It is now been a little over a month now since swearing in and I’m feeling more and more each day settled into life here in Nyamagabe. My work thus far has been mainly observational, as my counterpart Flavien, colleague Emmanuel and I work on the first phase of our project with Higa Ubeho, which translates to “Be Determined and Live” in Kinyarwanda. It’s a 5-year program funded by USAID , overseen by CHF International, and operated through RPOs or Rwanda Partner Organizations. The organization that I am working with, AEE, is one of these RPOs and recently became of the specialized organizations to work on economic strengthening. This broad term translates into very specific goals for AEE Nyamagabve: Assist three “Pre-Cooperatives” into becoming “Model Cooperative” and develop 57 new ISLGs over the course of the next year. This involves assessing existing groups, finding and establishing new groups, providing trainings in coop development and market literacy, etc. It also involves many trips to the field which I have no problem with for two reasons: 1. It means I don’t have to sit at a desk and type all day 2. I get to ride a moto (Of course with my PC issued moto helmet, which by the way includes firey stars and lightening bolts). Our job is also to work with youth in the community in either going to school (AEE Nyamagabe funds over 300 orphans and vulnerable children’s school fees), providing vocational training, and ultimately finding them an employer. The families that we contact to join ISLGs are all family members or guardians of the OVCs that are also sponsored by AEE to attend school. In addition, the youth that AEE works with are from CHH or Child Headed Households.
Currently we are in the assessment and sensitization phase of this process which has brought me out into the rural areas in the surrounding sectors of Nyamagabe town. It is great to meet and see the faces behind the numbers and names on paper, while at the same time learning of their challenges and successes. One group that we met last week has been established for 10 years, which has allowed some members to buy cows for their families or remodel parts of their house. However, they struggle with bookkeeping, enforcing repayment schedules and utilizing the social fund. They will be trained in the coming weeks in all of these areas.
It is hard to contribute anything tangible right now because I feel like it is the time for me to observe and ask all of the questions I may have. It’s one thing to learn the saving and lending practices that AEE teaches, but also how and why these practices work Rwanda as well.
My house is coming together more and more each day. In Kinyarwanda we’d say “buhoro buhoro’’ which means “slowly by slowly”. I have my bed frame (which I need to buy a larger mattress for), my chairs, my small and large tables, and my couch (which I need to buy cushions for). My book shelves will arrive this week (fingers crossed). I’ve slowly been picking up items that I need around the house like a hammer, cleaning supplies, and cookware. I’ve started cooking for myself which has mainly consisted of oatmeal in the morning (who knew oatmeal can taste so good with any mixture of peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and/or jelly), lunches are provided by AEE, and dinner which has mainly been hot sandwiches with some sort of mixture of veggies, cheese, and spices. I eat great fresh fruit from the market which is amazingly cheap. For example, I bought a pineapple, 12 bananas, 3 green peppers, and 3 onions for about $1.50! I’m going to attempt pasta sauce this week for the first time…where’s Newman’s Own or Ragu when you need em?! (Actually Ragu was $12 in the market in Kigali, either the import tax needs to drop or Safeway needs to expand to Rwanda)
The rainy season is wrapping up or so they say, which means it should heat up here pretty soon. It’s surprisingly a bit chillier than what you think of when you think “Africa”. I had to go home today to get my North Face fleece because our office was so cold. The elevation of my site and its proximity to the forest keep it cool and the clouds lingering, but it’s still nothing to complain about.
Well I think that's it for now, feel free to email anytime!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Development as Tourism?
This past weekend I went to Nyungwe National Forest in the Southern Province near my house in Nyamagabe. The allure of seeing a chimpanzee while hiking in an eco-montane forest screams AFRICAN ADVENTURE. After arriving at the visitor center and looking over the potential hikes, I noticed an unexpected sign which listed USAID and the American People as the donors of the visitor center. Really? I thought to myself, is this the most pressing development issue? On the way to the forest we passed town after town of underfunded schools, acres of subsistence farms, and no health centers. Easily this money could have gone to fund a smaller project directly impacting one of these areas. But it in the end it didn’t, and this is the problem with development as tourism.
Tourism has proven to be a tool used in increasing GDP and the standard of living in many developing countries. Natural resource/wildlife rich countries who find themselves in the bottom of the HDI such as Tanzania and Kenya have used their natural gift of the Serengeti, Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Great Migration to attract tourists from around the world who bring in enormous amounts of cash. For example, Tourism remains a significant portion of the Services Sector in Kenya, which consists of nearly 60% of the nations GDP. By creating an atmosphere for tourism they have increased the standard living for all citizens. Rwanda is currently hoping to be a part of this tourism as development success story, yet has a long way to go.
