frederick, A story of Boundless Hope I am back in Kigali and transmitted both of my business plan. One for the tea Union and one for the microfinance agency. My journey is coming to a close end. This weekend I will celebrate the ending with the homecoming of Stromae but first I want to share the incredible story of Frederick Ndabaramiye. Frederick has a project -I am able. Frederick is also a good cyclist. He beats most people. I see a picture of a short man with no hands cycling his heart out. This is fantastic! Frederick is also a good painter and sells his work in the U.S. I was wondering if Frederick paints with his mouth. I have to find out more. Frederick arrives and he is just beyond warmhearted. He gives me a hug and a big smile, I hadn’t even noticed his hands were cut off. He moves his arms as if there are hands on them. He picks his cellphone from his pocket, drinks tea, uses a fork to eat, drives a car all without any problems. It is almost as he has invincible hands. Frederick is very smart, well educated and funny. You can not love this person. Years after the genocide, he sat on a bus and was stopped by genociders (killers, people that continued killing Tutsis after the genocide) The genociders got on the bus and asked all Tutsi children to step out of the bus so they could kill him. Frederick was then labeled as a Hutu and would not be killed. Frederick was given a machete and was instructed to kill the other Hutus. Frederick refused. Everyone was taken off the bus and the recognizable Tutsis were killed. Frederick had to watch. As a punishment for not killing the others, the genociders wanted to teach him a life long lesson. They tied his hands together and cut them off! It is a gruesome story that inspired him to open a large center in Gisenyi for other children whom were mutulated by the genocide. I visited the center and was schocked, to see it was so big. Blind kids were thought how to sow and make beautiful handicrafts. I picked up a map of Africa for my son to put pictures in. The schools teaches music, computer classes, English, you name it. It is huge. There are also children who are born with disabilities and not victims of genocide. There is also an elementary and kindergarten school. Kids without disabilities sit next to kids with disabilities. Everyone can speak sign language. Even the ones that don’t need it. Everyone is in harmony in the school. I entered a few classrooms with Frederic. They all welcomed me. We have a visitor from Belgium and her name is Francine. The children loudly said: Goodmorning and Welcome Francine! Other children did sign language to me. I told them to teach me how are you in sign language. So now I know it also. I continue through the center and enter the music room. I find a blind and deaf man playing the guitar. You can hear the pain in the music. In the computer class, I met a man whose eyes were taking out by the genociders and made deaf. The atrocities are real here but Thanks to Frederick and his team; they all have hope. They are signing, sowing, playing, doing all kinds of activities. Children without disabilities pay the fees for the children with disability. If you have no disability but your parents have, you pay half the price. This system is great. No one frowns upon you whether you are missing a leg, hand or not. In Frederick’s place everyone is able and he sure is the living proof. Disability is NOT an Inability You can visit the website of Frederick: www.iamABLEucc.wordpress.com Facebook: IamABLE Twitter: IamAble1