A Great Weekend!

So I’ve been very busy lately and I’m getting over a cold so I haven’t been keeping in touch. I did a lot of interesting things this weekend though! On Friday afternoon we were invited to a traditional Rwandan wedding, on Saturday morning we participated in Umuganda, and on Sunday we were invited by a prof at INATEK to go on the first-year field trip to Akagera Park.

The Wedding

                One of the students that we have been in touch with is Eric. It was his friend’s sister that was getting married this weekend and he made sure that it was ok to invite us. Kathy and I took the bus to Kayonza (40 minutes from Kibungo) on Friday afternoon. The bus stops right at St-Joseph’s so it was very easy for us. Eric met us at the bus stop and his friend Patrick picked us up to bring us to the wedding. We made an unexpected stop before going to the wedding because Patrick had brought 2 traditional dresses for us to wear. He pulled into the place that he works at, and a lady from the kitchen came out to help us put them on. We were very thankful to have the traditional outfits because the dresses we had brought only just covered our knees which would have made us feel even more uncomfortable at the wedding that we were crashing.

             

          We learned that there are 3 events involved in a Rwandan wedding. First is the civil ceremony where you get your certificates at the district office, then the traditional wedding, and then a church wedding/reception. At the traditional wedding the families meet formally and negotiate the dowry and such. It was all in Kinyarwanda so we didn’t really understand what was going on, but there were many of gifts given to the bride’s family (including a cow...but I never found out if there was actually a cow or if it was just an exchange of money. The men of the bride’s family did however leave the ceremony to ‘go look at the cow’). There was also a lot of traditional dancing and singing. It was great! The ceremony took place in the yard of the bride’s family. There were several tents set up, and the one for the wedding party was decorated in a lot of leopard print. The leopard print was also incorporated into the outfits of the wedding party. This is because traditionally the people would have worn the hide of the dangerous animal for special ceremonies.

Umuganda

Umuganda is a very interesting tradition in Rwanda! It is kind of like mandatory community service for everyone is Rwanda that takes place on the last Saturday of every month. It’s always different every month, but the whole village, or several villages, will all work on a project together. The umuganda closest to us was in a sector called Karenge, where several villages from the area came to start building a primary school. We got there a bit after 9 am and there were already several hundred people there with hoes, picks and rakes to flatten out a foundation. Apparently the building of the school is some sort of deal between the government and the village where the construction has been contracted out to a private company but the village also needs to help out and be involved. At first we just helped out by getting rid of large rocks, but then we each took a turn hoeing. Hard work! It reminded me of the few days last summer where I was working out in the field planting lettuce at Agriculture Canada. I didn’t last that long...10-15 minutes before taking a break that didn’t end. I sat down for about 10 minutes, and then when I stood up to go move some more rocks I felt very light headed. This went on for quite some time until I finally got up to let someone know that I was going to go home and I almost fainted! So I sat in the shade for about 20 minutes and Kathy gave me some Gatorade powder from her first aid kit (very smart!) and I then I felt well enough to walk home.  I think it must have been a combination of my cold, the hard work (albeit for a short amount of time), and of course the sun. I must have really looked like a weak/lazy muzungu...hopefully it goes better next month!

Akagera Park

                

             Kathy, Sung Kyu and I joined the first-year students from the faculty of rural development on their field trip to the national park. We spent 9 hours on the bus traveling to the park, and then driving all throughout it with a guide trying to find some animals. We heard from people that had already been to the park before that our trip was relatively quiet as far as animal sightings go. But I had a great time! The geography of the park was quite varied so it was really interesting to see. At the start it was really dry and SUPER dusty, then we came upon several lakes. The land was very lush around the lakes, with papyrus and palm trees and lots of hippos! Towards the end of our trip when we were way up North in the park the savannah became a lot greener and there were many more animals. It looked like The Lion King! We saw a lot of baboons, a variety of antelope, hippos, crocodile, buffalo, zebras and water buck. Sadly no giraffes this time. The guide told us that “sometimes they can hide”. Here are some pictures. We were extremely dusty, hot and tired after being in the bus for so long but it was worth it.