Arriving at Nyungwe with my girlfriend and her visiting friend was exciting, as we had high hopes of seeing chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Once we arrived however we learned that the chimpanzee tracking starts at 5:30 AM, a fact that the Bradt guide book we had, the flyer the park ranger gave us and the multiple internet sites failed to list before arriving. No problem, let’s do another hike we thought. A beautifully displayed list of hikes, estimated distance, required time, level of difficulty and highlights of the trails were listed (all compliments of the plaque provided by the American People). As I glanced over the hikes the first one I saw was an opportunity to use a canopy bridge. Lets do it! The ranger then mentioned that the bridge wasn’t finished yet, sorry…next time. I disregarded the fact that they already had a picture of people walking on a treetop bridge. Ok, let’s do the hike that guarantees a waterfall! Nope sorry, a tree fell and it’s difficult to pass. Sounds like a typical problem in a forest I guess, so we went on and chose the Yellow Trail, a nice trail that provides the opportunity to see monkeys and is moderately difficult. DEAL! As we handed our money to the ranger at reception and waited for our change….Oh sorry we don’t have bills to change here the ranger said. Really? So everyone has the exact amount that you ask for EVERYTIME? The frustration of this was also compounded by the fact that there is one bus service that runs to the visitor center. It must be caught in Butare, 30 minutes in the opposite direction from my home, which is closer to Nyungwe AND which Sotra (the bus services) would have to pass. Luckily, with the help of my counterpart, I was able to find a driver to personally drive us on the terribly paved roads, past the six landslide areas.
As I thought about these my frustrations, part of me thought, this is Africa and I can’t come with my American comforts and standards and apply them to all things Rwandan. As I thought about it more I realized that these frustrations weren’t because of my standards, as much as it is my frustration with poorly planned development. USAID was happy to front the money, adding a visitor center to a widely unknown, yet tourism ‘diamond in the rough’ forest of Nyungwe in hopes of bringing in more tourists and opening the tourism money floodgates. This intervention is the typical shortsighted aid organization project that didn’t factor in all of the pieces to the puzzle. The simple addition of one item in the flow chart is what USAID felt was the missing. Visitor center + more visitors= development. Right?! Yeah! We just saved lives …Not really.
The small problems that we encountered are all problems that need to be addressed for this visitor center to reach its target of increasing tourism revenue, providing jobs, bringing money to the local communities… the list continues. Tourism can have tremendous benefits on the economy of a country, but without substantial planning, money is wasted, ending up in our case, spent on an empty visitor center in a hard to reach forest. It is great to see the signs in Kigali advertising Nyungwe with its 200 plus species of birds and 13 primates but what happens when someone asks, how can I get there? These are the questions that need to be asked before projects are funded and before time and effort are spent attempting development as tourism.
Tourism has proven to be a tool used in increasing GDP and the standard of living in many developing countries. Natural resource/wildlife rich countries who find themselves in the bottom of the HDI such as Tanzania and Kenya have used their natural gift of the Serengeti, Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Great Migration to attract tourists from around the world who bring in enormous amounts of cash. For example, Tourism remains a significant portion of the Services Sector in Kenya, which consists of nearly 60% of the nations GDP. By creating an atmosphere for tourism they have increased the standard living for all citizens. Rwanda is currently hoping to be a part of this tourism as development success story, yet has a long way to go.
Arriving at Nyungwe with my girlfriend and her visiting friend was exciting, as we had high hopes of seeing chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Once we arrived however we learned that the chimpanzee tracking starts at 5:30 AM, a fact that the Bradt guide book we had, the flyer the park ranger gave us and the multiple internet sites failed to list before arriving. No problem, let’s do another hike we thought. A beautifully displayed list of hikes, estimated distance, required time, level of difficulty and highlights of the trails were listed (all compliments of the plaque provided by the American People). As I glanced over the hikes the first one I saw was an opportunity to use a canopy bridge. Lets do it! The ranger then mentioned that the bridge wasn’t finished yet, sorry…next time. I disregarded the fact that they already had a picture of people walking on a treetop bridge. Ok, let’s do the hike that guarantees a waterfall! Nope sorry, a tree fell and it’s difficult to pass. Sounds like a typical problem in a forest I guess, so we went on and chose the Yellow Trail, a nice trail that provides the opportunity to see monkeys and is moderately difficult. DEAL! As we handed our money to the ranger at reception and waited for our change….Oh sorry we don’t have bills to change here the ranger said. Really? So everyone has the exact amount that you ask for EVERYTIME? The frustration of this was also compounded by the fact that there is one bus service that runs to the visitor center. It must be caught in Butare, 30 minutes in the opposite direction from my home, which is closer to Nyungwe AND which Sotra (the bus services) would have to pass. Luckily, with the help of my counterpart, I was able to find a driver to personally drive us on the terribly paved roads, past the six landslide areas.
