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Cindy's Travels
July 21, 2008
We spent Sunday at church services where we met so many smiling people and children. It is overwhelming to see such hope in the faces of people who once knew such pain only a short time ago. We also had an opportunity to learn about the work being done to encourage tourists to experience Rwanda's rebirth for themselves. Be sure to look for the amazing gorilla photo, too!
I made a special friend at church today! |
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Meeting children outside after church. |
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I met several students from North Carolina who are serving others in Rwanda. I applaud you all! |
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This is Rosette Rugamba from the Office of Rwandan Tourism. She has shown us what a clear direction of conservation and development can do for a struggling country! |
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Incredible views of some rescued gorillas in the Mountain Gorilla Veterianary Park. |
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Rwanda is an extraordinarily beautiful country! |
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July 20, 2008
April, 1994
I was in Rwanda and Goma, Zaire during the genocide and the humanitarian crisis that followed. I can still vividly remember the smell of death, the terror literally in everyone's eyes and the death from disease that came with the millions that escaped. The doctors and nurses that came with me are still heroes of mine. They risked their own safety and health to provide some critically needed medical aid primarily to the hundreds of thousand of orphans that resulted from this tragedy. The day I arrived, I had to step over the body of an infant to get inside the shelter where we were staying.
July, 2008
My memories of those tragic weeks still haunt me, but today, I saw what true human spirit is about. I visited the Genocide Memorial to all those tragically brutalized and killed because of their ethnicity. I paid my respects, fought back my tears at the photos and stories of the infants and children depicted on the walls, placed a rose on the mass grave, said a prayer and sat to think a bit. What occurred later was what will affect my vision of the world from this day forward.
A young woman began to slowly and carefully tell her story of surviving multiple gang rapes, running at night, no food or water and witnessing the death of her entire family one by one before her eyes. The illness, hopelessness and despair that followed when she was faced with no family or home were almost unbearable. She was 15 years old when all this happened in 1994.
Today, I watched as she looked up and with eyes as clear and thoughtful as any woman can have, and proceeded to tell us why she forgave her perpetrators. And then, for the good of all Rwanda, sat side by side with a man who had committed identical crimes pledging to share this story for all so that such cruelty never be repeated again.
Her strength and the strength of all Rwandan women is what will make this country great. I felt so small, somewhat embarrassed and extremely humbled to be in her presence. After my tears, I tried to tell her of my admiration for her courage. The words wouldn't come. She told me with her eyes and her touch as I had told her.
I will carry her with me forever.
We laid a wreath on a mass grave at the Rwandan Genocide Memorial. |
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Our memorial guide lost his entire family during the genocides. |
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The women I met who survived multiple gang rapes, the loss of her entire family and home. She was 15 at the time and now leads the cause for forgiving the perpetrators. |
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She is the strongest women I have ever met! |
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Coffee processing is all done by women and by hand. |
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Mike Huckabee and me sharing our passion for great coffee! |
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Former Congressman John Kasich and his wife, Karen, enjoying a moment with the coffee cleaners. |
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July 19, 2008
Cindy is visiting several global aid efforts in Kigali, Rwanda led by the World Food Programme. Additionally, she was able to meet with the leadership of Women for Women International. Since it's creation, Women for Women International has empowered over 153,000 women survivors of war to move toward economic self-sufficiency with a year-long program of direct aid, rights education, job skills training and small business development. They have distributed $42 million in direct aid, microcredit loans, and other program services. You can learn more about this amazing work at www.womenforwomen.org.
These women are the head of Women for Women. Inspiration is their life. |
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Precious commodities: water and cooking oil. |
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I meet with one of the teachers who instructs jobs skills training. |
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These are women are empowered by the knowledge they gain through Women for Women. |
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I was amazed by the tremendous efforts of WFP on behalf of the Rwandan people. |
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You can truly see the hope for a better future these women now have in their smiles. |
July 2, 2008
Continuing coverage of Cindy's recent tour of charity work in Southeast Asian takes another look at the operations of the World Food Programme and Pour un Sourire d'Enfant ("For a Smile of a Child"). Cindy visited a local school which serves children in need by providing emotional support and skills training. In this video, Cindy reviewed some of the school's morning programs for the children. Be sure to listen for the humorous song choice for the children's morning activities.
June 30, 2008
Cindy recently visited an Asian operations center for the World Food Programme. WFP, first established in 1960, is a branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian agency. 90 million people a year are provided food through WFP who would be otherwise unable to provide nourishment for themselves or their families.
