SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES - WE LOST INTERNET ACCESS AND HAVE ONLY JUST GOT IT BACK THIS MORNING
Wednesday 28th March - (5:00am) The day began in the village of Nyagatare, (North Eastern Rwanda) & for me as the call to prayer from the amplified speaker on top of the Mosque (just over the road) echoed across the valley. No sooner had the Muezzin stopped when the roosters greeted the sunrise & sounds of life began springing from the all over the village.
It’s a fresh, still morning as the smoke from kitchen fires begins spiraling into the sky, hiding much of the village in a haze that lazily rolls around the valley until mid morning before it’s burnt up by the sun & swept away by the breeze.
Children are out sweeping the ground around their houses with straw brushes; women & children are collecting water from the community tap & tidying up their small houses whilst the maize & beans soften over the wood fire.
No longer can I ignore the fact that the day has started & that it’s time to brave the morning ‘bath’. It’s only about 15 degrees at the moment & as I splash cold water over me I’m convinced that they refrigerated it this morning. But once you’re numb, it’s a refreshing & invigorating way to start the day.
(7:00am) After a breakfast of chapatti & tea again, we head off to a meeting with the District Government officials. It’s a short drive through the village & up a dirt track to their compound where, despite the fact that we have an appointment we wait for a while before being asked to come back later.
(9:00am) We work our way back across town & up a few more bush roads to an international aid agency’s compound to share ideas & resources. They’re already engaged in providing capacity development workshops in other outlying communities; we hope to develop a partnership with them to provide the same for Rwempasha.
(10:15am) We head out to another NGO to do some more networking, & receive some very good offers of partnership. (11:00am) We receive a summons to return to the Mayor’s office to meet with him & his staff.
However, by the time we arrive 10 minutes later he is in another meeting & can’t be disturbed so we meet with the Vice-Mayor to discuss how the promises each of us have made compare to the expectations of all the stakeholders concerned, but particularly the beneficiaries.
(12:00pm) We head back to town for lunch. It’s the usual rice, beans, mashed banana, maize cake, cassava & boiled beef. There are few vegetables & no fresh fruit to be found in this region at all.
(1:00pm) We begin the half hour (17km) drive up the bumpy, dusty bush roads to Rwempasha. Along the way we avoid the long horn cattle, the motorbikes & the people & pass by the traditional mud hut communities with the children playing in the dirt with their home made toys.
(2:00pm) Seventy families of the returnee community have gathered on the plot of land we have just been given to build a Community Centre (shelter). With the help of a translator I speak to the camp about the plans that we have to begin work on sinking a bore & digging & building pit latrines: (the contractor has just arrived with a truck load of materials so they can see it was not another do-gooder making idle promises).
(5:00pm) After much discussion the people are onboard. A ten person committee (5 women & 5 men) has been selected by the community. The committee is charged with meeting over the next week to design by-laws for the use of the water & pump; the first member of the community has just got a job as the security guard for the materials.
I have the privilege of giving a few bags of maize flour to the leaders to share out & a soccer ball to the children (you should see their faces) before we bid farewell before heading off across the savannah to home.
(7:30pm). We debrief the day together & write up some notes before dinner Yes, the same as lunch, but this time there are some noodles too.
(8:30pm) I prepare emails & reports to send, only to discover that the internet connection is down so we decide to call it a day & turn in (10:00pm).
Wednesday 28th March - (5:00am) The day began in the village of Nyagatare, (North Eastern Rwanda) & for me as the call to prayer from the amplified speaker on top of the Mosque (just over the road) echoed across the valley. No sooner had the Muezzin stopped when the roosters greeted the sunrise & sounds of life began springing from the all over the village.
It’s a fresh, still morning as the smoke from kitchen fires begins spiraling into the sky, hiding much of the village in a haze that lazily rolls around the valley until mid morning before it’s burnt up by the sun & swept away by the breeze.
Children are out sweeping the ground around their houses with straw brushes; women & children are collecting water from the community tap & tidying up their small houses whilst the maize & beans soften over the wood fire.
No longer can I ignore the fact that the day has started & that it’s time to brave the morning ‘bath’. It’s only about 15 degrees at the moment & as I splash cold water over me I’m convinced that they refrigerated it this morning. But once you’re numb, it’s a refreshing & invigorating way to start the day.
(7:00am) After a breakfast of chapatti & tea again, we head off to a meeting with the District Government officials. It’s a short drive through the village & up a dirt track to their compound where, despite the fact that we have an appointment we wait for a while before being asked to come back later.
(9:00am) We work our way back across town & up a few more bush roads to an international aid agency’s compound to share ideas & resources. They’re already engaged in providing capacity development workshops in other outlying communities; we hope to develop a partnership with them to provide the same for Rwempasha.
(10:15am) We head out to another NGO to do some more networking, & receive some very good offers of partnership. (11:00am) We receive a summons to return to the Mayor’s office to meet with him & his staff.
However, by the time we arrive 10 minutes later he is in another meeting & can’t be disturbed so we meet with the Vice-Mayor to discuss how the promises each of us have made compare to the expectations of all the stakeholders concerned, but particularly the beneficiaries.
(12:00pm) We head back to town for lunch. It’s the usual rice, beans, mashed banana, maize cake, cassava & boiled beef. There are few vegetables & no fresh fruit to be found in this region at all.
(1:00pm) We begin the half hour (17km) drive up the bumpy, dusty bush roads to Rwempasha. Along the way we avoid the long horn cattle, the motorbikes & the people & pass by the traditional mud hut communities with the children playing in the dirt with their home made toys.
(2:00pm) Seventy families of the returnee community have gathered on the plot of land we have just been given to build a Community Centre (shelter). With the help of a translator I speak to the camp about the plans that we have to begin work on sinking a bore & digging & building pit latrines: (the contractor has just arrived with a truck load of materials so they can see it was not another do-gooder making idle promises).
(5:00pm) After much discussion the people are onboard. A ten person committee (5 women & 5 men) has been selected by the community. The committee is charged with meeting over the next week to design by-laws for the use of the water & pump; the first member of the community has just got a job as the security guard for the materials.I have the privilege of giving a few bags of maize flour to the leaders to share out & a soccer ball to the children (you should see their faces) before we bid farewell before heading off across the savannah to home.
(7:30pm). We debrief the day together & write up some notes before dinner Yes, the same as lunch, but this time there are some noodles too.(8:30pm) I prepare emails & reports to send, only to discover that the internet connection is down so we decide to call it a day & turn in (10:00pm).
