. Please accept my sincere thanks for checking in and visiting my blog. Please like and leave a comment below what are your thoughts about my Rwandan adventure. I greatly appreciate you. :) >3

7/3/2023

My Rwanda journey poem: an overview!!

Here is the poem I wrote in honor of my Rwanda journey.

My original intentions when I wrote this poem were to respond to my experiences and expectations while visiting Rwanda. Being in Kigali Rwanda for two weeks has shown me that we can’t—and shouldn’t—think that a country that had a genocide is diminished or worsened. Truly, seeing Rwanda with all of our eyes has opened a new adventure for me and my class fellows. I began to understand that in life we shouldn’t judge a person, community, nation, or country. Rather, we must learn to understand one anothers’ needs and support them in any way possible. In life, if we learn to live with each other, we can achieve it together. In this regard, Rwanda has shown us an example of it.

I found delighting joy in the hills and valleys, and in the smiles of the people I met on my journey. I left Rwanda with a feeling of renewed energy, of having made memories that will stay with me forever. Rwanda renewed my perspective, and with that, I empowered myself. The spirit of renewal ignites our passion for doing more. Mashallah Tabarakallah! :)

Rwanda's beauty could be embraced together if we all embrace it together

We live and let live as our purpose for living

Let our lives be the starting morning of our day I’m a human with supervision

It's human nature to have super intentions

Embracing our own desires, we can find fulfillment

Accepting our individual needs is the key to success

When we acknowledge our differences, we can come together

We can be better together if we let our differences be our light

The root of our boundaries lies in emerging from each other

Become the gateway to the world by letting our light shine.

We can achieve happiness by embracing our differences

Embrace our power of lifting as the beginning of kindness

The path to renewal begins with forgiveness

Let our past be a motivational lesson for the future

We become our gateway between darkness and light

We have the power to make the right decisions and move forward with optimism

Let's use our experiences to guide us on a path of progress and success

Let us form a bond with each other

Let our light lead us to our destination.!!

6/27/2023

There is a beauty in variety and in time! Tamaam

Today we toured the Nyungwe National Park's Canopy walkway. While we were at Nyungwe Park we saw many monkeys and their babies, tall trees, nature sounds, etc. We walked downhill at the beginning. We walked for almost an hour to reach the 3 suspension bridges. I learned that on that bridge there are 3 suspension cables spanning 170 meters. The main span is 86 meters high and 70 meters above the forest floor. Most of us were afraid of the suspension bridge but we didn't let our subconscious mind wander through the darkness or let us down from our fear and comfort zone. We rather expect fear when going through the suspension bridge. From my perspective, while crossing the bridge, in the beginning, I felt sick in my stomach. I didn’t know what reaction to make, so what I kept saying to myself is that no matter what no fear will pass by if you don’t step in it and that’s what I did. I didn’t rely on my emotions or my comfort zone to take charge of me. The best version of myself is all that I should be striving for in my life, as my goal, and as my responsibility. The suspension bridge has taught me that in life we must dedicate ourselves to doing the things we are afraid of. Therefore, we shall get that self-release and feel like we are capable of anything in this life as long as we have faith and believe in God and ourselves.

Huey Coffee is known for its variety and period.. We began our coffee session by following the map instructions, which gave us an example of how coffee was grown or harvested. Coffee farming explanations were the first step, followed by a description of the regions and soils, assortments and periods, fertilization, and enemies of coffee. The sixth step was harvesting. We then reached the leasting point (Umunyinya) as well as hiked to the top of the hill and the Monument and Hicking Tower (Nyirankoko Rocks).

Coffee is generally divided into two types: Arabica and Robusta In fairness, whenever you want to buy coffee, make sure it is 100 to 90%, but if it's 70%, you shouldn’t buy it because it won't provide the same flavor and aroma. It's also more likely to be stale or of low quality. Additionally, it may contain more caffeine than you expect. And also make sure you know where coffee coming from. The quality and quantity of the enemy of coffee can The coffee is harvested by hand, instead of by machine. This is because they believe that harvesting it by hand gives it a natural taste, while harvesting by machine makes it lose flavor. The beans are then dried in the sun and roasted to perfection. The final product is a delicious cup of coffee with an exceptional flavor that can only be achieved by hand harvesting.

6/24/2023

Here's a day in the life of the Urukundo Learning Center

The main objective of the day is to create peace. People's beauty connects them to each other. The most valuable thing that I have always kept in mindis that we have learned the value of forgiveness. We learned how it feels to be in someone else’s shoes. Let’s follow along with the flow. We visited Urukundo Learning Center, where we saw chickens, cows, and pigs, and the school, Guss room, and dental clinic. Afterward, we also toured Mama Arlene's house, which was filled with African traditions and decorations. Mama Arlene did a fantastic job with how she used her skills and senses to build the school, dental clinic, etc. Yesterday's tour showed us that everything is possible as long as we dedicate ourselves to it with effort, determination, and consistency. Therefore, "whatever you believe you shall achieve” is a promise to continue to do our very best each and every day. Our daily pride and gratitude should be based on this inspiring quote. Let's use Mama Arlene's courage and determination as a source of inspiration to achieve our own dreams and goals. In order to make her quote an inspiration and to never lose faith in our own abilities, let's strive to make her quote a motivation for all of us.

