Welcome and thanks for stopping

This diary records the remarkable professional and profound personal experiences of Bpeace volunteers during our September 2007 mission to Rwanda, a country we return to again and again

---- 16 to 18 hour work days, punctuated by joyful, often exhausted and sometimes silly team moments are what make up a Bpeace mission. We tried to share as much of the total experience as possible. The team would like to thank all of you who continue to visit our blog to learn more about Rwanda, the Bpeace programs and the impact we are helping create ----

But we would like to offer a special thanks to ALL our volunteering business people who work 365 days a year to assist missions behind the scenes, serving as year round long distance mentors, developing training materials, offering their industry expertise and stepping up to raise money and find support where and when our Rwandan associates need it. We hope all of them and all of you enjoy the journey. . .

This is not about gorillas . . .

Rhythm of Rwanda : Finding home

Pushing higher

Enjoy yesterday's slideshow as we play it in our mind's eye. Hours counting down so yes, we pushed hard to continue the work after yesterday's emotional experience. Peter mentoring Ange in Butare and taking photos of Symprose's restaurant for her marketing brochures. Steve conducting more service training with over 40 staff of Sylvie's and Francoise's. Kate, Susan and Richard interviewing Bpeace staff candidates, Kate meeting with FINA bank to get the latest understanding of the local economic and banking environment. A quick trip to the U.S. Embassy. Exhaustion is setting in after days of 16 to 18 work schedules. We will send a final word and hopefully a gorilla pix or two. In the meantime . . .peace

Finding meaning : In sorrow and joy

It was a day to never forget

Be in the moment. Breathe. Flow. Move through it. From the deepest wells of sadness to dances of joy. Our associates asked us to join them today through it all.

Bpeace in Rwanda . . . associates, volunteers and staff . . . gathered to visit the Gisozi Genocide Memorial in Kigali. 258,000 people have been laid to rest here in mass graves. It is one of many sacred sites all over the country. We laid wreaths to honor the lost amidst the sounds of raw grief under bright sunshine. Once again struck by the test of ones own humanity that Rwanda provides. Holds a mirror to the soul. How much good and how much evil do we each contain? What would it require for evil to move you? Rwanda stands as proof of our human vulnerability. We need to abandon judgment if “never again” is to be realized. All people should come see this place.

And then a hot sunny afternoon in the green gardens of Sylvie’s amusement park. Sylvie has made such a place of beauty. The tent was pool side, decorated with flowers and the food and refreshments began to flow. Just how to transition from a sorrowful morning to a joyful afternoon? Somehow we did it. We threw the agenda and formal presentations aside and just started talking. Bpeace’s Business to Peace Projects were the path. Many ideas. The generosity of the associates continues to surprise us. Our 2nd year program plans moved all to applause. An opportunity for two of the Rwandan associates to join two of our Afghan associates in Dubai this Spring was welcomed with great enthusiasm. Just how will they decide which two associates are able to attend? Will be interesting learning experience. We hope.

Year One Graduation. Certificates, pins and pens. Our shared joy expanded into hours of dancing interrupted only by gift presentations and Steve handing out Customer Service certificates. Then more dancing . . .and more and more. Sweet relief at the end of a day which completely filled the heart and soul. Overflow. Tired souls. So much to take in.

But sleep was to wait as the team was hosted to a Rwandan dinner at Kate's friend Joy’s house. Russell, Kevin, Peter, Steve, Susan, and Denise (who joined us for the day and night from her work with Symprose in Butare) had the real deal, a Kigali dinner party with Joy’s many neighbors and our colleague Geoffrey from Rwanda Knits and Richard. Absolutely the most delicious food in Kigali and the most interesting conversation among Rwandans who quickly feel like old friends.

Winding down. Tomorrow is our last day before we all head to a day or two of refreshment. Stay tuned.

Building a dream's foundation: A beauty school

From Barbara Bylenga, meeting above with the salon associates and the Bpeacer who leads the dream:

"After weeks at home and an intense week in Rwanda exploring the idea of a beauty school, it was obvious to all that our associates's dream was a perfect fit with the goals of Bpeace, the aspirations of the orphan students, the business needs of the salon owners and hopefully the resources of a corporate sponsor like Regis (the training which they completed was such a GREAT example of education's power to change a person and a business) . . .even the government officials we met leaned in a bit closer and listened hard.

