Washing clothes and daily experiences!

I have been here for three weeks now and I am slowly getting used to rhythm of things…although every day continues to bring new experiences! Today I decided to get a moto-taxi to Sabyinyo Lodge (a luxury hotel for gorilla-trekking near the volcanoes park), whose managers have been supporting the deaf center for a while now and even took on a couple of students for a cooking apprenticeship in their kitchen last year. I didn’t realize until we were driving that it was actually quite far away (about 40 minutes’ drive from Musanze and past the next town called Kinigi), I thought I was just getting over-charged as usual…but it was definitely worth it! The lodge was beautiful, overlooking a vast green and misty volcanic landscape. The permanent managers, who I had gone to see, were away but the temporary manager was very welcoming and gave me a tour of the premises and the cabins (all with a huge bathrooms and individual terraces overlooking the view!). I joked about having a quick hot shower :) and the manager said I could have a bath if I wanted to! May have to take him up on that later…

We then talked (over tea and biscuits in the lounge!) about my ideas for offering visits to the deaf school for guests keen to see local community initiatives and a website called Pack for a Purpose, which encourages tourists to bring extra things in their luggage (like toys, medicines and school supplies) to be distributed at a school affiliated with their hotel. He was very keen on the idea but said he would have to discuss it with the other managers since the hotel is already supporting other local community projects and would not want any tension to develop. It was quite a surreal experience being treated like royalty in such a luxurious setting in such a poor country. I actually felt quite guilty...But I suppose if tourism is such an important source of income in Rwanda and these hotels are directly contributing to the community, it is a good thing...

Me and Selina at the mouth of the cave

Last week, I had a much more rustic experience…Elie’s boys took us (me and the Canadians) to see the caves of Musanze. I didn’t really have any idea what this meant or where were headed (if I had I may not have had the guts to go!) After a “short” (about  half hour) walk up the hill from town we came to a field, which to me looked like all the others except there were lots of little kids running around and a lot more vegetation. So then we started climbing down into the shrubbery and I noticed there was a huge dark opening underneath. We were with a bunch of young teenage boys, who I assume were Elie’s boys’ friends. As we climbed deeper into the cave, I realized why they had all come along and was very grateful as they all had huge torches and clearly had done this a few times before! It’s funny that we had on our hiking gear, raincoats and walking boots etc. and the boys were all in t-shirts and flipflops! The cave was extremely dark, damp and quite hard to navigate (I think it would have been impossible without experienced guides!) The boys were all shouting to each other in Kinyarwandan as we climbed up, down, around and over slippery damp mud, rocks (and bones!), so we didn’t really know what was going on. We had been told the cave was about 2km long, so that’s all we really had to go by…but it felt a lot longer with all the climbing! I slipped several times, but fortunately was caught by one of the boys guiding us! About half way through the boys got excited all a sudden and started shining their torches upwards to show us the bat colony living there! Great! The bats clearly didn’t like the light and I wanted to move on as quickly as possible…Finally we started to see daylight again as we reached the other end, where there was also a bunch of local kids hanging out. The caves seem to be the place to be! They greeted each other and we came out onto a secondary school campus on the other side of town! It was a great experience, thatI really don’t think I would have had the chance to have if we weren’t staying with locals… I also don’t think I would have been brave enough if I had had a clue what was going on!

Selina, Patricia and Matthew enjoy some birthday
cake at Elie's house

I just realized I mentioned the Canadians, who I haven’t even introduced. Selina, Matt and Patricia arrived last week on a volunteer program called Intercordia Canada, which linked up with FCYF and started sending university students to help teach at Wisdom School last year. They are really lovely and seem to be settling in well at their home stays. When they arrived they stayed a few nights at Elie’s home, so I had a chance to get to know them and then they all moved into various homes of Elie’s friends and relatives, who are on the FCYF board. They have spent this week settling into their new homes (all with young children and in some cases very little English!) as well as getting used a rather hectic teaching schedule at Wisdom. They will be teaching computers (as the school currently doesn’t have a computer teacher) as well as hosting sports and games during free time. So far they seem to be really enjoying it, and Matt seems to have become good friends with his host ‘brother’, who takes him to play basketball and watch football matches at the local stadium. The teachers have really made them feel welcome as well, and one has even offered to take us all to see his home town in Uganda!

