Moving to Kibungo

On Thursday, I was collected by the Ngoma district car and taken to Kibungo, my new town. The journey was very scenic with lots of beautiful hills and people to watch. Here are a few snapshots of the journey:

When I got to Kibungo, Alice was waiting for me at her house, which is now my house too. It is a large house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The water and electricity come and go but we are well stocked up with candles, a charcoal stove and jerry cans full of water. When everything is working, it is even possible to have a hot shower!

Resource-making room:

 Rice sack made for me by Alice:

 Communal room:

 Kitchen / cooking rooms:

 Cooking room:

Looking back and Looking forward

On Monday, all of the new volunteers were taken to Gizozi Memorial Centre to learn about the Genocide of 1994. There were exhibitions on the Rwandan Genocide and other Genocides which have happened in the world. The parting message was very clear; "Never Again". It was a difficult subject to learn about and some of the pictures / videos were very hard to look at but I think it is important to know what happened. I recommend any visitors to Rwanda to go there to learn more. As it is the period of commemoration at the moment, the torch was lit in the courtyard:

On Wednesday we met Jean-Pierre, a 22 year old National volunteer. He came to tell us about his work with VSO and the English club they have set up for Rwandan youths in Kigali. The youth in Rwanda today face many problems which were worsened by the Genocide. For example, caring for younger siblings where parents are no longer there, caring for family members with injuries, trauma and trying to find work having missed a lot of their education. On top of this there are gender issues and poverty. When talking about the Genocide-related issues, Jean-Pierre said "do not focus on what we did in the past, instead look at what we can do in the future".

On Wednesday evening, Coral and I went to the English club and met thirty (or so) young Rwandan people. They were very enthusiastic and enjoyed asking us questions in English. It was a lovely, positive experience which was very enjoyable after the difficult visit to Gizozi.

Creativity at the weekend

Yesterday, some of the current education volunteers came to show us examples of the resources they have made in Rwanda. This included a plethora of rice sacks which had been colourfully decorated to provide children with visual aids in class. Examples included stories to display on the walls (Some classes have no story books at all), maps to help Geography and number cards to aid their maths. In the absence of interactive whiteboards, posters and printers, rice sacks are the next best thing. There were also some very creative resources made using foil food tops, bottle tops and food lids. Lots of inspiring things!

Last night we had our welcome dinner, where lots of the current volunteers and programme staff got together so we could meet each other. The dinner was lovely and each course was suplemented with traditional Rwandan dancing, which was great fun - my pictures do not do it justice though! During the evening we had a power cut and I stood by the bar holding the bar tender's mobile phone to provide some light so he could continue serving drinks until the lights came back on. It was very beautiful looking outside and seeing the entire district in darkness. And, of course, it was a relief that the bar tenders didn't skip a beat!

After a well-deserved lie-in this morning, we visited the big market in Kigali. Despite the mix of strange smells and multitude of flies in the food section, it was a very impressive market which sold a wide array of household goods, food items, clothes and shoes. Coral and I enjoyed picking out some fabrics to take to our local tailers in order to get them made into clothes. My choice is on the left and Coral's is on the right. I also treated myself to four mangoes which cost me £1. I am going to share them with the volunteers at dinner tonight so hopefully they will be tasty. Unfortunately only three mangoes made it home. I am not exactly sure where the fourth one went but I hope it will be enjoyed by someone somewhere tonight!

Moto-taxis, burritos and a story about snakes.

My VSO-issued motorbike helmet had its first use today as we ventured into Kigali for fast-food dinner.

As is often the case in Rwanda, the journey began with haggling with the over-ambitious moto-drivers. After we agreed a price, which I was later told was quite high, we set off. I was a bit nervous about weaving in and out of the busy city traffic but the driver seemed competent enough and got me there in one piece, despite taking a detour up a steep pedestrian ramp when the main road was closed! It is really impressive how quickly the little motos can travel up the big hills in Kigali, especially over cobbled and uneven roads. At the end of the journey, I was rewarded with a burrito stuffed full of vegetables, rice, sauce and cheese - delicious, and the margarita wasn't bad either! Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of me on a moto but I am sure you can picture it.