Why am I passionate about this project? As the Rwandan middle-class continues to grow (yes it is emerging!) this is one of the small business service sectors which will grow too. A beauty school offers untrained and otherwise unemployable Rwandans an opportunity to attain a skill that enables the growth of small businesses (four of them belonging to Bpeace associates) in which the Rwandan people are the main benefactors. It will create livelihoods and in the doing, hope! Peter Lien and I were incredibly moved by interviews we videotaped with young people orphaned by the genocide about their interest in attending the school and having a career in the beauty industry. For the most part, these orphans live in a compound supporting many other family members, with no visible means of income except gifts of charity. They so want to support themselves and change the course of their lives! The tears we all shed while they were expressing themselves are a testament to the strength and potential power the school will have in changing their lives.

There is so much work ahead! I hope everyone will get a chance to help this project along either through donating, fundraising, strategic thinking or hard work, because the high that comes with making a difference is an awesome feeling."

Can beauty be taught?

Before client obligatons pulled a reluctant Barb home, she led a work session with the salon owners, Kate and the Regis team to understand the associate's vision for a beauty educational program. Richard was the session moderator. Susan captured it all.

The session rocked. We identifed and weighed the pros and cons of various approaches. Physical location or Apprentice program? For profit or Not for profit? 5th partner to manage? Personal investment or loan . . .? Some decisions were reached. Others decisions need more analysis. Great questions were asked.

And a shared vision to educate orphans received full committment.

A mandate to economically empower more Rwandans was clearly felt.

Key for the Bpeacers observing was the incredible dialogue and collaboration among the salon owners to reach consensus. These women can work together. The dream will unfold with the assistance of many over the coming year. Barbara with her incredibile passion for this project will lead the efforts for Bpeace's support. Russell has already offered his. More corporate and Bpeacer help will be called upon.

Who will be compelled to help? You?

Customer Service 101 : We are here for you!

"Like none I have ever seen"

Regis training officially ended yesterday. A few reflections from Russell caught mid-way through in Harriete's salon:

"Before we began training we set out to visit all four salons we would be supporting. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised that they looked like salons in ANY town in America in spite of their challenges and limited access to supplies and educational opportunities.

All four managers are incredibly hard working and determined business women despite their life experiences during the 1994 genocide and the recovery afterward.

The degree of staff loyalty to their managers and thirst for knowledge is like none I have ever seen. Kevin is so consumer he wants to stay here. On our first morning of training we stressed the importance of good customer service, how to set up and prepare for the service, clean as you go, sweep up the hair, shampoo massage, clean your shampoo bowl, etc.. By afternoon, Susan from Bpeace observed that the associates were shampooing and massaging with alot of enthusiasm.

This experience is so rewarding, I will have more to share later."

"I love you"

Country side near Sylvie's amusement park

Barbara, Kevin, Russel and Susan meet at the outdoor cafe

Training at Jeanne's salon

Hoorah! We got our certificates!!!!

Kate in first person here: In a noisy, crowded van at the end of a long day of training, one of our associates grabbed my hands and broke throught the many voices and softly said "I love you." She continued . . . "You do what you say you will do. You mean it from the heart." And after a pause this New York cynic knew she meant the words. And with a silent reminder that this work is not about "us", receiving thanks or looking for it, I was grateful to receive her affection on behalf of many. Because it wasn't about me. She was talking about Bpeace. Her words are the best description of Bpeace's committment to our associates that can be expressed. I was the moved representative of the efforts of many. Honored to be here to receive the gift of thanks and in acknowledgement of everyone's hours of late evenings, missed weekends and postponed beach vacations.

So just what did we get done today?