Today's lesson is a full-day story-based learning teacher training at Urukundo Learning Center. Having the opportunity to collaborate with the Ubumwe team was a great pleasure for me. They brought a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm to the course. I love each and every one in my cohort for the dedication, effort, and passion they had while we were training them about the story-based learning process. Because of their hardworking attitude towards each other and their intense celebrations, the journey was easier and smoother. I’m so grateful and thankful for these opportunities. Additionally, I enjoy engaging with a variety of teachers from different schools, as well as at Urukundo Learning Center. They are kind, caring, respectful, and supportive of one another with loving, caring, respectful hearts. I never had to work with or assist twenty people in a single group. However, today I work with the Urukundo learning center and other teachers in this district. In turn, I was able to increase my productivity, and confidence, and assist them more effectively. I have learned how teamwork really pays off through my work with my Ubumwe team and they have taught me how to do it. I’m truly honored to be part of this amazing community at Urukundo Learning Center.

According to my Ubumwe group, the three most significant words on the list are courageous, intelligence, and happiness. Their theme was “Courageous is a key to success." It’s because of Ubumwe group I’m here today, it’s because of y’all I had the opportunity to assist y’all in story-based learning. As a matter of fact, each group that performed at the event was amazing, Mashallah. They brought joy, happiness, excitement, and motivation to continue telling our stories, not just in writing or keeping silent, but rather by embracing and elaborating our thoughts, feelings, and emotions into story-based learning that can be enhanced through storytelling. Consequently, we will have more opportunities to share our experiences and knowledge with others, allowing us to pass on our experience and knowledge.

Two of the lessons I took away from my Ubumwe team were based on the subject of mathematics. The first lesson presented to my team was "The prime numbers". The teacher started the lesson with an activity (He quickly stated that we should discuss and find the factors or divisors of the following numbers such as 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and 10) he told us to (work in pairs). He gave us five minutes to pick from the list which numbers are the prime numbers, and then he started calling each group to answer the question. Therefore, group one begins by saying 2, which is a prime number, using story-based learning. Next, group two answers 3, followed by groups 3, 5, groups 4, 7, etc. 2,3,5,7 have 2 factors. If a prime is a number that itself has only 2 factors, then these are all prime numbers. Our next lesson was the addition of whole numbers between 500 and 1000. Keep in mind that we had two additions, one with carrying and one with adding one to ten. Then I would place 0 in the ten columns and add 1 to the ten columns, etc. As an example, 391 + 479 = 870. I would first add 1+9 = 10, then place 0 in ten columns, then add 1, and so on. As an example, we used SBL (story-based learning) to find prime numbers in these two exercises. We formed a circle and started with a member of our group who started with 1. Seeing that 1 is not a prime number, that person was asked to simply say it by moving his/her hips or by forming a motion. Afterward, we moved on to the second-person set, who demonstrated how two is a prime number using their hands and whole body.

6/23/2023

A day in Aziz life, this is what a typical day looks like

We had a wonderful time today visiting Aziz Life I would like to begin by saying that we had the privilege of taking a tour of the Aziz family's lives. Upon entering Aziz's building, the environment was full of African decorations that were for sale in the area. Afterward, we headed to Aziz village, where we spent the rest of the day. Women in Aziz village welcomed us with open arms, full of happy faces, ready to welcome us. I was absolutely astounded by the door decorations they had on their entrance and one of the women was holding one of their homemade baskets full of pink flowers that had been thrown over us and it was enchanting to see how they tossed the flowers on us. It's Mashallah!! As a warm-up, we then danced together Following that, we embarked on a tour of the women's house within the community, after which we returned to the backyard and were shown how to peel sweet potatoes, and also how to cut spinach, by the women. Our next step was to get each of us a water bucket and we went on a 20-minute walk to carry it out. While walking on our way we saw many people staring at us because we were singing and hitting the empty water bucket. This would give our song a rhythm! Lol Our group continued to sing, saying Muraho, Bite, and walking until we reached the water fountain. After we all got our water we walked back uphill, which was challenging so we got tired! But what I learned was that with every hardship comes an easy path. Due to this, we have all become accustomed to going away with water in our hands, while others have also learned to balance it in their heads while heading back. (AKA like Makka) Which was awesome, to be honest.

6/21/2023

We are here and we are here now! A day devoted to story-based learning.

