Sunday, August 7 

Eleven of us arrived safely on four different flights, all uneventful. Being Sunday, the Opportunity bank is closed and most of our clients would not be working, so we had a relaxing day. What a great group of people. And my one-year old grandson now has his own hand made mini-drum from the market we all visited.

We spent a couple sobering hours at the genocide museum, where we paid our respects at the mass graves of some 250,000 bodies. We heard how the world stood idly by as the buildup took place and the plans were exposed that resulted in one million heinous murders.

We also took a driving tour of the booming capital of Kigali, where cranes abound and many beautiful brick homes are being built. Blossoming vines lace miles of freshly paved parkways. Clearly, this country has moved beyond its darkest hour and is falling forward. Friday’s newspaper ran an article about the Urwego Opportunity Bank, and our new product through Western Union to provide money transfers. We feel honored to be a part of Rwanda’s reconstruction and growth.

Tomorrow we head out to participate in a couple Trust Group meetings and meet some of Opportunity’s clients. Thanks for being a part of something transformational.

—Mark Lutz, Sr. VP, Global Philanthropy, Opportunity International, Oak Brook, IL