• Completion of Regis training with graduation day for Sylvie's and Jeanne's staffs AND stylists from competing salons who Jeanne was generous enough to allow to remain. No wonder the salon was so packed. The questions during Q&A just would not stop!
• Continuation of Steve's customer service road show with stops at Francoise (restaurant) and Languida (funeral service) and her staff this afternoon. The associates have asked if Steve can stay behind. Honestly, we have never seen such a reaction to Bpeace training before. Steve may be the hottest man in Kigali.
• Meetings with US Embassy influentials. Thanks Danny (State Dept Economic Attache) for a wealth of knowledge. You are leaving Rwanda too soon!
• Bpeacers meetings on the proposed beauty schools which continued into dinner over fondue (Belgium influences cuisine). Big issues to be worked through
• One on one consulting with Constance at her shop and co-operative. Can we possibly get through these meetings without buying anything?
• Interviews with orphans who might participate as beauty school students. Powerful and moving stories which compell the team to reach for more here.

From Kate again: So enjoy today's pictures. Sorry no video but the writer is literally falling asleep over the keyboard, our dancing photographer is editing 600 photos and the rest of the team is exhausted (are you guys sleeping? I know at least ONE member who is already snoring and it is not me) so we are signing off for rest before we dive into HUGE day tomorrow . . .Peace.

Silly tired (and a little dance)

Crazy daze

Sylvie's amusement park.

Having fun at Sylvie's.

There's fun for adults at Sylvie's too.

Symphrose's beautiful hotel in Butare: Ku Itaba Hotel and Conference Centre.

Symphrose, left, and Denise.

Steve role playing customer service with Symphrose's staff.

How much work can you pack in?

• Steve and Denise were in Butare with Symprose teaching customer service.


• Kate and Barb were at Gahaya Links learning school building in Rwanda.


• Russell and Kevin kicked off Day One of training at Jeanne's salon.


• Barb and Susan lunched at the Serena with Kigame administration influentials.


• Kate and Sylvie consulted one on one in the garden.


• While Peter and phantom crew covered it all (almost getting arrested --- but that is another story).


• And all of us served as support for the salon training and Peter's sound "man."

The day was topped off with a lovely September evening in the breeze at Sylvie's amusement park. We are still talking about the vegetable soup appetizer and dessert crepes.

Peter once again is the man on photos but the team slipped in a few amateurs' snaps from Butare. . .You will be able to tell the difference

Rwandan beauty in motion

Universal language

Today was graduation day for the staffs of New Generation and Genesis salons . . .after a day which only reinforced that beauty is universal and so is humor. Saturday's Regis training was focused on color and customer service. The first resulted in newly born beauties (with the promise of more to come as a result of the training), the second in a salon filled with raucous noise as Russell and Kevin brought the house down as their comedy act tour came to Kigali ---- their role play of salon do's and don'ts brought screams of laughter even BEFORE the words were translated. Susan got in the act as a demonstration model to her and our amusement. The stylists were so proud to receive their certificates and our associates Brigette and Harriette were grateful beyond words. It is hard to describe how powerful the last two days have been. Tomorrow we begin again with Jeanne and Syvie's staffs.

More beauty talk continued over dinner as Barb, Kate, Susan, Russell and Kevin got locked into a conversation on how to continue and expand the beauty learning . . .it is all just beginning it seems for this team as we support our associates' dreams to establish a "school of learning."

As most of you know, this is Kate writing and my husband Steve has joined the mission as customer service expert. He has apparently hit the ball out of the park. From today:

"Word is out about Steve's customer service training. Harriette approached me with a pleasant demand to know when she was going to be able to spend time with my husband to learn about customer service. Harriette had heard he was "most excellent" from fellow Bpeace associates. Then Constance, one of our retail associates, introduced me to her second eldest son and she too spoke of Steve as "excellent". She was so delighted that he helped her think through how to solve a nagging staff problem, coming up with a fast idea."

It was a great day.

Longest distance between two points

Miami to Toronto.
Toronto to London.
Stop for 15 hours.
London to Rome.
Rome to Bujumbura.
Bujumbura to Kigali.

And FINALLY Denise arrives.

This intrepid (crazy) food and beverage industry expert will spend over a month working as a Bpeace traveling mentor with Symprose at her hotel, conference center and restaurant in Butare. Denise and Steve leave Saturday to kick things off with a customer service intensive.

