I have to admit it is quite hard
to keep up a blog. I did say to a very good friend of mine, Pam, that I worried
that people would find it all rather boring but she very kindly responded
saying “your
blog is NOT boring at all. It makes incredible reading, you are living such an
alien life to what we all know.” So Pam, this blog post in specially dedicated
to you.
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| The Old Man or "Muzehe" |
So, what have I been doing? As
I’ve said before, and apologies for repeating myself, my days and weeks here
are very varied and recently I found myself at the ‘official’ opening of the
Diocese Clinic and the next day on Nkombo Island giving out 30 goats!
Recently the Clinic, just one of
the projects here including the guest house, a farm and schools run by the
Diocese, went into partnership with the Government of Rwanda and is now a
Health Centre able to provide a wide range of medical services to the community
here. Sadly, it comes with an
agreement that the Diocese must build a maternity unit by the end of the year
and have 20 trained staff in place before the government provide any funding
which will not be until next summer so some financially, challenging months
ahead!
The opening couldn’t be an opening
without the customary speeches, followed by the customary Fantas – here, you
cannot have speeches without Fantas or Fantas without speeches. Rwandans do
love their speeches and also their introductions, so everyone has to be
introduced, stand up and wave to everyone and maybe say something. Then the
speeches, all in Kinyarwandan with someone translating bits into English for
me, and they are often long and many – I think we had three hours of speeches
before the Fantas appeared. I can’t help but compare it to what we do in the UK
where we would say “right, we only have 30 minutes so let’s keep it short”.
Unfortunately, the Rwandans don’t do short – apologies to my Rwandan friends
who may read this as I am giving observations, not criticisms!
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| Speeches over, Fantas drunk & now the photos |
The following day, in complete
contrast to the formality of the clinic opening, I found myself on Nkombo
Island - I’ve discovered if you Google ‘Nkombo Island’ my blog comes up about
fifth in the list. Nkombo is the second largest island on Lake Kivu, with a
population as at August 2013 of 17,000 although I suspect, at the rate they
have babies here, the population has doubled since then. 80% of the islanders
depend on fishing and the government have focused a lot of attention on this
impoverished island with electricity, plans to connect a water pipeline and a
domestic and public hygiene campaign.
My purpose of going was to give
out goats. Through a donation, given to me by some students in Germany (thanks
to Veronika and friends) the Diocese bought 30 female goats, to give to 30 people
at a cost of around £30.00 per goat – not sure if there is any significance in
the number of 30’s. Each person receives training to look after the goat that
provides manure for their plot of land, where they cultivate and grow crops and
foods and the idea is that the first female goat produced is given back to the
Diocese to give to another person/family. The idea is to encourage them to take
responsibility for their goat so others will benefit and also they develop a
sense of giving rather than taking. With more goats that are produced (a goat
can produce twice in a year and can give birth to two kids), they can then sell
to get income so maybe they can get around £100.00 per year for as long as the
goat can produce.
Emmanuel, PGH Manager, came with
me and he kindly donated some money to buy a male goat, who we are going to
call Emmanuel, and I am sure he will have a great time getting to know the
female goats. So, Nkombo Island could be over-run by hundreds of goats in the
next few years!
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| Dancing in celebration of getting a goat |
When we arrived, we met all the
recipients in the church where we had introductions, singing, dancing and
speeches (yes, those again but only short ones!). Then the goats arrived -
bought in Kamembe and then taken, by foot, 11kms to where they were put on a
boat and taken across to Nkombo – sadly, I missed seeing this as would have
been great fun to see them get all the goats on and off a boat not to mention
getting the life-jackets on them!
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| The goats are coming! |
Taken to the back of the church,
each goat had a number stuck onto its back with some paper and tape. Rounding
them up took some time and then the recipients come, also with numbers, to
claim their goat. Photographs, more singing and then the goats were taken home –
hopefully, not to be eaten!
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| "Come in goat number 4 - your time is up!" |
It was great to see something like
this in action. The goats and their owners will be monitored to see how they
are getting on and I will look in on them from time to time as I visit Nkombo.
