Rwanda - December 16, 2009

I'm going to do the blog this week from Rwanda - I just had so many impressions and stories from here (and found a great internet cafe). I was here in 2006 w. the Compassion trip, but did not, at the time, appreciate the orderliness of Rwanda - it's amazing!!! Things happen on time, the streets are clean, there are no piles of garbage, the boda drivers (motor bike taxis) have helmets and are registered, AND, there are marked crosswalks, people use them and vehicles actually stop!!!! That impressed me in 2006, but now, after almost 2 years in Uganda, I find it absolutely amazing!! How can two countries, that are so close, be so different in temperment. Rwandans are absolutely law abiding; Ugandan has the same laws (no plastic bags, helmeted drivers, etc.) but no one enforces or obeys them!!! Some say that the extreme respect for following orders may have re-inforced the actions in the 1994 genocide (like in Germany) but other countries have had genocides (Turkey, Balkans) - w/o that quality.

I still wonder at the calm and co-operation here - it was only 15 years ago that the genocide occurred. Many people don't seem to want to talk about it - they would just rather forget (or try to). The one person who really was eager to answer questions was our Compassion guide yesterday, but he just came here from Uganda after the genocide and so didn't live through it. Plusca's parents and siblings were killed at their home. She was about 6....and I really don't know how she alone survived.

Faustin, Kath and Plusca

Plusca and Elsa

On with the trip diary - got on the bus in Kampala O.K. and the ride went well (10 hours total), but the border crossing was almost my undoing. You get off the bus and it goes "somewhere"; you stop at the Ugandan immigration office and get a stamp , then walk about 1/2 mile down the road ("no-man's land" where you are practially assaulted by money changers) to the Rwandan immigration office where you get stamped in! I was really worried about "losing" the bus, but it showed up on the Rwandan side (a miracle!) - the border officials completely empty it and check all incomng luggage, boxes, etc. I did change my Ug. shillings at the border tho' all the shouting for my business made me really nervous; found out when I got to Kigali that I could have done better at the FOREX (exchange offices) in town but I didn't know! There are about 3-4 Ugandan shillings to a Rwandan Franc so I'm learning money all over again! Traveling alone is not as easy as with another person; I'm hardly the world traveler you may think I am - it's a struggle!!!!

Kathy with Faustin's Family and Plusca

As we entered Rwanda you are struck immediately by the great roads and the neat fields. Lots of tea and rice plantations. There is even an obvious attempt at re-forestation.

My phone didn't work in Rwanda - there is no ZAIN network (later bought an MTN sim card, but my phone has some sort of Uganda code that wouldn't accept it). However, when I got off at the bus park a taxi man approached me and let me use his phone to call Plusca - we agreed to meet at St. Famille Church where I'd hoped to stay (they have a guesthouse) and he drove me there; unfortunately, they were full, but he took me to another hotel nearby where I got a room - I paid him well, but he was worth every franc! I had my backpack and a big heavy bag w. presents and didn't want to be walking all over looking for a room. My room is $24/nite and is really quite nice - esp. compared to where Compassion recommended at $100-140/nite!!! (more than I'd pay in Kampala, but I need to find a spot and it's very near the City Centre).

The cabbie then took me back to St. Familles - it's a big Catholic Church near the City Centre where over a thousand Tutsis actually were given refuge during the months of the genocide (many churches turned into death traps). Plusca, Elsa (her little girl) and her cousin Gerald met me there. Plusca speaks little English, so Gerald was the translator.

Plusca looks great and Elsa, at almost 4, is quite the charmer. We had lunch at the hotel - rice, peas and meat in a sauce - much spicier than Ugandan food. Then we took a matatu to her home area. She and Elsa live in a little rented room near her aunts who have a small, but very full house - there are two "aunts" who have 12 children - some are theres' and some are orphans - living with them (husbands and parents were killed in 1994 - it's hard to fathom the impact of those 3 months on this tiny country). One aunt works in a hotel - I have no idea how they support all those children but they all go to school. I wish I could send pictures now, but will ry to add at least a few from the PC office. After the visit they took me back to City Centre. I walked around a bit at the shopping areas (they have a big Naukamatt - South African, 24 hour, Wal-Mart that's in Kampala, too) - only about 5 minutes from my hotel. Checked out the Mille Colline (Hotel Rwanda) where we stayed in 2006 - it's undergone a massive upgrade!

Tuesday a.m. I had an interesting breakfast w. a German gentleman (v. nice breakfast included in the hotel price) - he was very sun-weathered and had a long white beard, but he must have been in his late 60s or 70 (said his mother was 89). He's been working in Africa "building machines" for 10 years and before that in India, but now is just traveling from Cairo to Capetown for fun!

Rwanda does not have ATMs - not sure why. There are some for local accounts that fooled me at first. I finally asked because I was supposed to have $100 (American) for the Compassion driver - I was sent to a big bank and was pleasantly surprised by the great help in their "Cash Dept" - within 10 minutes I had a $100 bill using my VISA card- and that at 8 a.m.!!!!

