Building Hope at the Rwanda Ariel Children’s Camp
By Heather Mason Kiefer
Washington, D.C.
December 15, 2009

Photos by James Pursey.

It was 5:45 a.m., and I was running up a hill in Rwanda.

The mist was lifting below the Virunga Mountains. I stumbled over rocks and potholes in the rutted dirt road and tried to keep up with the pack of children running ahead of me. The children were unfazed by the difficult terrain, although most of them ran in flip-flops. I pressed on, gasping for breath in the high altitude and trying to ignore the strange looks from passing locals.

You might wonder why I was doing this. The answer: I was attending the Foundation’s December 2009 Ariel Children’s Camp.

Children at the December 2009 Ariel Children's Camp gather for a group photo.

A child enjoys a bowl of porridge at breakfast.

The five-day Ariel Children’s Camp brought together 40 Rwandan children between the ages of 8 and 19, 10 HIV psychosocial support counselors, and several Foundation staff members. All the children are living with HIV and attend the monthly psychosocial support groups at Foundation-supported clinics in the eastern half of Rwanda.

The camp took place at the Foyer de Charité, a Catholic retreat and guest house that is quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth.

Many of the children who attended camp have lost one or both parents to HIV and have been forced to grow up far too early — shuttling between relatives and acting as caregivers to younger siblings. So the main goal of the camp was to have as much fun as possible. The children sang, danced, played ball, sat around the campfire, and ate tasty meals.

We took a day trip to Lake Kivu — the largest lake in Rwanda on the Congo border — and took a guided tour of the only beer factory in the country. (The adults sampled the beer — the kids had soda.) The highlight of the week for many of the kids was a live performance by Rwandan pop star Tom Close, who serenaded the children at the camp’s closing ceremony.

Children dance during a break from class.

But the camp wasn’t all fun and games. Each day, the children participated in educational sessions about HIV issues — receiving counseling on adhering to their antiretroviral medications, eating a well-balanced diet, and “living positively” with HIV. The camp was a rare opportunity for the children to meet other kids facing similar challenges and openly share their experiences.

My memories of the Ariel Children’s Camp could fill a book. But here are a few that stick out most in my mind:

• Listening to the children sing hymns at mass, their voices harmonizing as morning sunlight streamed through the chapel’s stained-glass windows.

• Watching the children puff out their cheeks as they inflated balloons to decorate for the closing ceremony. There were several balloon casualties but no one seemed to care.

Boys inflate balloons for the closing ceremony.

• Reading notes the children wrote during their “Living Positively” class, addressed to other HIV-positive children around the world. One note read: “Don’t be afraid because there is a future. Please hope to live longer because God is there.”

• Tramping up into the hills to plant trees in honor of Elizabeth and Ariel Glaser, and all the other children who have lost their lives to AIDS.

• Watching the older girls perform a traditional Rwandan dance at the closing ceremony. The dance was so beautiful that it brought me to tears.

Children perform a traditional Rwandan dance at the camp's closing ceremony.

I’ll never forget any of this, but what will stay with me above all else is the children’s health and vitality. From 5:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night, they sang, danced, ate, ran, jumped rope, played soccer, and laughed. The children’s energy was limitless — and every one of them is living with HIV. These children are living proof that the Foundation’s programs are not only saving lives, but also enriching them.

“I feel strong and believe I can perform any task like any other person,” said 19-year-old Olivier, the leader of our early morning run. “I’m running a small business that helps in my schooling. I’m now in secondary 5 and I have hope for the future.” Olivier lost his parents and sister to HIV, but now lives on his own and is putting himself through school.

As the children and I neared the end of the run, we passed beneath a banner that read: “Ariel Children’s Camp 2009: Building Hope.” Fourteen-year-old Claudette grabbed my hand and we ran across the finish line together, laughing. Building Hope, indeed.

Heather Mason Kiefer is a senior writer/editor for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. This was her third trip to Africa and her first Ariel Children's Camp.