Shortly after they came we took a trip into town (first one unescorted! to pick up some juice, water, sim cards and exchange some money etc. It was the first time I took the time to look around and take it all in. The first thing I noticed actually was how clean it is! Despite the crowds, buses and swarms of moto-taxis, there is hardly any litter. Once you get used to the setting, it is actually quite organized. There is one main road, which is lined with “supermarkets” (tiny shops with a very small selection of everything), restaurants, bakeries, bars, cafes etc. that all look quite similar and to the side of the road there is a huge enclosed market, which seems to sell absolutely everything (except tourist products). It was clearly for the locals…Although it seemed to have everything in there, from books, toys, baskets, cooking equipment and electrical hardware to formal suits, shiny hand-made shoes and underwear…I would not even know where to begin if I was looking for something specific! We didn’t feel very welcome in there either as I think it was pretty clear we weren’t going to buy anything and I don’t think they liked us just coming in to take pictures! When we got to the other side of town, we climbed up a hill into a small village, which overlooked the whole town. There seemed to be no one around, but soon children started appearing out of nowhere shouting “Mzungu!” and “Good Morning!” (Even though it was the afternoon- this seems to be the most popular phrase for children to address white people!). We greeted them and they put out their hands asking for pencils! Selina promised she would come back with some later (since she actually brought a lot!).

Musanze town

On a side note…washing clothes here is easier said than done! First I asked if there was some washing powder and was told by Bernadette to leave my clothes on the chair. I said I didn’t mind doing it myself, but she insisted I couldn’t manage without a washing machine! I decided it was impolite to argue so I left my clothes out Monday morning…they have been gone ever since! I have seen them hanging on the line outside every now and then but since it rains every day, they are still not dry! I thought about asking if I could hang them up inside but decided I could wait. I guess, just like everything else here seems to…washing clothes takes a little bit longer! I don’t mind wearing the same thing every day, but I think next time I will just wash one thing at a time (and only when it gets really dirty!)

Murakoze, muririwe!

Marika xxx

Enthusiastic children, inspiring stories and learning Rwandan sign language!

“Muraho” = Hello

“Mwaramutse” = Good Morning

“Murakoze” = Thank you

“Amakuru?” = How are you?

“M’Neza” = I’m fine

“Mzungu”= White person

“Oya Amata” = No milk!

Kinyarwandan vocabulary is slowly growing! I am still completely in the dark if I am listening to a conversation though! It’s been just over a week now and I really shouldn’t wait that long because there is always so much to tell! But I have been quite busy, after all I am working out here as well :) I have mainly been spending my time getting to know the FCYF schools, sitting in on classes at Wisdom and spending time with the children at the Deaf Children’s Centre, as well as speaking to the extremely friendly and welcoming staff and teachers of the organization, whom I am interviewing in order to try and make teacher profiles for the website.

A really interesting class I sat in on last week was a P3 SST, which is like Social Studies…which I am sure we did not learn in primary school in the UK! The class was reviewing what they had learned in the previous lesson about their "Our Responsibilities" : “Things we should do to be good in our sector”! Some the answers included: “Respect one another”, “attend sector meetings”, “working hard at school” and “taking care of the environment”. The fact that the children were learning these things and that this is part of their curriculum was a welcome surprise to me…I guess it just shows how important a part of life one’s community is here. This is something English children might benefit from… though I don’t even know if we really have the same concept of community and interconnectedness as they do here. The children seemed really enthusiastic to answer whenever the teacher raised a question, almost leaping out of their seats, waving their hands and shouting “teacher please, teacher please”. It is like that in all the classes I have visited. I have never seen children so excited to learn!

