Last Sunday marked the end of Genocide Memorial Week in Rwanda, fourteen years after almost one million people lost their lives. The week began on Monday 7th April, the official start of one hundred days of mourning for those lost in the war. The mood has been unsurprisingly sombre, and of course for many this has been a very traumatic period with horrifying experiences being relived as memories are revived.
In Nyagatare, and across the country, the first act of commemoration took place on the Monday afternoon as the residents of the area processed through the town in silence ending with a meeting in the centre. Throughout the rest of the week the whole town shut down every afternoon and all the adults attended conferences on the Genocide, where survivors gave testimonies and films were shown. Children were not required to attend these conferences which meant that the whole place was eerily silent except for the sound of children’s voices.
I cant deny that the whole feeling behind this period left me a little uncomfortable, not that I do not believe remembrance is very important, of course it is, but because the revisiting of this horrific time is so thrust upon the population that there is no escape. Every afternoon not only are the conferences happening throughout the country, but televisions are only showing Genocide-related programmes and the radio playing Genocide-related broadcasts. It must be different for every individual and is undoubtedly a matter of personal perspective but one can’t help but wonder what effect this has on individuals.
Meanwhile, all primary and secondary school teachers have just come the end of a three week ‘political camp’ for solidarity training, which took up the whole of their holidays. As a result the President announced at their closing meeting, held (amidst great traffic chaos) at the national stadium, that they would get an extra week off. This will inevitably throw the school term out of whack and is bound to have repercussions for our programme as well as students’ timetables. But this is the way Rwanda works, and so I will work with it.
Sunday 20 April 2008
Tuesday 1 April 2008
Here, there and everywhere
This has been me - everywhere - and this is my feeble attempt to explain the lack of blog contact over the last couple of months. So now I will endeavour to sum up what has passed as succinctly as possible...
Performing in Primary
The first highlight was a trip down to a fellow volunteer's home and school in the far south of the Eastern Province with Samira. The two of us were to give a training for Primary and Secondary School teachers on running an Anti AIDS Club at the Primary School where Joe is teaching. Having managed the trip from either side of the country we were both thrilled to be finally having the opportunity to actually run a training ourselves, but a little intimidated by the idea of mixing primary students with teachers and all talking about Puberty, Sex and Contraception. As it turned out we 
had nothing to worry about somehow the combination of condom demonstrations and the hokey cokey worked a dream particularly as we had the support of Joe's wonderful Headmistress and an incredibly dynamic translator. All in all it was a great day and fantastic to visit another volunteer who is so comfortably part of the community where he is living, with neighbours popping in and out all day and a brilliant relationship with his school.
Happy Travels
And
then my parents came! Six months in and I was definitely ready for a bit of TLC, which I got in spades. I was thoroughly treated and looked after for two weeks and had the chance to see a different side of Africa on the other side of the border, in Uganda.
Not only does Uganda seem huge in comparison to Rwanda with travelling distances seeming to stretch almost painfully far, but attitudes are remarkably different too. Starting with care for the roads, to levels of traffic, to corruption, to music and dancing - all are just a little more relaxed than we find here in Rwanda, for better and worse in different r
espects. The poor roads, lack of respect for the traffic laws and the demands for a little extra cash 'on the side' can be tiring and in contrast to what I have become used to in the highly regulated Rwanda, but the enthusiasm and openness of the people made for a refreshing change and fun times!
Back to Business
After two weeks of adventure, filled with waterfalls and wildlife, it was straight back into work on my re
turn with Joan (the motorbike) and I out and about visiting schools for end of term project evaluations. Despite the fact that school visits remain one of the highlights of my job, filled with singing, dancing and theatre they also remain one of the most daunting as Joan and I face the ever-uneven roads of Nyagatare District. I have recently been pondering the relative danger of cow, goat and chicken, as well as that of mud versus sand. These questions were answered the other day when riding at speed to avoid the impending rain I was faced with the split second decision of cow or solid ground, it appeared to me at the time that if I hit the cow I would face a double danger of cow and ground, so I decided that braking hard on gravel and hitting solid ground was preferable. Indeed I stick by the decision as I managed to escape with only a few bruises and some pulled muscles, but I am not sure Joan would agree with her broken indicator and wonky steering. It has cleared my mind at least that cow and sand are the worst combination! But the important thing is that we got it together and made it to the school club who gave a fantastic performance sharing messages about HIV with the whole school. And so it was with many others, great ideas but not enough resources available to make the most of them; we are hoping to work on that next term.
Green Fingers
Meanwhile on the home front things are going really well. My house has been painted and looks beautiful, and I even have a tap in the kitchen so when the water is working washing up is a dream! Furthermore my lifestyle is becoming increasingly self sustainable, I have hardly needed to go to the market at all in recent months what with the spinach, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, beans, coriander, parsley, broccoli, butternut squash and sweet potatoes growing in my garden. Although I cant claim all the credit as my guard has kept the vegetables going despite is failure to grasp the concept of weeding! Nyagatare, and Rwanda in general seems to be struggling more and more to provide electricity and water with any regularity, not to mention telephone network which has prevented me from accessing the Internet over the last month or so. But thank goodness for the internet café, candles and jerry cans I say!