-

I had an interesting conversation with one of the Ugandan volunteers after dinner last night whilst we were walking across the compound back to our rooms. Recently, he had friends visiting him in Uganda from a western country (I don't remember if it was England or somewhere else). He asked the visiting man why he looked so agitated when they walked together in Uganda, explaining to me that it seemed he was always searching for something. The visiting man replied that he was checking the ground for snakes. At the end of this story, the  volunteer chuckled loudly and asked whether I thought the visiting man was foolish. I had to confess that for the duration of his story, whilst we were walking, I had been scrupulously checking the ground for snakes too! This really made him laugh.

In-Country Training update

So now our in-country training is well under way. Last night we had a visit from the British High Commissioner which was very interesting. We also had our first Kinyarwanda language session this morning and I realised that for the past three days I have been saying goodbye to everyone incorrectly (murabeho). This is the form of goodbye you use when you are going away for a long time and do not know when you will return - No wonder the bank and shop assistants gave me grumpy looks when I cheerfully said goodbye to them!

We also visited the VSO office today, which is on the 16th floor of one of the tallest buildings in Kigali. Here we are, the new volunteers, in the office:

And this is the view out of the window behind us. No wonder some of the VSO staff find the glass lift a little daunting!

Kigali city and beautiful birds

It was our last day of settling in today before our VSO in-country training starts officially tomorrow. This afternoon, we went on a great tour of the city in VSO cars. The city is not big but it is very clean and has greenery every where. Also, the buildings are really brightly coloured with lots of blue roofs and pink walls:

Whilst we were out, I spotted some amazing birds sitting in the top of a tree and was very pleased with the action shot I captured:

We also managed to register our phones and I bought an internet dongle so I can be online whenever I like (it costs 1000RWF for 1 day which is about £1 so I probably wont blog every day!). One of the other volunteers, a man from Zimbabwe, get very excited because he managed to get Whatsapp working on his phone and his daughter was eagerly messaging him from home. I am hoping to get this sorted on my phone soon, too. Then I will be just as well connected as I am at home.

African travel and princess bedding

Mwirie (Good evening) - I have now been in Kigali for 24 hours.

 

 My journey here was long because we had another stop-off in Entebbe, Uganda after the long wait in Ethiopia. I did not mind the wait though as the passengers on the plane were very chatty and I ended up giving a Chinese man an English lesson. When he offered to give me a Chinese lesson I politely declined and said my head was already full of Kinyarwanda so I didn't want to confuse it!

 

My accommodation here is lovely. I am sharing an apartment with Coral, an existing volunteer. We have a bedroom and bathroom each and my bathroom even has a shower with warm water. This was very exciting for Coral because she does not have a hot shower in her placement accommodation. Here is a picture of my room and the view of Kigali from my bedroom window. I enjoyed preparing my mosquito net last night - it makes me feel like a princess!

 

 

Something interesting I learnt about Rwanda today - You must carry food and drink in a bag in public and you should not eat or drink on the streets. I'm not sure why this is but I think it's

because not everybody has access to food and drink and if you show it, you are expected to share it!

See you later, Alligator!

So, after a long few days of finishing off admin and saying goodbye to family and friends, I am finally on my way. After no wifi in Heathrow, I am now happily connected in Addis Ababa airport, Ethiopia. My flight from Heathrow was just under 8 hours. Now I have a 4 hour wait in Ethiopia and then a much shorter 3 hour flight, after which I should be in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, at about 2pm local time (GMT+2).

Over the next 14 months I hope to use this blog to share my experiences in Rwanda and I will include as many photos as possible along the way. Please reply to my posts and let me know what's going on in your lives too.

Amy x