So after a couple of months of planning, I finally arrived in Rwanda last Friday! I think most of you are aware that I've decided to take a break from corporate life and spend a couple of months working in Rwanda with an amazing organisation called Fair Children / Youth Foundation (FCYF). FCYF is based in Musanze, a beautiful area in northern Rwanda, and works alongside the local community to restore human rights and rebuild lives and community in an area that suffered greatly from civil war, the genocide and disease. My assignment was arranged through Accounting for International Development (AfID), who place qualified accountant volunteers with community based organisations in Africa and Asia to help them build their financial capacity. I stumbled across AfID by chance and immediately knew I wanted to return to Rwanda, which I had visited in 2003 when I went to see the mountain gorillas. I had been struck by how beautiful and lush the country was and how friendly the people were - we celebrated New Year's Eve 2003 in a party in Musanze (then called Ruhengeri) with some local people and I have never forgotten it. (I also remember that the folks at the 2003 party had been very impressed with England's recent rugby world cup win and am hoping that there might be somewhere in town to watch the upcoming 2011 NZ competition!)
It was great to be met at Kigali airport by Elie, the director of FCYF, and Becky, another volunteer, and whisked straight away to Muzanze. It was dark when I arrived (it gets dark around 6pm all year round) so it was even better to wake in the morning (to the sound of singing and a cockerel in the garden which made a nice change from planes on the Heathrow flight path!) and take in the stunning surrounds - jagged volcanoes and lush, rolling green hills!! Becky had very kindly offered to be my tour guide for the weekend. First stop was the town - it has a really nice feel to it, with 2 markets, some small shops and bars. Even tho Musanze is one of the major tourist areas of Rwanda,because of its proximity to the Volcanoes NP where the gorillas are, there are not many "muzungus" (white people) in town, which means we got a lot of attention (in a nice way). Children appear for a hug and to hold hands and lots of "mwaramutse" (good morning) greetings from the adults!
On Sunday, I had the most scenic walk to work I've ever had as we headed to Wisdom School, which is part of FCYF, so I could have a tour before term started. I got chance to practice my already expanded Kinyarwandan on the way (now at mwaramutse (good morning), amakuru? (how are you?), nemeza! (I am well) - after that I get stuck tho!). I also realised that altho school is 15 mins walk from the home of Elie and his wife Bernadette, where I am staying, that you need to allow double the time so you can greet the children along the way!
In the afternoon, I had my first out of town trip with Becky and Elie's eldest 2 sons, their cousin and their friend to Lake Burera, which was absolutely stunning. First we got a bus to Kidaho, which was an experience in itself - it was cosy to say the least and every stop involved a lot of re-organisation to fit everyone in, including one small girl (no older than 5 years old) who got passed around continually and must have sat on the knees of about 10 different people during the trip! She took it in her stride most of the time but was close to tears at one point. Then after the bus, we caught a "taxi-moto" (motor-bike taxi) to the lake, which I loved! It was so exhilarating going down this dirt track on the back of a motor bike, with the volcanoes in one direction and Lake Burera ahead. I think 2 muzungus wearing skirts on taxi-motos might have created a bit of a show for the local people along the way! The lake itself was very serene - I will definitely be back another day...
Monday morning was registration day for the first day of the new term at Wisdom School. All the children were arriving with their homework folders, and stationery for the new term, dressed smartly in their school uniforms. No work for me yet, as the registration process needed the full attention of Elie and all the staff, but tomorrow I have my first meeting to discuss my objectives for the next 8 weeks. Am looking forward to it....
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