Birthday Partying
Thank you for everyone who sent me birthday wishes, they made for a very happy day. We had celebrated the weekend before dancing the night away at a near deserted bar on lake Muhazi, followed the next morning by an Easter egg hunt in the rain and the long journey home. Samira stayed with me over my birthday and decorated my house beautifully all of which meant I was one spoilt little birthday girl!
And now as we enter the rainy season and school holidays I am back to desk work but the rest will be good and hopefully set me up for the term to come.
Performing in Primary
The first highlight was a trip down to a fellow volunteer's home and school in the far south of the Eastern Province with Samira. The two of us were to give a training for Primary and Secondary School teachers on running an Anti AIDS Club at the Primary School where Joe is teaching. Having managed the trip from either side of the country we were both thrilled to be finally having the opportunity to actually run a training ourselves, but a little intimidated by the idea of mixing primary students with teachers and all talking about Puberty, Sex and Contraception. As it turned out we 
had nothing to worry about somehow the combination of condom demonstrations and the hokey cokey worked a dream particularly as we had the support of Joe's wonderful Headmistress and an incredibly dynamic translator. All in all it was a great day and fantastic to visit another volunteer who is so comfortably part of the community where he is living, with neighbours popping in and out all day and a brilliant relationship with his school.Happy Travels
And
then my parents came! Six months in and I was definitely ready for a bit of TLC, which I got in spades. I was thoroughly treated and looked after for two weeks and had the chance to see a different side of Africa on the other side of the border, in Uganda.Not only does Uganda seem huge in comparison to Rwanda with travelling distances seeming to stretch almost painfully far, but attitudes are remarkably different too. Starting with care for the roads, to levels of traffic, to corruption, to music and dancing - all are just a little more relaxed than we find here in Rwanda, for better and worse in different r
espects. The poor roads, lack of respect for the traffic laws and the demands for a little extra cash 'on the side' can be tiring and in contrast to what I have become used to in the highly regulated Rwanda, but the enthusiasm and openness of the people made for a refreshing change and fun times!Back to Business
After two weeks of adventure, filled with waterfalls and wildlife, it was straight back into work on my re
turn with Joan (the motorbike) and I out and about visiting schools for end of term project evaluations. Despite the fact that school visits remain one of the highlights of my job, filled with singing, dancing and theatre they also remain one of the most daunting as Joan and I face the ever-uneven roads of Nyagatare District. I have recently been pondering the relative danger of cow, goat and chicken, as well as that of mud versus sand. These questions were answered the other day when riding at speed to avoid the impending rain I was faced with the split second decision of cow or solid ground, it appeared to me at the time that if I hit the cow I would face a double danger of cow and ground, so I decided that braking hard on gravel and hitting solid ground was preferable. Indeed I stick by the decision as I managed to escape with only a few bruises and some pulled muscles, but I am not sure Joan would agree with her broken indicator and wonky steering. It has cleared my mind at least that cow and sand are the worst combination! But the important thing is that we got it together and made it to the school club who gave a fantastic performance sharing messages about HIV with the whole school. And so it was with many others, great ideas but not enough resources available to make the most of them; we are hoping to work on that next term.Green Fingers
Meanwhile on the home front things are going really well. My house has been painted and looks beautiful, and I even have a tap in the kitchen so when the water is working washing up is a dream! Furthermore my lifestyle is becoming increasingly self sustainable, I have hardly needed to go to the market at all in recent months what with the spinach, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, beans, coriander, parsley, broccoli, butternut squash and sweet potatoes growing in my garden. Although I cant claim all the credit as my guard has kept the vegetables going despite is failure to grasp the concept of weeding! Nyagatare, and Rwanda in general seems to be struggling more and more to provide electricity and water with any regularity, not to mention telephone network which has prevented me from accessing the Internet over the last month or so. But thank goodness for the internet café, candles and jerry cans I say!
Birthday Partying
Thank you for everyone who sent me birthday wishes, they made for a very happy day. We had celebrated the weekend before dancing the night away at a near deserted bar on lake Muhazi, followed the next morning by an Easter egg hunt in the rain and the long journey home. Samira stayed with me over my birthday and decorated my house beautifully all of which meant I was one spoilt little birthday girl!And now as we enter the rainy season and school holidays I am back to desk work but the rest will be good and hopefully set me up for the term to come.
Me and My Moto
So at last here is the much requested photo of me on my motorbike - go ahead and laugh at my expense! My beautiful Princess of Darkness is called Joan (or Jeanne to her francophone friends) after her fellow crusader Joan of Arc, not so much for her message but more for her resiliance and strength in the face of almost impossible conditions...
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