Day 5: Walking in Their Shoes

MindLeaps Rwanda

Saturday, May 16th, 2026

Day 3 helped me understand Rwanda’s history.

Day 4 introduced me to Rwanda’s natural beauty.

Day 5 allows me to experience something even more meaningful, the lives of the people we traveled so far to serve alongside.

Our day began at MindLeaps Rwanda, an organization dedicated to helping vulnerable children and their families build brighter futures through education, life skills, artistic expression, and economic empowerment.

Upon arriving, we were given a tour of the facility and introduced the various programs offered through MindLeaps. What immediately stood out to me was that the organization focuses not only on supporting children, but also on empowering their parents. While the children receive educational support, computer training, dance instruction, and opportunities to develop leadership and life skills, parents are provided with vocational training and income-generating opportunities to develop leadership and life skills, parents are provided with vocational training and income-generating opportunities designed to help create long-term stability for their families.

Rather than addressing a single challenge, MindLeaps takes a holistic approach by investing in both the child and the family unit. It was inspiring to see a program focused not simply on immediate needs, but on creating pathways toward self-sufficiency and sustainable growth.

As part of our visit, each group was paired with children enrolled in the program for what was described as a “Day in the Life” experience. The goal was simple: spend time with the children, walk their daily routes, visit their homes, meet their families, and gain a deeper understanding of their lives and experiences.

My group was paired with two boys, Abdul and Pio, both approximately 11 to 13 years old.

What I did not realize at the time was that this experience would become one of the most impactful moments of the entire trip.

After leaving the center, we began walking. The temperature was approaching 80 degrees, and what initially seemed like a short walk turned into something much longer than and of us anticipated. Along the way, we learned that many of the children regularly walk one to two hours each way in order to participate in the MindLeaps program every Saturday.

As a parent, I found myself trying to imagine my own children making that journey on foot every week.

Yet Abdul and Pio walked confidently, navigating roads and pathways they knew by hear.

As we make our way through the community, I found myself observing everything around me. Many of the roads were unpaved, consisting of dirt and rocks. Despite the challenging terrain, the roads remained active with people moving throughout the community,