June 27, 2008
Cindy's recent trip to Cambodia included an inspection of the horrible living conditions some families endure. This gallery includes a look at some of the amazing work being done to serve these suffering children in this part of the world by The Cambodian Children's Fund and Pour un Sourire d'Enfant ("For a Smile of a Child"). Cindy visited a local school which specializes in bringing some normalcy to children in need by providing a positive environment and critical training so they will be able to find work and support themselves as they mature. Cindy was welcomed and given a personal tour of the operations by Wayne Matthysse, the director of the Wat Opot Project of Partners in Compassion. Wayne was wounded in action as a medic in Viet Nam and has dedicated his life to these children whose parents have died of AIDS, and many who are living with this disease.
June 25, 2008
Over the last few days, Cindy has been wrapping up her trip to Southeast Asia where she has surveyed some of the most devastating conditions people can endure. While in Cambodia, she toured one of the area's enormous landfills and the impoverished children and their families which live in them. Helping these people in need is The Cambodian Children's Fund and Pour un Sourire d'Enfant ("For a Smile of a Child") organizations.
June 22, 2008
Continuing a tour of southeast Asian humanitarian operations, Cindy visited a warehouse center for the World Food Programme. WFP, first established in 1960, is a branch of the United Nations and the world's largest humanitarian agency. 90 million people a year are provided food through WFP who would be otherwise unable to provide nourishment for themselves or their families. Nearly 60 million of those served annually are children. The tour included a review of the enormous warehouse operations WFP facilitates and a chance to meet some of the volunteers and workers who provide immeasurable aid to those in need.
June 20, 2008
This week, Cindy visited the Operation Smile clinic in Nha Trang, Vietnam. There she visited Phuoc Thi Le, a Vietnamese girl who had come to Phoenix, Arizona as an infant over ten years ago with her family seeking reconstructive surgery to correct her cleft palate. Cindy helped facilitate the opportunity for her to have the operation and make it a success. It was a joyful reunion seeing the inspiring results of that surgery over a decade later.
June 11, 2008
Yesterday, Cindy visited the Sisulu Walker Charter School in Harlem, New York City. She was given a warm welcome by students, teachers and local media. Cindy, a former special education teacher, said "I chose to come here because of the school's high record of achievement. We need to look at what is working and see how we can make it even better."
June 3, 2008
Cindy recently caught up with Clint Eastwood and yes, that's him in a pink McCain hat. He wears it well!
April 15, 2008
Cindy recently visited HALO Trust's operation in Kosovo. She met with the de-miners and reviewed minefields and cluster bomb strikes. While in Kosovo, she talked with the students of a school that still has unexploded munitions in their playground. She also spent time with the members of HALO Trusts operation in Kosovo learning about new de-mining techniques and the obstacles HALO faces in making Kosovo mine free. She wrapped up her visit by meeting with both the President and Prime Minister to get their assurances of their commitment to a mine free Kosovo. Shortly after her visit, one man was killed and three were injured at a site she had reviewed.
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Here are links to some of the charitable organizations that I have worked with over the years. These are just a few of the many worthwhile organizations working around the world. I encourage you to find one that fits your interests and give of your time - get involved! Click on a featured
organization below.
Cindy McCain has long been an advocate for children everywhere and their health care needs in particular. She founded and ran the American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT) from 1988-1995. AVMT provided emergency medical and surgical care to impoverished children throughout the world. Cindy led 55 medical missions to third world and war-torn countries during AVMT's seven years of existence. In recent years, Cindy has dedicated the bulk of her volunteer time to three international organizations: The HALO Trust, Operation Smile and CARE.
The HALO Trust is a non-profit organization dedicated to landmine removal and weapons destruction in war-torn countries. HALO has 7,000 mine clearers in 10 countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Balkans. As a member of the Board of Trustees for the HALO Trust, Cindy has traveled to Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Angola and recently returned from her second visit to Cambodia. On each mission, she has observed the mine clearing process and seen the impact HALO has had in people's lives by removing landmines. She has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of HALO's life saving work. "It is impossible to describe the emotion of watching villages erected before your eyes as recently cleared land is handed back to its once displaced people."
Cindy also serves on the Board of Directors of Operation Smile, a non-profit organization whose mission is to repair cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities for children around the world. Operation Smile also works to build partnerships between the public and private sector to advocate for sustainable healthcare systems for families. Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has provided free reconstructive surgery to more than 100,000 children and young adults in 25 countries. Cindy has assisted on volunteer missions in Morocco, India and Vietnam. During those trips she has seen firsthand the life changing effects of Operation Smile's work.
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