Update: In the short weeks which followed the above posting, Denise went to fast work. Below is a highly edited excerpt (we don't want too must shared with the local competition!) from an email she sent us Sept 20th on her progress in Butare :

Muraho,

During my first few days in Rwanda, I participated in a customer service training program with Steve and I also got a chance to better understand Symphrose's business in detail. I found Steve's training to be very helpful, especially seeing how quickly the hotel's staff members caught on to what was being taught. They clearly understand the difference between good and bad customer service and stated that they would recommended that guests chose a different hotel if they could not provide good customer service. It seemed to me that they understood how to be sympathetic and empathetic to guest's needs.

The hotel is very bright, clean and quiet . . . .being away from the busy main street of Butare. Customers perceive this hotel to be of higher quality than others. This may be because the room price is slightly higher than its competitor's or because it is a new hotel and the other neighboring hotels are very old and not as clean as Ku Itaba.

After completing a competitor review at three neighboring hotels, Ibis, Credo, and Faucon, it is our conclusion that our competitive edge would be in promoting the cleanliness, newness and spaciousness of our hotel. The other hotels facilities are very old and they do not provide conference or banquet services. However, they all have an established reputation because they have all been around for more than 20 years each.

In an effort to establish a good reputation throughout Rwanda, building on our service delivery and building relationships with our patrons are key. During my 13 days here in Rwanda, we have developed new relationships with many potential guests and current patrons. We have hosted two luncheons for NEW DAWN ASSOCIATION, which is a local company that promotes Responsible Tourism. They also provide consulting and event management services. There events have been successful and they have noted the improvement service delivery and timeliness of service in our hotel. They have voiced there desire to return with other tour groups that they will have in the future.

There is also now a local radio advertisement for the hotel and street signs with the new Ku Itaba logo, which Bpeace helped design, can be found around town. The hotel is also advertised in the brochures being distributed by the tourism office.

Major areas that have been focused on thus far include the following: Appropriate greetings, suggestive selling, checking back at the table, wait times for beverages and food items, refrigeration and food storage and further training using the customer service guide book created by Steve combined with English phrases and teamwork.

This hotel has great potential to be the premiere hotel of Butare.

That's all for now.

Regis changes the face of beauty

An incredible day. Harriette's salon was packed with with hair stylists SO eager to learn that Russell commented at days end that the class was easier than those led in the U.S. Stylists from neighboring salons were at the door begging admission. Relaxation and cutting were the topics of the day. Four models left with beautiful new hairstyles. Color tomorrow!

Photo Credit: All by Peter Lien except for the one which Kate snapped of Peter in action with the video cam

Service breakthroughs

Steve and Bpeace's Retail Associates

(from left Languida, Console, Steve, Susan our translator and Constance)

From Steve:

"Listening to the women speak about their customer service challenges and together discussing ways to improve, showed that they were getting it despite their fears that Rwandans did not know anything about customer service. Interestingly, their challenges are no different than any other business person . . .effective training, keeping quality employees, ensuring that everyone is practicing good customer service, etc. It was truly inspiring to listen to the women speak about the reason they started their businesses and what they wish to accomplish.

I spent the morning with our retail associates. (Constance - African handicraft, Console - dairy bar and party supply, and Languida - funeral services). We built on Wednesday's introductory meeting by having each associate explicity define their business and create a customer service statement to support it. We then drilled down on how to exceed customer expectations, train staff, and establish establish protocols.

Then on to an afternoon spent with Solina who operates a plant nursery and landscaping business. Walking up the steps from the busy street and onto the grounds, I am transported into a oasis of peace. Everywhere are green plants and fragrant tropical flowers. The gardenia blossoms were literally bursting out as I watched them! I listened intently as Solina spoke of bringing the beauty of plants and flowers to all Rwandans. The plant nursery business is very new to Rwanda so Solina is truly a pioneer.

Four women, four stories, all equally wonderful and inspiring."

Salon snaps . . .