Teacher Geofrey's P3 Mathematics class

Despite my increasing vocabulary I cannot seem to avoid being overcharged by the moto-taxis here! This is the most convenient mode of transport to get from A to B and there are hundreds in Musanze. It’s literally just an old motorbike, you jump on the back, and the driver gives you a helmet and takes you where you want to go. However they also assume because I am a “mzungu”, I won’t mind paying a couple hundred francs extra…and it is very hard to argue with them with the language barrier! I took one yesterday to the deaf centre and the driver was speeding the whole way. I realized why when he stopped about halfway up the hill, and apologetically told me “he had a problem”, which I think was that he had run out of fuel! I paid him, deciding it wouldn’t be too far to walk and to top it off he claimed he had no change! Turns out the remaining walk was quite a bit further than I expected and I ended up walking about half an hour uphill! At least I provided some entertainment for locals who stopped what they were doing to watch as I walked past and little children who ran after me, shouting and asking my name, clearly proud to show off their English skills :) I have gotten the bus a few times also (when it comes, or isn’t full!), which is another interesting experience. They are little minibuses that zoom up and down the hill and squish as many people in as possible. (But at least they don’t overcharge!)

When I finally did reach the deaf centre after my uphill trek in the rain, I was warmly greeted by Louis, the wonderful director there and some of the older children who remembered me from before. I proudly signed hello, and how are you, which they had taught me before. The children are very good teachers, and would not let me leave until I could sign the whole alphabet by heart! I managed it eventually but it took quite a bit of patience (on behalf of the children!) as well as some help from Teacher Noella, who is also deaf but can lip read in Kinyarwandan and English! I see how important the centre really is to these children. As they arrive back from their break, the joy and elation of their faces when they are reunited with their friends and teachers says it all. As Louis says, this really is a family and a home for them.

With some of the students at the Deaf Centre

I also had the chance to have a long conversation with Louis. He was very happy to tell me about his life, his past jobs working with street children, acting as an interpreter for deaf students in normal schools and how he eventually came to found the Deaf Children’s centre with Elie. His story is nothing short of amazing! I was really inspired by it, and especially how he had the courage to give up a stable and comfortable job in the South to move back to the North where he grew up simply because he knew there were so many disadvantaged children that needed help here and he wanted to do something for them. Fortunately he met Elie, who enabled him to put his dream into practice! I am going to write up his story, and hopefully it can be featured on the FCYF website as I think it’s definitely something that people should hear!

There is plenty more to tell but I have already written another rather long post (sorry mum) so I will try to break it down a bit to make them more digestible! I also wanted to mention my first experience of Sabbath, which they celebrate every Saturday (from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday). First of all it was confusing to me that Saturday was the day of rest, rather than Sunday (but apparently that’s a secular thing!) “Rest” involves getting up at 7am to go to a three hour church service at the school! This was a really interesting experience for me, as it was very different to any church I have ever been to.  Elie and the school chaplain hold a service every Saturday for all the children who are boarding (about 250!) There are of course many hymns and readings from the bible, but a really nice element was that the children take turns in standing at the front in groups and making contributions, like choosing a hymn, or leading a prayer, even the really little ones! There is also a question and answer session where children are allowed to ask questions about the bible and their peers are then asked to try and answer. So the 3 hours is broken down quite nicely, although the little P1 and nursery children at the front were asleep on their desks by the end of it! After the service all (maybe 300) people including staff and teachers filed out of the chapel, and lined up to wish each person “Happy Sabbath”, with a handshake and a hug as we passed each other, which I thought was really nice (event though it took quite a while!).

Children gather to sing in preparation for Sabbath

That’s all for now!

I am still shocked by how much people seem to be able to carry on their heads here…I actually saw a man carrying a whole tree on his head (with ease) on my walk to school the other day!

More soon x

“Muraho” from Musanze and the Land of a Thousand Hills!

Landing in Rwanda

One of the few words of Kinyarwanda I have managed to pick up so far! It is only my second day here and there is so much to say about Rwanda, the organization the people…I don’t even know where to start. I guess from the beginning would be easiest. I arrived safely at the airport in Kigali on Monday morning, without too much difficulty or delay. Although it had not actually been fully confirmed who would pick me up fortunately the director of the school, Elie was there to meet me with his eldest son and driver. I immediately felt welcome and very much enjoyed the 2-hour drive from Kigali to Elie’s home in Musanze. Watching it go by out of the car window, I saw Rwanda for the first time. The country is absolutely beautiful, and unlike anything I have ever seen before. The city of Kigali was drier and hotter, but as we began to climb up into the vast expanse of lush green mountains, the air became cooler and damper. I was amazed actually at how green it all is, and I can see why they call “the land of a thousand hills!” Outside of the city centre there were hardly any cars, and walking seems to be the main mode of transportation. I was very impressed by how much people seem to be able to carry on their heads, and for women this was often in addition to a baby strapped to their backs in cloth!