Pluaca was at the hotel and the Compassion driver and host picked us up at 8:30 - he was about 10 minutes late but had sent word via Plusca's cousin's phone - I was not expecting that kind of punctuality!!! The village was about 64 km out of Kigali; even out there the roads were better than many of the main roads in Uganda! We went first to their church/school - Baptist - where there are about 246 Compassion children!!! They gave a great welcoming ceremony - dancing, speeches etc. I felt a bit akward sitting in the front, and am sure Plusca, Faustin and his parents felt even more so!!! Faustin was part of the warrior dance troupe. We looked at his file and I was impressed w. his marks! Also, they record every time I have sent a "family contribution" through Compassion and what they bought - animals, clothes, house repairs, etc. I was a bit concerned by the recognition for the family since it may give the neighbors the impression that they have "muzungu connections" and money in the house! We went to their home - it was much nicer than I expected - brick and plaster w. a tin roof - 4 rooms and a nice compound; 3 cows and a goat and some land to cultivate! Definitely not the "poorest of the poor". I don't know if the donations the past years changed things that much for them - if so, they are good stewards! I do think they are very hard workers. Our Compassion rep, Eugene, was a lot of help - it must be difficult to keep shepharding muzungus who seem to have more to give away than you will ever have! I was glad that Plusca went along - he introduced her as a former Compassion child and seemed impressed with her story and that I continued to sponsor her individually after she had a baby (in 2005) and dropped from the Compassion program.

We got back around 3 and Plusca and I had lunch - same lunch at the hotel. She was very worried about talking to me tho' she speaks some English (and that's all I speak)....but she needs to practice. Rwanda just changed from French to English as their official language and joined the Commonwealth of Nations (which is otherwise limited to former English colonies)....so the schools are now just switching from French to English. Plusca just finished Secondary with a major in Hotels and Tourism, but she'll need to learn English and have some computer training before she is really employable - bummer! She's hoping to get some kind of a job to pay for the training and to send Elsa to school this year, but unskilled jobs, especailly for women, are hard to find except for cleaning, shop workers, etc. There are a lot of unemployed young men on the streets, too - not a good sign.

Nice nite of sleep in my little hotel - it's just a few rooms in a secluded courtyard. At breakfast today I sat w. a young couple who'd been on the bus from Uganda w. me (actually, seeing them on the bus helped me identify which was mine among all the buses and trucks at the border). They are free-lance journalists - she's from Germany and he's from the U.K. (married) and are traveling all over East Africa sending stories back to the German press! I'm impressed - unfortunately her blog site is in German! One good thing about traveling alone is that you meet lots of interesting people!!! Germany still seems pretty connected to Uganda - it was a German colony until after WWI when it was given to Belgium in the big African "give away".

Wednesday (today) was a great day. Got this blog started and met Plusca at the hotel at 10:30 - her cousin Gerald came along, which was nice. We went to the Genocide Memorial which has a very nicely done exhibit about what "caused" the genocide and what happened. We saw it in 2006 but it was much more effective seeing it w. two young people who lost parents and family in the 4 months in 1994! It's amazing that such a small country (8 mill. total at the time), who all speak the same language (Kiryawandan), unlike Uganda where there are many languages, could inflict such damage in 3-4 months! The upstairs portion reviews the genocides of the 20th century - Armenia, Cambodia, Germany, Namibia, Serbia - it was raining when we finished so we stopped at their "coffee shop" for lunch. Guess not a lot of people stop because the only item on the menu was a buffet mainly for the workers - cheap and LOTS of food - fries, rice, cassava, greens, beans, beef...full plates!!!

We walked down the hill from the Memorial and took a matatu to Ginkondo (south of Kampala city) where Plusca lives and saw her school. Went back and said good-bye to her aunt and Elsa and then we walked to Gerald's school - Kigali College of Banking and Finance - a beautiful campus on top of a hill w. lots of grass and trees! Then we had to say good-bye and I took a matatu back to town where I am now....getting ready to get something to eat and then go to the hotel, pack and go to bed. My bus leaves at 6 a.m. tomorrow - I'm about a 10 min. walk from the bus park. Just have enough money to get back (gave whatever else I had to Plusca). Hope to be back in Kampala in time to catch a matatu to Nkokonjeru and unload - got some great baskets from Faustin's family - and return to the PC office Friday to meet w. Judith and plan our Egypt vacation. Then, I'll stay in Nkokonjeru for a week - feel bad because Eveliyn and Tessa (Holland volunteers) are back for a visit and Becky (the retired nurse from the U.K.) will be coming again THursday, but they all can do just fine w/o me.

I'm really glad I came to Rwanda - sometimes it seems like a hassle, but seeing Faustin again and spending time w. Plusca was great! Doubt I'll ever see them again, but it's fun to have the connection! Pretty tame trip, but I saw Rwanda differently than I did the last time....much more personal.

I will try to get to the blog before Christmas, but if I don't, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas - I hope you get time to enjoy the season and "God Bless You Everyone"!!!!