I am posting this blog from the Bourbon Cafe in Kigali as we had to come in for the day to have a meeting with World Vision to discuss the terms of our partnership. We have a lot on our plate! I will post more details about the project soon but I think it’s getting off to a great start.                                                                                                      

Getting settled at St-Joseph’s

It’s definitely the rainy season in Kibungo! We just arrived at our permanent residence in Kibungo, Rwanda—we’ll be staying at a motel style guest house called St-Joseph’s. I’ll attach pictures, it’s really beautiful! Kibungo is about a 2 hour drive from Kigali so we took a station wagon taxi loaded up with all of our bags. It was a struggle for the driver to fit all of our suitcases in the back :S maybe I shouldn’t have brought so much? I think my back pack full of rain boots, 2 kg of quick oats and a costco bag of almonds might have been a bit much. But I’m here now and I’m sure I’ll be happy for the porridge in the mornings. We had our first lunch at the restaurant here and it was really good! It’s a buffet style so there was rice, beans, fried bananas, cassava, potatoes, cabbage and carrots, and some meat. No French fries yet! But I am to understand that they will be a staple here so I’ll have to be careful.        

Gurjeet took Kathy and I on a quick tour around St-Joseph’s.  We are right across from the university campus and right beside an elementary school and an orphanage. We’ve already had lots of kids waving at us and calling out greetings in English. We’re planning to visit the orphanage later. It’s beautiful here! I’ll have to post some pictures. You’ve probably heard that Rwanda is called the land of a thousand hills and it’s true! I think we’re on the top of a hill because we can look out across the street from St-Joseph’s and there’s a beautiful valley with more hills in the background.  After our tour we decided to rest a bit in our separate rooms and unpack. I was part way through when it started to rain REALLY HARD, so I was inspired to sit down and blog. It didn’t rain like this in Kigali. Apparently the rains are late in Kigali, but came early in Kibungo. Someone also told us that in the places that the rains have been late in the recent past, when they do come it is so strong that it washes out the crops. Climate change... To give an idea of how hard it’s raining right now, I’m listening to music on my computer at its loudest and I can only just make out the lyrics! I had opened the door of my room to look out into the courtyard and watch the rain come down, but I had to close it because it was splashing in even though it’s covered for about 4 feet outside of my door.  And now there’s thunder! I’m sure this won’t be as exciting in a few days but it’s great right now!

I’m not sure how people back home are picturing Rwanda so I’ll try to describe it throughout my blog as best I can. I’ve already mentioned the hills—from wherever you are it seems like you can see probably 5 hills when you look in any direction. Kigali city itself is spread out over several hills. It’s pretty big! We definitely didn’t see all of it, and I wouldn’t say that I know my way around at all. But I’m sure by the end of the 3 months, after staying in Kigali a few more times, I will know it pretty well. I had thought that on our drive from Kigali to Kibungo we would go through some forested areas similar to what I had experienced driving through Costa Rica. Not the case! As far as I can tell there are no forests or jungles that I could get lost in. Most of the land is being farmed. There are trees on the peaks of some hills, but over the years they have been cut down to be used as fuel and to make more agricultural land. Along the roads there will be houses lined up, and behind them all of the farms. It’s very fertile so everything is extremely green, and the soil is red. There are lots of trees, big and small, as well as plants along the roads but nothing very dense.

The power just came on! I think that they must turn it off for most of the day at the guest house. Same with the running water so I have a jerry can of water in the bathroom for washing my hands. Gurjeet said that the water might only be on for a certain amount of time in both the morning and evening. The showers will take some getting used to! There’s no curtain or anything, just a shower sized indent in the ground with a drain. I’ve ended up making quite a mess each time I’ve showered so I’ll have to work on that. The room is very nice though! I have my own bathroom and a double bed, two chairs and a closet with shelves in it. There are two big windows and a mosquito net of course!

It’s hard to believe that we’re finally here. After unpacking everything it feels more real than it did before. 3 months! Tomorrow we’re going to start some project planning and probably get more acquainted with Kibungo. 

In Country Orientation

I had a fantastic 3 days in Kigali! It was a great way to start the trip and we were very spoiled... We did lots of lounging and we ate delicious food! The first night we were with Sung Kyu , two students from INATEK, Eric and Obed, and Manu, a UBC graduate that was helping Sung Kyu with our in-country orientation. We went for dinner at an Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. All of the restaurants that we went to in Kigali were very unique because they are all converted from houses. The backyards were covered to make a patio that was usually oddly shaped to make use of the space and the lighting was always very dim so you get candles on your table which makes for a delightful combination. We did a lot of walking around in downtown Kigali on the first full day with Sung Kyu and the INATEK students as our guides. We went to a lounge called Shokolah for lunch (we ended up going there quite a bit! twice a day sometimes. I’ll put up a picture) and we went for Indian food for dinner with Manu.