As we got closer I realized how exhausted I was from the journey since I began to drift off, which I tried desperately to resist as there was so much to see as we approached Musanze! Driving through dozens of small villages, I wondered each time whether or not we had arrived in Musanze. Of course I soon discovered Musanze is a much bigger town as Elie announced we had arrived. The first thing I noticed is was that the town was buzzing with people walking, selling things from , street stalls, small shops and markets and bikes, lots of bikes,  but again hardly any cars. Many men, women and children walked along the roads, which huge loads of wood, buckets, sticks and other materials.

Elie’s home is very spacious and his family is lovely. He lives with his wife and four children (who are often at school in Uganda, but are home for their break at the moment) When I arrived, his son showed me to my room in the volunteer “wing”, which has a big comfy double bed (bigger than my bed at home!) and the shared bathroom (Although there are no other visitors staying here at the moment). After I had settled in, I was formally welcomed with a huge family style meal, which was absolutely delicious! I was happy to discover that they are also mostly vegetarian, and there are always vegetarian options on the table so I don’t need to be difficult in making special requests. They were quite surprised however that I cannot drink milk as fresh milk seems to be a staple of the Rwandan diet and they drink huge mugs of it with almost every meal (hot or cold)! During our dinner, I experienced my first Rwandan torrential downpour and I am very glad I was inside! Although it was difficult to ignore the sounds of crashing rain on the metal roof, no one even seemed to notice except me! When I mentioned it, Elie said that in Rwanda when it rains when a visitor arrives, it means they are bringing a blessing. (No pressure then!) I think Elie could see how tired I was as he said I should rest. After a hot shower (using a jug and basin!), I was able to take a long and much-needed nap, while Elie and his wife Bernadette returned to work at the school. I didn’t realize that when they returned around 9pm, we were to have another (huge) delicious meal! I think I will have to get used to quite a different schedule and pace of life, as well as taking smaller helpings!

I slept surprisingly well considering the noise of the rain pouring down! On Tuesday Elie very kindly took me to see each of the FCYF sites in his big van. It was obvious to see how important he is in the community, seeing how many people he stopped to greet along the way and how happy they were to see him. Our first stop was the nursery school, which provides private education (in English) for 3-6 yr olds. It was adorable to see them all greeting “teacher Elie” as he visited each classroom. He also introduced them to me and they all chanted “Good Morning Teacher Marika” in unison, which felt like way more respect than I deserve! Although I guess the children are somewhat used to seeing foreign volunteers, I guess this is something that never ceases to be a source of amazement…I am gradually getting used to be stared, giggled and pointed by children wherever I go!

Our next stop was Wisdom Primary School. On the way over however, there seemed to be a lot of school children walking in the opposite direction of the school! Each time Elie pulled over and asked the children where they were going and why they were not in school. Apparently many children had come to school without their books and school materials and had been sent back home or into town to buy them. Elie said it was an ongoing issue that parents often send their kids to school without any materials as they cannot afford them. However it is impossible for the school to provide these materials and it is the students and their parents’ responsibility to ensure that they have them. When we finally arrive at the school, things are quite chaotic as children are coming and going in every direction and parents are still bringing in children for enrolment as the new term only began on Monday. The Wisdom Primary school provides education for primary classes of levels 1-6 (7-12 year olds). It is considered one of the leading schools in the district and has grown and developed considerably since it was started in 2010. Unlike most Rwandan public schools, all classes are taught in English (French was the National language in Rwanda until recently, so many schools still use this or Kinyarwanda). The school also offers the option of boarding, which is extremely helpful for children whose families cannot easily support them at home or who live too far away. The school also supports several orphans whose education is fully funded by FCYF. Unfortunately however the school has suffered a big blow this year as a new Rwandan educational policy states that children under 11 are no longer allowed to board full-time. This means that many of these children (including the orphans) have not retuned this term or have had to be turned away! I somewhat naively asked if it was not possible to appeal this decision, but Elie says that people have very little say in Rwandan law. As children are still enrolling it is still unclear how badly this will affect enrollment rates and revenue of the school.

