For the past few days, we’ve taken a closer look at the rockstars behind the scenes, who are absolutely critical in helping us serve over 120,000 refugees in Rwanda.
These aren’t folks who are in the spotlight very often, in fact, they rarely ever are.
So that’s why today, on Day 353, we’re showing our gratitude to some of our Rwanda teammates who fly under the radar, but who do so much to support what we do and to keep us safe – our cleaners and drivers.
We asked Bernad, ARC Rwanda’s Country Director, what we could do to show these teammates that we value what they do. His answer? A dinner, together.
“These drivers, they take us to nice restaurants all the time when visitors come, or when we have important meetings,” he said. “But I want to show them that dinner is not just for visitors and senior colleagues- we can actually all sit together , and what’s more, make the dinner about honoring them.”
So we gathered all the drivers and all the cleaners that are stationed in Kigali, where ARC’s head office is in Rwanda, and took them out to a nice dinner. During the meal, we spoke about why what they do is so important, and expressed our heartfelt thanks for everything they do. And, we gave them some gifts, naturally!
Our drivers take ARC Rwanda teammates throughout the country, visiting refugee camps hundreds of miles away from Kigali. They work all hours of the day, and sometimes late into the evening. And our cleaners take care of us – they keep the office impeccably clean, welcoming, and safe.
“These teammates are easily forgotten,” said Bernad. “But let me tell you, if they suddenly didn’t show up for work one day, we would notice immediately. We couldn’t function without them.”
The dinner was a time for everyone – not matter what their role or level of seniority – to come together as equals. To appreciate each other for who they are, as colleagues, and as friends.
Thank you, cleaners and drivers of ARC Rwanda! We see you, we appreciate you, and we couldn’t do this work without you!