 On Saturday morning we were invited to go to church with a friend that Sung Kyu met in Kibungo. The church was in a more rural area of Kigali so it was our first glimpse at village life. Everyone was very friendly and the church service was very nice, the only downside was that it was mostly in Kinyarwanda (although we had some young guys translating the sermon into English for us) and it was 5 hours long! We went out for fantas and cake after the service with the Sung Kyu’s friend and his family. It was very nice. We will probably visit them when we are back in Kigali. We had a late lunch at a cafe downtown and did some shopping before going to another nice restaurant for dinner with Manu and Magnifique (a contact of Judy’s that works for the government as the head of one of the agriculture departments). We will be in touch with him throughout the project.

The view of Kigali from outside our hotel

We went for brunch at Shokolah on Sunday and randomly met one of Manu’s brothers there. He was with a Scottish forensic anthropologist that has been doing work in Rwanda since the genocide. The Scottish man kept us very entertained with stories about his work and travels! In the afternoon we went to the Genocide Memorial Museum, which we later found out Manu’s brother spearheaded, and Manu helped to design.  The museum was very moving and very well done. We all went in together but it was more of an individual experience that we discussed later. The museum takes you through Rwanda’s history—before colonization, during the Belgium rule, independence and the lead up to the genocide. Then it goes into the genocide and talks about the national heroes who helped to save Tutsi’s by hiding them on their property. There were many movies showing interviews of survivors who tell their stories. There is another exhibited dedicated to other genocides around the world, and another dedicated to the children who lost their lives in the genocide. I think we all agreed that the children’s room was the hardest to get through. The land that the museum is on also serves as a cemetery for the people who lost their lives in Kigali. At the moment there are 12 mass graves on the site and every year there are more burials as more bodies are uncovered. All in all the whole experience was very moving, and it ended on peaceful note for me as I left the children’s room and walked out onto the terrace overlooking the garden. From there I could look past the gardens to the mass graves, and beyond to Kigali city where I could see people going about their daily lives and hear people talking and laughing. A reminder that genocide happened and the stories need to be remembered and shared with others, but life is moving forward in Rwanda at a remarkable pace and the people are peaceful.

This is the view from the terrace at the Genocide Memorial Museum

We had a great last meal in Kigali at an Ethiopian restaurant the conversation was fantastic. I’ve already learned so much and met so many great people. I’m looking forward to getting started in Kibungo!

Just arrived in Kigali!

Welcome to my blog! This is where I will be posting all of my stories for the next 3 months. I had intended to do my first post before leaving Vancouver but things got hectic so here I am writing at the airport in Amsterdam! We had a 6 hour lay-over here and I had thought that we would just spend it in the airport, but we didn’t! We took the train into downtown Amsterdam and walked around for 2 hours before heading back here. It was very lovely and unexpected! There was a vending machine that sold maps but it was empty so we just ventured out on our own. Lots of windy cobblestone street and tonnes of bikes! We decided to follow a lovely little lane that had plants all along the walls of the buildings and we ended up in the red light district! We had no idea until we saw a scantily clad woman beckoning 2 men into her house.  I then noticed the red lights above the windows before looking around and seeing lots of women sitting on window seats looking out into the street. That might sound of sketchy but it really wasn’t. This was at 4pm and there were tonnes of tourists around.  That was my brief Amsterdam experience!

Before leaving I wanted to give a bit of background to the project so you can have a better idea of why I’m going to Rwanda. I first heard about this project in January while taking a course at UBC called World Problems with Nutrition. The professor of the course told the class of her involvement with the project in Rwanda which aims to alleviate poverty by increasing food security in the Ngoma District (the Rwandan district with the worst child mortality rate in the country—for children under 5 the mortality rate is just under 1 in 5). The first group from UBC left for Rwanda in May and stayed for 6 weeks. I received an email while I was in Ottawa this summer saying that they were accepting applications for another group to go in September and now here we are! The project is a partnership between UBC and the Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Education of Kibungo  (INATEK). We will be working with students and faculty from INATEK as well as with contacts from the government and some NGOs to identify the causes of malnutrition in the area and to come up with solutions to improve the issues surrounding food insecurity.

I will be boarding for our flight to Nairobi soon. It will be another long one...8 hours I think. I’m going to try to sleep for most of it. We have another 6 hour lay-over before a short flight to Kigali. A UBC master’s student, Sung Kyu, who has been working on the project in Rwanda since May will be meeting us at the airport. We will then spend the weekend in Kigali for our in-country orientation before heading to our home for the next 3 months, Kibungo.

Several hours later....

We made it to Kigali! We just at our hotel to relax for a bit before going out for dinner. Three students from INATEK came with Sung Kyu to meet us at the airport and it was a short drive to our hotel. So I haven’t seen much of Kigali yet but I’m excited to go out later!

Kathy, Gurjeet and I in Amsterdam!