For many reasons, we chose Joseph to represent the school and travel to Canada. He was serious about a future for himself and he put much effort and attention into any assignment he was given. For example, about one month before leaving for Canada, he was asked to study English on his own, with just the aid of tapes and books. Joseph took up the task eagerly, without even knowing where he was going, or when!

So there he was, on February 29th, 2008, on a flight out of Kigali bound for Calgary via Nairobi, Kenya and London, England.  I can only imagine his inner excitement as he was traveling onboard an aircraft for the first time in his life!  Any previous travel in Rwanda, by bus or car from a village to Kigali must have paled in comparison to his new adventure.  I can just picture him in London Heathrow airport; a busy scene of rushing travelers, fancy duty-free shops, constant overhead announcements and a selection of foods like he had never seen before.  I am told that he did a few tours of the London airport departure lounge just to enjoy the activity around him! (click on thumbnail to see full size image and description)

Joseph arrived to Calgary in the late afternoon of Saturday, March 1st and was met by the last gasp of winter in western Canada (or so we thought)!!!  He had left the warm, rainy temperatures of Rwanda behind only to come to bitterly cold weather in Alberta with snow still lying in pockets along the roadways and the trees bare of any sort of greenery.

Joseph stayed at my home for the first two days after he arrived.  He knew me because I had been in Rwanda a number of times, helping at CFJ Padri Vjeko Tailoring School and he knew my daughter, Jackline whom I have adopted from Uganda. She and Joseph could even converse in their own languages - Joseph speaking in Kinyarwanda and Jackline speaking her native Runyankore. So it wasn’t too strange for him.  I introduced Joseph to my family that weekend and my mother, who will be 88 years old this summer, welcomed Joseph with gifts of freshly baked bread buns, and home-made strawberry jam which he finished off in no time!

Joseph at Olds College

Joseph did not have much time to rest after his long journey. He had to be at the College in Olds, a small town 100 kilometers north of Calgary on the Monday. We managed a quick shopping trip to outfit Joseph with what he would need. He would be eating at the school cafeteria for most of his meals. The college had arranged a great place for him to stay while on the campus – a fully furnished house with three bedrooms that is used for hosting international students. Joseph was able to get from his place of residence to the school with little trouble; although, one day he and his crutches managed to get “baptized” a second time by taking a serious fall in the snow! We thought that winter would soon be over, but……alas….we had at least three more heavy snowfalls for Joseph to “enjoy”! But, he never complained ….not even once!

Olds College, Olds, Alberta

Joseph quickly got into the routine of the classes and impressed everyone with how hard he worked. He participated fully in the exercises and completed all his assignments as directed. He fitted into the group of students who opened their hearts and helped him out in many ways.

One student in particular was really good to Joseph. Inuk, a young woman living in The North West Territories, whose mother is Eskimo (her description) and whose father was born in Germany, is not only gifted in creativity, but is a warm, loving person with a heart of real gold. As well as graduating from the fashion college, she is a very talented woman in her own right – an accomplished artist in the skill of creating beautiful artworks made by Caribou Tufting – and has taken part in exhibitions as faraway as Siberia and Japan. We are seriously hoping that Inuk will come to Rwanda and perhaps grace us with her talent and teachings.

Joseph was warmly welcomed into the professional community at the college. The instructors were very helpful and spent extra time with him to allow him to understand the methods of teaching and what was expected of the students. This was one of the reasons for Joseph attending the classes – to learn the teaching practices in North America and to perhaps adapt what he has learned in Canada when he arrives back in Kivumu.

The classes could not have been better chosen. Joseph was able to participate in an advanced Pattern Making class, a “Contemporary Tailoring class (sewing a more casual type of jacket) and a class in Clothing Alterations. Joseph was also invited to attend three weeks of classes with teachers from Mexico who teach English as a second language in their home country.

(to be continued)