Despite the challenges, the school is still continuously expanding and construction is taking place to build a new wing to the primary school, which will hopefully open next year. Plans are also going ahead for a Wisdom secondary school to begin next year!

We later went to see the center for deaf children and child-headed households. Although most of the children had not yet arrived, I did meet a few who were enthusiastic to meet me and came over to give me a hug. Unfortunately I could only meet their enthusiasm with a smile and thumbs up signs (as this is the extent of my sign language so far!) The teachers there told me not to worry however and that the kids would teach me and I would soon be fluent (they learn both Rwandan and English sign language)! One of only six in the country, the school represents an important initiative in Rwanda towards the recognition of deaf children’s right to education. Louis, the head teacher at the school tells me that deaf children are often excluded as their families do not have the information, time or resources to care for them. Ignorance and poverty often means that these children are stigmatized or neglected. The deaf children’s school is part of an effort to change this situation, proving that these children are just as capable of learning and becoming contributing members of society as hearing children. Louis told me that often the first reaction of the parents when they come to pick up their children after their first term is to cry. It becomes clear that their children can read and write and learn and slowly attitudes are beginning to change. To me, this is really inspiring. Unfortunately only a small fraction of deaf children actually have this kind of opportunity. Despite the fact that there are many more deaf children in the community, the school does not have the funding and resources to expand in order to accommodate them.

Elie later takes me into town as I need to exchange some money. We first go to the bank to get an official exchange rate, he then takes me to town where rates are apparently much better if you know where to go. We stop off at a pharmacy and go and speak to “the Indian man”, who says he will accept my $100 bill, which is issued after 2003, but not the other one. I think best not to question him (since the rate is much better than the bank!), I hand over the bill, take the Rwandan francs and leave. Outside I ask Elie, why one must go to a pharmacy to exchange money. He responds “Welcome to Africa”…and I think that just about sums it up! Things are quite different out here, but I’m just going to have to get used to it J

More soon!

Marika xxx

View of a volcano near Elie's home in Musanze

First post...introduction and final preparations

Hello...welcome to my first ever blog...so I apologize if it doesn't seem very professional (it’s not!) This is just to keep friends and family updated about my whereabouts and activities while I am Rwanda for the next three months. So if you would like to see how I am doing, you should be able to find the latest update here. 

For those of you who don't know, I am going to be volunteering with the Fair Children/Youth Foundation (FCYF), which is a community-based organization in a town called Musanze in the North Province of Rwanda. The charity was created in 2003, and seeks to rebuild lives and restore human rights through community-based projects and initiatives. Some of their projects include a mentoring program for child-headed households, a nursery and primary school, a deaf children's centre and a women's cooperatives within the local community.  If all goes to plan some of my tasks as a volunteer will involve familiarizing myself with the organization, (visiting the projects, meeting beneficiaries), helping out at the deaf children's centre and collecting organizational information. I believe I will also be working on the newsletter and helping to identify fundraising opportunities.  From what I have read the community and the organization seem to have come a long way and have made amazing progress in the past nine years and I am really looking forward to having the opportunity to be a part of it.

Here are some links if you want to find out more about the organization and the location: 

FCYF: http://www.fairchildrenrwanda.org/

Musanze: http://www.musanze.com/

Anyway I am in the process of making my final preparations for leaving. I feel like I have had so many vaccinations, I can't even feel the needle anymore! I have my 120 malaria pills ready and there is 3 months’ supply (and extra) of drugs, toiletries and cosmetics lined up on the floor waiting to be packed in the most efficient way possible! I have printed my travel insurance documents and notified the US embassy of my whereabouts and I think (hope) I will be ready to go by Sunday!

Before I continue I should mention that a lot of people have been surprised or worried that I chose to go to Rwanda, which is not surprising considering that most people know that the country suffered from an extended period of civil war, genocide and disease. The first question I usually got asked was "wasn't that where the Genocide happened?" or "Is it safe?” Just to clear up any misconceptions or concerns, Rwanda has come a long way since the Genocide in 1994 and there is a real sense of regeneration and hope within the country. Organizations like FCYF are a great of example of this. Recent statistics actually show that Rwanda is now actually among the fastest growing economies in Africa. (See here)

Anyway that's all for now. I hope to be able post regular updates, stories, photos etc. during my time in Rwanda. Hope you enjoy it!