Story-based learning was the basis of today's lesson. We had an amazing day with young incredibly talented people. Who all have bright eyes with brilliant minds full of stories. Mashallah Tabarakaallah! First and formally we began our story-based learning lesson by forming an open circle, standing up with our soft knees, and our shoulders up. We took three deep breaths inhale and exhale. We then all hold one another's hand for instance, "one hand is giving and one hand is receiving.” Next, one person begins to squeeze the person next to them in a soft manner. As the story progressed around the circle, it was passed around until it reached its origins at the center. At the end of the story, we all shared our experiences, commons, and insights with each other. We also gave feedback to the group that showed their story play, guessing what words they used. In the following steps, each group showed the story-based learning movement that they formed together as a result of their collective effort. We finished our day by watching Professor Drew give a PowerPoint presentation on the importance, the significance, and the resilience of story-based learning as we concluded our day. As part of his explanation, he explained how to use it properly in schools, and with other people whenever we need to share our stories with them so that we leave them with a sense of motivation, resilience, and gratitude after telling our stories to them. The professor also taught us that stories have the power to help people understand our feelings and experiences better. He encouraged us to use this knowledge to build empathy and connection with the people we communicate with. Lastly, he reminded us of the importance of being vulnerable when telling our stories.

6/20/2023

It is with great thanks that I acknowledge the Rwandan Reconciliation Village

Thanks to the Rwandan Reconciliation village community who shared their remarkable stories and experiences about what they saw during the genocide. The government has implemented several initiatives, such as ensuring citizens' health and well-being. The Reconciliation village has shown us an example of forming a unity, for instance, They have three houses the first house is for the survivors, who survivors during the Rwandan genocide. The second house is for the perpetrator. In addition, The third house is the place for those who fled the country, and who believe that the Rwandan genocide does not exist or does not occur. As a result, these individuals do not wish to return to their homeland. For those individuals who were intensely interested in returning to Rwanda, house number three would be the place where they would be assisted if they did. however, from my perspective I believe that Rwanda has made significant progress towards sustainable development, forgiving one another no matter what their circumstances are, giving and receiving, and putting other needs first, like we before me. The Reconciliation Village has taught us that regardless of what injustice someone has done to us in life (excluding the act of self-harm) we must value and respect each other. We must try to solve the issue within the community before reporting it to the police or proceeding to the government court. The other takeaway is How the Reconciliation village supported each other after the genocide. For instance, the Reconciliation village supported one another by giving a baby cow to each neighbor whenever the mama cow gave birth. With that, I realized how important it is to love, to be harmonious, to respect, to trust one another, and to have one another back. Mashallah!!

6/19/2023

Learn, learn, and relearn! It's never too late to learn

Never stop learning because there is never a wrong time to learn. Such as whenever you learn something, that's not the destination but rather we should always learn it again and over again because life is about learning, growing, exploring, advancing and having fun time as the same time.

On day two of our visit to Kigali Rwanda, we went to the memorial of the Kigali genocide during our exploration of the city. As always the Kigali memorial will always stay recalled and imprinted in our hearts, both now and in the future. In the past days in Rwanda, there was a good understanding of the importance, the difficulties, and the trauma that victims and survivors in Rwanda have gone through throughout their lives. We heard stories of resilience, strength, and hope for the future. We also had the opportunity to meet with local organizations that are working to address the issues surrounding the genocide and its aftermath. Overall, the visit was a powerful reminder of the human spirit's strength.​

Today’s tour of the second memorial center was heartfelt, sad, heartbreaking, inspiring, lessons, hopes, etc. Many of us felt sick inside that we couldn’t express our gratitude, and feelings to each other; instead, we took a moment of silence to acknowledge everyone's feelings and what they are experiencing in the present moment. We were grateful to pay our respects. We all left the center with a newfound appreciation for the sacrifices made by those before us. We shared stories and experiences and gave thanks for the lives lost in the pursuit of our freedom. It was an emotional and powerful day.

6/19/2023

Recalling my childhood memories!

The memory of a memorable moment brings back childhood memories. Those moments can be happy, sad, or anything in between. No matter what, the memory of it can bring a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of connectedness to our past. It can also help us remember the lessons we have learned and the moments we have shared with our loved ones.With that, I am referring to my homeland (Chad), where I truly love and honor my people. I made many amazing and unforgettable memories in the refugee camp in Gaga Chad, which will always remain in my heart. As a result of my past experiences, I have become a stronger and wiser person as a result. I would like to express my gratitude to my parents for everything they have taught me, as well as for all of the encouragement they have given me throughout my life. They have always reminded me that my future is bright and that I shouldn't give up and continue to fight for what I believe to be my human rights and dreams to the highest level of my abilities. It is because we need humanity around the world in order to live in peace and harmony. Ameen In sha Allah ya rab

6/17/2023

While visiting Rwanda

I had an endless journey First and foremost, our trip from Buffalo to New York by bus was a wonderful adventure. It was an incredible experience to see hills, rivers, cars, mountains, housing, etc.