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.
4 comments:
The vibrancy of this mission is so evident and clearly eminates from the passion of the team. Thank you all. Most importantly the feedback of the Associates to Regis, and to the customer service workshops and intensives, has broken new ground for us in terms of bringing training beyond our Associates to their staffs. As we said from the onset, there are a lot of firsts on this mission, and their success, thanks to all of you, means they won't be the lasts.
--Toni
Kate,
Thanks for sharing your story. The impact (and joy) of everyone's efforts is being felt in the videos, photos and your written account. We appreciate you staying up late to get it down and offering us a glimpse into the progress being made.
With great admiration --
Sherry
It's so amazing to see how far our work has gone. You all are doing such a terrific job. Reading the stories and looking at the pictures really shows what a difference these women are making in their communities. I'm proud the first mission I joined has gained such momentum in future action, but I'm dying to be a part of it! Wish I could be there with you.
Much love and admiration for your commitment,
Delilah
OK Kate. You may not have cried, but I did reading this.
Athena
Post a Comment