As I thought about these my frustrations, part of me thought, this is Africa and I can’t come with my American comforts and standards and apply them to all things Rwandan. As I thought about it more I realized that these frustrations weren’t because of my standards, as much as it is my frustration with poorly planned development. USAID was happy to front the money, adding a visitor center to a widely unknown, yet tourism ‘diamond in the rough’ forest of Nyungwe in hopes of bringing in more tourists and opening the tourism money floodgates. This intervention is the typical shortsighted aid organization project that didn’t factor in all of the pieces to the puzzle. The simple addition of one item in the flow chart is what USAID felt was the missing. Visitor center + more visitors= development. Right?! Yeah! We just saved lives …Not really.
The small problems that we encountered are all problems that need to be addressed for this visitor center to reach its target of increasing tourism revenue, providing jobs, bringing money to the local communities… the list continues. Tourism can have tremendous benefits on the economy of a country, but without substantial planning, money is wasted, ending up in our case, spent on an empty visitor center in a hard to reach forest. It is great to see the signs in Kigali advertising Nyungwe with its 200 plus species of birds and 13 primates but what happens when someone asks, how can I get there? These are the questions that need to be asked before projects are funded and before time and effort are spent attempting development as tourism.
Monday, May 24, 2010
My kind of town, Nyamagabe is...
Well here I am finally in Nyamagabe, in the office of AEE and officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. My apologies for not writing anything sooner, as I just noticed my last blog post was days before my swear-in…nearly three weeks ago.
The swear in ceremony was held at the US Ambassador’s house, and attended by current PCVs, former PCVs, Government officials, PC staff, and even the Rwandan news, which mentioned us later that night during their broadcast. The feeling of taking the oath and becoming “official” was a bit surreal and still somewhat of a blur. During the ceremony I reflected back on filing out the PC application in December 2008, sitting on the couch with snow outside. Now I’m in Rwanda where the application process, interview, and endless waiting are a distant thought (as well as any snow).
After the swearing in ceremony I had a week to shop and relax in Kigali aka “mini Amerika” (Ikinyarwanda spelling) before going to site. As nice as the white chocolate mochas were at Bourbon Coffee at Nakumatt, I was anxious to get to Nyamagabe and start settling into life as a PCV. The plan of settling in was short lived however as I a few days after sleeping with my mattress on the floor with most of my bags still unpacked, I went back to Nyanza for training in Permaculture (Permanent-Agriculture) and then onto Butare for training on Internal Saving and Lendging Groups (ISLGs). As I sit now, my first full day in the office of AEE and no more trainings, at least in the next week, I’m looking forward to my furniture arriving tomorrow (fingers crossed), finding out where exactly to throw my trash, and asking the landlord if I can turn part of my yard into a permaculture garden.
The swear in ceremony was held at the US Ambassador’s house, and attended by current PCVs, former PCVs, Government officials, PC staff, and even the Rwandan news, which mentioned us later that night during their broadcast. The feeling of taking the oath and becoming “official” was a bit surreal and still somewhat of a blur. During the ceremony I reflected back on filing out the PC application in December 2008, sitting on the couch with snow outside. Now I’m in Rwanda where the application process, interview, and endless waiting are a distant thought (as well as any snow).
After the swearing in ceremony I had a week to shop and relax in Kigali aka “mini Amerika” (Ikinyarwanda spelling) before going to site. As nice as the white chocolate mochas were at Bourbon Coffee at Nakumatt, I was anxious to get to Nyamagabe and start settling into life as a PCV. The plan of settling in was short lived however as I a few days after sleeping with my mattress on the floor with most of my bags still unpacked, I went back to Nyanza for training in Permaculture (Permanent-Agriculture) and then onto Butare for training on Internal Saving and Lendging Groups (ISLGs). As I sit now, my first full day in the office of AEE and no more trainings, at least in the next week, I’m looking forward to my furniture arriving tomorrow (fingers crossed), finding out where exactly to throw my trash, and asking the landlord if I can turn part of my yard into a permaculture garden.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Two Cups of Tea
As the sound of Amayobera (look up this song if you download music, its the biggest thing in Rwanda right now) faded at the close of our last dance party in Nyanza, it was hard not to get sentimental thinking about the past 9 weeks of training. The first step in the PC process here in Rwanda has come to an end and as quickly as it started, its now time to move out, swear in and move to site. Can it really be May already?
