A good English teacher.

Laurie sent me a note received from Mary Powell. I'll post it below - Mary has visited us in Menomonie, Mary is very cool, for many reasons.

Muraho!

I'm sitting in the early morning fog right now, thinking about the last three months at Marayundo. Our students have all gone home for their two-month vacation, and the campus is quiet and empty. I already miss these girls and can't imagine what I feel this time next year when I know I am not coming back. I have gotten to know some of the most spectacular students this term. Our sixty seventh graders have demonstrated for us their deep commitment to learning and their understanding that this is their chance. Most come from the surrounding Bugesera District, traditionally one of the poorest and most neglected in the country. Between 1959 and 1994, it was the region to which many Tutsi were sent to live because of its propensity for drought and malaria, and its people were ravaged by the genocide in 1994.

Our students are defiant in their struggle to succeed -- and it is a real struggle. With all of their classes instructed English, the act of learning becomes a daily battle. Physics, which is in my opinion a nearly impossible subject to begin with, is now a test of sheer will, and Rwandan History class takes on new meaning.

Learning English is the biggest obstacle at our school, and it has become clear over the last term that the new tutors' presence is critical to our girls' success here. Many of them need extra help, so he have developed a group tutoring program which enables us to reach as many struggling students as possible. When our new crop of seventh graders arrives in January, we will be ready with intensive English tutoring that may make a critical difference as they plow through their first year here.

We have had some good times. The second and third photos I've attached show one what was without a doubt the best day of the term. Fifteen of our students participated in a district-wide poetry and drama competition on the subject of violence against women. In photo #2 you can see Albertine, our Fine Arts star, portraying a victim of domestic violence. You can tell by the look on Martine's face in #3 which Bugesera school won that competition...

The most important part of this term for us tutors has been the opportunity to become a part of this campus and this community. My counterpart and I have been working with local school directors, English teachers, and members of the district staff on English and computer training. On campus we are developing extracurricular opportunities such as Debate Club and Computer Club, and developing an effective tutoring system. This has been our chance to learn.

I am preparing to come home for a much-needed rest, but I can't help but look forward to the first week of January when our students march back through our gates for another round. Our student body will double in size next year -- I am already blow away by these students' grace, intelligence, and saavy, how will I possibly have enough room in heart for twice as many of them? I know how our eighth graders will react: hazing and initiations which I have told them will not be allowed...but may pass with slightly less punishment if it's conducted in English...

I cannot possibly thank you enough for your support. I hope you will someday be able to meet these astonishing kids -- they will knock your socks off.

My very best wishes,

Mary

A visit to Mayo in Rochester.

Went with Dad to visit Dr. Croghan (the Oncologist) yesterday morning. He explained the circumstances regarding the fracture in his leg, and talked about making some changes to his cancer treatment once the lab work is back from pathology. Waiting is hard, but Dad is busy rehabilitating his leg. His surgery Friday of last week went well, he's up and moving around nicely.

Fall Color

 

This view includes the nice Roses from this year's Rotary Rose sale, and some of the fall color out back.

The delivery of roses...

Finished up the last of my Rotary Club rose deliveries last night. Each year there are a number of unique reactions from the wives or girlfreinds. This year was no exception. One cried, one insisted that there was some other explanation (her husband just couldn't be responsible) and another was simply surprised that she was unaware that he had done this (she seemed to assume she was aware of his every move...)

Music from last week...

Need to do a little catching up around here. It was nice to have Patrick home for a couple days last weekend. Milwaukee seems to suit him. He spent a good bit of time here searching for warmer clothes, the beach volleyball season on the Lake Michigan waterfront must be ending.



Tuesday my friend Robert and I went to hear Joe Satriani at the State Theater in Minneapolis. It was a great show. A special treat for me was getting to see Leslie West and Corky Laing open. These are two of the three members of the band Mountain. All in all a very entertaining evening.




Friday night, went with Greg W., and watched the Music Builds Tour at the Target Center. The tour was organized to benefit Habitat for Humanity. I was able to get some really great seats and enjoyed that show as well. I don't know if the accoustical upgrade work in the venue has been completed, but it sounded pretty good to me, better than before. Greg is the electric guitar player in the Cedarbrook Band, and a big fan of Third Day.




Finally, it's been reported that this is an unusual year for the vivid fall colors. The combination of rainfall, and temperatures over the past few months has given us the most beautiful leaves that I can recall. It's really something to see this year. The Pioneer Press has a slide-show, be sure to click the little icon in the lower right hand corner of the slide-show viewer to make it appear in the "full screen" version for a better look.

Stanford's biggest gift to date.

I do like the way this guy thinks, when we are given much, we have responsibilities that extend beyond our comfort.

Business Wire founder seeds Stanford stem cell lab: "I don't want airplanes and boats and country club memberships. I believe that if you fall into a lot of money like I did, you put it into the soil -- you replenish the soil for next year's crop." That's the philosophy of Lorry I. Lokey, who started the Business Wire news release service in 1961 with $2,000 and sold it to Berkshire Hathaway in 2006, when it was valued at $500 million. And his mouth and money are in perfect sync. Stanford University announced today that Lokey, class of '49, would contribute $75 million to the medical school to help build the nation's largest center for stem cell research. Groundbreaking is scheduled for Oct. 27, and when it is complete in 2010, the 200,000-square-foot building will house 350 scientists working on research that could bring breakthroughs in the treatment of a whole range of devastating ailments.

"Stem cells are going to be as significant as the silicon chip that created Silicon Valley," said Lokey. "Stem cells are going to introduce an entirely new field of medicine for extending lives and improving the quality of life. ... At 81 -- I expect to go well past 90 -- I might see the benefits. There's a chance. But the real application will be for the 38-year-old person who survives a heart attack and has heart damage. Stem cells may be able to repair the damage. To me, that's worth the money I put in." Lokey has committed about half a billion dollars of his fortune to philanthropic efforts, mostly in education and science, including $20 million for the Stanford building that houses research labs for the departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences. But he targeted stem cell research in particular after the Bush administration set severe restrictions on federal funding in the field in 2001. "I'm terribly disappointed in the current administration's outlook. It's very narrow-minded," he said. "This is about lives being saved." Lokey's gift is the largest to the medical school from a private individual and one of the largest capital gifts to Stanford.
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From an article appearing in the Silicon Valley News.