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| Everyone paired up with their goat |
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| "Why are the goats getting all the attention?" |
I couldn’t be a Muzungu without
talking about the weather. We
should now be well and truly into the heavy rain season now but we having days
of very hot and sunny weather followed by storms and heavy rains in the
evening. Some wonderful sunsets as
yet another sunset picture below shows. Fortunately, crops seem to be growing
and after the rains people are busy on the land and the dusty brown landscape
of the dry season is turning back into the lush and green vegetation that makes
Rwanda look so beautiful.
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| My lush & green garden after a night of heavy rains |
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| One of those wonderful Cyangugu sunsets |
Life at the guesthouse continues
to have its challenges. Whilst I love working with the staff they do, at times,
test my patience and after a four day break, last week, in Kigali I was only
back five minutes and to hear from Emmanuel what had been going on to find one
of my heads coming on! Actually, I often think I must have two heads by the way
people here in Kamembe still look at me as if I have come from outer space – I
would have thought, by now, they know what a Muzungu looks like. It felt strangely good to be in Kigali
and getting no one staring at me.
So, Christmas just around the
corner and whilst there is no sight and sound of it here until Christmas Eve I
guess back home the cards are in the shop and the countdown has begun. I am looking forward to coming home for
Christmas for a couple of weeks although it is going to be strange to feel that
coldness that you just don’t get here – I rarely have to wear a pullover so the
thought of coming back and wearing heavy jackets, gloves and scarves will be
quite a novelty.
Then its back in the New Year for
what could be my last four months.
My two-year ‘mission’ comes to an end in May, as I keep saying to Bishop
Nathan and my thoughts are turning to what happens after that.
I’m looking forward to having some
friends from Southover Church in November and from Blakeney Church in January
as well as other friends and visitors. We are all still mourning the loss of
Janice Balfour who came here to teach earlier this year, had to return to the
UK after about a week as she was ill to find out she had cancer and very sadly
died shortly afterwards. Janice had been to Rwanda a couple of times, had lived
in Kigali back in the 80’s and was a wonderful, kind, caring person and she is
greatly missed.
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| Lovely Janice - Rwanda 2011 |
People here, also sadly, have to
deal with losses of friends and family. They die without warning, often with no
sign of illness or knowing what the cause was and then, often, the day later
they are buried. Remarkably, Maria
who I been visiting and who is dying from AIDS is still alive – her life is no
more than lying all day in bed but she always greets me with a wonderful smile
and keeps in contact with the outside world through her mobile phone. So often, the way the Rwandans use
their phones here drive me mad – constant ringing and answering in middle of
conversations, in meetings and not to mention shouting on them all the way on
the bus to/from Kigali (sorry my Rwandan friends but this is a criticism not an
observation!) but I can see, for Maria, what a blessing her phone is. She knows everything that is going on
at the guesthouse (more than I do) and she blesses me greatly when I go to see
her and puts all my problems and challenges into perspective.
The mother with the sick baby that
was, finally, diagnosed with water on the brain continues to care for him at
home but is getting support from the church and I hope to go and visit her
soon.
Recently, I had to say a good-bye
to Isaie my house-helper who has gone to join a Tearfund community service
programme for two months. He will be part of small team of one other Rwandan
young man and four girls from the UK (he is very happy!) and is working in
Muhanga, a large town about an hour from Kigali. Isaie is really a ‘boy from the village’ so I hope this two-month
experience, that I encouraged him to apply for, will help him grow in
confidence and open up opportunities for other things he can do with his life
rather than wash my socks! (Isaie, if you are reading this I know you do much
more than this and you are greatly appreciated and missed).
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| Isaie saying goodbye to his Mum, brother and niece |
But saying a ‘goodbye’ to Isaie, I
am saying ‘hello’ to a Rwandan family of five, from Kigali, who are coming to
live with me. It was going to be only three – Jonas (who is working at the
guesthouse), his wife Marguerite and their two year old daughter Gaele but then
I found out that Clementine, his wife’s sister, also has to come as she looks
after Gaele and then, shortly after, I discovered that Marguerite is having a baby
any time now. And, if Isaie
decides to come back, which I suspect he will, then there will be seven of us –
fortunately, the house is big enough and I have the house next door, where I
used to live or the guesthouse to escape to, if the new baby screams the house
down. I am looking forward to it,
really I am!
So, my life in Rwanda continues.
Exhausting, yes? Challenging, yes?
Life changing, yes? Enriching, yes?
