For those of you who don't believe in divine intervention, here is one for you.
All the volunteers and orphans of Rwanda were at a dinner thanking us for our volunteered time. The dinner was outside and the crickets and frogs were serenading us as the sun set. I was talking to Helene, the in-country coordinator for Water for People about French-speaking Canada. which is where she is from. I said the only time I had been there was on a rugby trip when I was in college. The next day Honorine, the orphan who has been my partner from the start of the project said "Did I hear you right, that you play rugby?" I said yes, and she said that she also played rugby for a while in high school but had to quit because there was not a team at her university. So then we got into this conversation about how I started the women's team in Denmark and how it was one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. I explained to her that this would not only give her the opportunity to play a sport she loves but the possibility to come away from the experience knowing that all the hard work involved could introduce women to a sport that they might have not ever been given the chance to play. Honorine is incredibly feminine and pretty and would be an excellent example of how you can play rugby and not compromise your femininity. Having played hooker (a position in rugby for all you non-rugby players out there) for the Rwandan National team against Uganda and Kenya, I'd say she knows what she's doing!
Rugby is very empowering. It builds confidence, team-building skills and leadership. It teaches you how to win and lose gracefully and instills the desire for continued and relentless self-improvement. If Honorine decides to start a team, I honestly believe she will be contributing to leadership in her community.
I know there are a great many of you out there that love the game and hope she decides to take on this challenge. I also hope that you will join me in wishing her luck if she does!
How is that for synchronicity?!
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