Most of us would have difficulty finding Rwanda on a map. The tiny village of Kibeho does not even appear on many maps. But the small, dirt-poor community is forever imprinted on the hearts of an international army of volunteers – which included Orillia’s Mark Goode – that recently made a pilgrimage to the East African hamlet as part of a humanitarian mission that culminated with the construction of a playground and basketball court.
“It was an eye opener, for sure, to see first-hand the struggles and challenges they face,” said Goode. “For most people in that particular village, their main goal every day is to find food, to get water and to make sure they have shelter. It’s totally different than North America.”
That dramatic divide was laid bare when the Where Angels Play volunteers descended on the dirt-packed field adjacent to the Mother of the Word School at the top of the remote village. As Goode and his fellow volunteers set to work building the playground, villagers, filled with awe and wonder, lined up to watch.
“It was pretty amazing,” said Goode, noting the impressive new apparatus was “the first outdoor public playground in Rwanda. There were people there the whole time watching us build it; they were so excited.”
When the 12-day project was complete, and the playground and court were opened, the reaction was priceless. “When we opened it, there were kids crawling all over it and they didn’t know how to use some of the components. But to see the kids’ smiles and joy, it put it all in perspective how lucky we are in North America and how we take things for granted. It was so gratifying to see kids use something they’ve never been able to experience and to see them just so excited going down a slide. It was amazing.”
But it wasn’t easy – or cheap. Each of the volunteers had to commit to raising $5,000 to cover their travel, accommodation and shipping costs. On top of that, they had to overcome intense heat and the challenge of working at high elevation.
“It was a little tougher physically than we’ve found in the past,” said Goode, who has been involved in several builds in both the United States and Canada. “The heat was a factor and the elevation is actually higher than Denver, Colorado, which kind of surprised me, so it was more physically demanding.”
On top of that, some of the tools shipped in advance of the project did not make it to Rwanda. Thankfully, however, the dozens of donated bikes did reach their destination – much to the delight of the villagers.
The project was the first outside of North America for the Where Angels Play Foundation, which originated with a group of New Jersey firefighters who were inspired to build 26 playgrounds in memory of each of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
JT Lewis’s little brother, Jesse, was one of the shooting victims at Sandy Hook. In the wake of the tragedy, Lewis was counselled and inspired by a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda. That relationship led him to create the Newtown for Rwanda Foundation. “Almost simultaneously, Kids Around The World, a foundation that provides refurbished playgrounds to third-world countries, contacted Where Angels Play and asked if we would be interested in partnering with them overseas,” said Bill Lavin, one of the founders of Where Angels Play. “It seemed natural that we could, in the name of Jesse Lewis, repay the beautiful people of Rwanda for the kindness they had showed Jesse’s brother, JT.”
While that was occurring, Immaculee Ilibagiza, the best-selling author of Left to Tell, was praying for a playground for the school in Kibeho. “After visiting Kibeho, Rwanda, it was clear that this mission was not only possible, but vital to the community and we would be blessed to make this dream come true,” said Lavin.
Goode said he and his fellow volunteers were inspired to help after hearing Ilibagiza’s story. “Immaculee was involved in the genocide. She hid inside a wall in her house for almost a week during a tribal war and she was the only survivor of her family and her village,” Goode recounted. “Immaculee was quite emotional – as we all were – when the playground was opened.”
The project was a labour of love for Goode and his fellow volunteers. Despite the cost, the time away from family and his business, he said helping others “is contagious.” He is already scheduled to head south of the border to assist in more builds and is already in the planning stage to build a second Where Angels Play playground in Orillia in the summer of 2019.
“We were thrilled to build our first playground in Canada at Homewood Park in Orillia this summer in honour of Jacob Noble,” said Goode. “The second playground is to be built at the new recreation centre in memory of Adam Davenport.”