Bpeace and Regis are finding beauty all over town

Russell and Kevin hit the town visiting all the salons todays in preparation for the 4 upcoming days of staff salon training. Both were impressed with the foundation the salons had established. It was both amusing and reaffirming to watch the Rwandan and American stylists find common ground, once again that which makes us alike is so much greater than the difference: a girl's vanity, the need for pampering, or the busy mother's need for speed . . .and a man's bemusement at it all. Indeed the search for beauty crosses oceans and cultures. Tomorrow the learning begins.

But for today, Barb, Susan and Richard led more meetings to discuss the potential of developing an Associate-led Beauty School meeting with Chris Page the founder Cards from Africa http://cardsfromafrica.com/, the maker of exquisite handcrafted cards. They followed up with on the local political scene with the Vice Mayor of Kigali, Dieudonne Rumaragishyika.

Meanwhile Steve was let loose on Kigali solo (well chaperoned by Susan, our Rwandan translator and Bpeace partner) to continue his one on one work with the associates resulting in new customer service strategies and staff action plans. While visiting Constance's store he picked up some beautiful Batik shirts.

Despite half his luggage remaining lost in South Africa, Peter has managed to still come "packing" photo equipment but no clothes. Inspired by Steve he made an emergency run to Constance's shop today for some new shirts . . .Kate joined (of course) and snapped up nicely woven baskets and was overwhelmed with Constance's retail evolution over the past two years. "Wow. A bigger, well merchandised shop filled with good quality crafts with lots to purchase. Susan our Rwandan translator purchased a necklace while we bought baskets and shirts --- a perfect retail storm for locals and tourists".

African food and an evening out

From left: Kate, Russell, Susan, Steve, Danny, Kevin and Barbara.

While waiting for Peter Lien to arrive later in the evening, the team enjoyed a wonderful evening at Republicka, a great local African restaurant and a Bpeace favorite. Danny, the economic attache from the US embassy joined us .

Tell us your worst customer service experience . . .

Steve waiting it out, as Associates fill-out evaluations of his customer training workshop.

And the Bpeace customer service class began with a quick interactive discussion of the best and the worst of Rwandan service. We discussed the inconsistency of Rwandan's natural hospitality and desire to please with the absolute lack of any understanding of service . . ."It is not our culture and we must stop saying it is so as an excuse to late lunches and rude shop keepers!"

From Steve, "Our associates have a keen sense of what makes good and bad customer service. The challenge is for them to define it for themselves so that it supports their individual strategy and get the employees to support and even lead it. They have to avoid the trap to say that they will offer the best service, when the word doesn't mean anything."

In the days ahead, Steve will be conducting customer service intensives for our associates with each industry group: B2B, Tourism & Hospitality, Retail and Beauty Salons. In the meantime, it has been suggested that Bpeace take on the whole country's woes and offer country-wide training. None too soon as this weekend's New York Times has highlighted Rwanda as a future hip hot tourist destinatation and the team has noticed the Serena is filled with new tourists.

Schooling beauty

Jeanne welcomed by the genocide orphans she mentors.

Barbara, Jeanne's Bpeace mentor, peeking over her shoulder.

Notes from Barbara . . .

Richard, Susan and I spent the morning hob-knobbing with government officials in search of direction and help as we investigate the possibility of a Kigali beauty school.

'The Rwandan government is very supportive of our associates' plans and welcomed the idea. These interviews are getting us closer to understanding how to create a successful school, and importantly to being “in” with the people who can help the associates make it happen.

We were lucky enough to be touched by several young people orphaned by the genocide who live together on a compound. Most were between15-25 years old. To survive they take donations, beg, work menial day jobs, but for the most part are supported by their extended families. We captured their reactions on video as we told them that Bpeace associatess dream to create a school for them where they can learn the skills needed to work in the beauty industry. They passionately expressed that an opportunity like this was beyond their hopes and dreams because it would “raise” them and their extended families to a lifestyle they never dreamed. To them, the gift of “opportunity” was far more valuable than any donation they could have received.

Jeanne, one of our associates, brought us to them. She has committed herself to finding work and training for them. Many will be coming to the salon owners training sessions with Regis to work as our models this week. We look forward to getting to know them better and being further inspired by their stories.