I settled into this temporary home or as we like to call it Camp Peace Corps, with an open mind and readiness to learn. Everything was manufactured to allow us to focus only on language and culture, with meals prepared, schedules made, and the summer camp euphoria of living and learning together. Beyond the PC bubble however I realize that in these short 9 weeks, I’ve made a home here in Nyanza, and one that I’m going to miss. On my morning runs, I have changed many of the “Mwaramutse Mzungu” to “Mwaramutse Ryan” (or shall I say Lion). I have small posse of soccer kids that never let me walk away without being deemed a new soccer star. I’d like to think its because they like the way I play, but it could just be the Barcalona jersey I wear around town. I’ve reached the “hug level” as I like to call it with my host mom’s children, who were always so shy when the muzungu came over. Also, Mama Francine makes sure I don’t leave without drinking two cups of African tea, because to leave after one is just plain rude.
Now here I am with three days until officially swearing in as a Peace Corps Volunteer; language test passed, bags to pack, and the bitter sweet feeling of leaving Camp Peace Corps. After swearing in on May 5th, I’ll leave for Nyamagabe on Sunday or Monday. I’m excited to make new friends, find new routines, and once again settle into life here in Rwanda.
I settled into this temporary home or as we like to call it Camp Peace Corps, with an open mind and readiness to learn. Everything was manufactured to allow us to focus only on language and culture, with meals prepared, schedules made, and the summer camp euphoria of living and learning together. Beyond the PC bubble however I realize that in these short 9 weeks, I’ve made a home here in Nyanza, and one that I’m going to miss. On my morning runs, I have changed many of the “Mwaramutse Mzungu” to “Mwaramutse Ryan” (or shall I say Lion). I have small posse of soccer kids that never let me walk away without being deemed a new soccer star. I’d like to think its because they like the way I play, but it could just be the Barcalona jersey I wear around town. I’ve reached the “hug level” as I like to call it with my host mom’s children, who were always so shy when the muzungu came over. Also, Mama Francine makes sure I don’t leave without drinking two cups of African tea, because to leave after one is just plain rude.
Now here I am with three days until officially swearing in as a Peace Corps Volunteer; language test passed, bags to pack, and the bitter sweet feeling of leaving Camp Peace Corps. After swearing in on May 5th, I’ll leave for Nyamagabe on Sunday or Monday. I’m excited to make new friends, find new routines, and once again settle into life here in Rwanda.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Sweet Home Nyamagabe
AEE…Nyamagabe town…Microfinance…Nyungwe Forest… These ideas were passing through my mind on the bus ride from Kigali to my (future) home in Nyamagabe Town. The abstract ideas that I have read on paper about the work I’ll be doing, the town I’ll be living in, or the life I’ll have for the next two years is starting to be replaced by a more concrete understanding of what my Peace Corps experience will be.
To start, while in Kigali for the Health and Community Development Fair, I met Flavien from African Evangelical Enterprise who will be my counterpart for the next two years. He works with Internal Saving and Leading Groups (ISLGs) in the Nyamagabe District, facilitating training, helping start up groups, maintaining current ones, and everything that falls in between. As he is my counterpart, I will be doing a lot of these things alongside him. With 9 cooperatives and 16 ISLGs, I will be exposed to many of the challenges and successes of microfinance in Rwanda. Although I’m anxious to know what the exact projects I’ll be doing, but I’ll have to wait until May until those questions are answered.
On my town tour this morning, I stopped off at the AEE office with Flavien before touring the house I will be living in. Located near the World Vision compound, a two minute walk from the AEE office, I’ll have a nice little two bedroom house, with a living room (with electricity), bathroom (with toilet and hot water), a small yard, and a small rooftop deck. Not a bad humble abode for the next two years. I wasn’t expecting BOTH electricity and water, but I guess I’ll take it. The extra room will be a guest room/kitchen for any of you who want to visit by the way.
After my house visit, we walked through the market (market day is Wednesday) to see where I will buy food, clothes, etc. The prices were low when Flavien asked, we’ll see how much they are when the muzungu goes it alone. From there we passed through town to the health center (which I plan on visiting again for the detailed tour), and then the secondary school where Flavien taught French for a few years. The reception from everyone I met was warm and welcoming. I think everyone was excited I knew some Kinyarwandan and then even more happy to hear I’d be here for two years.
A few random thoughts and facts
1. I found the local resto/bar that plays soccer games. Phew… (sigh of relief)
2. Nyamagabe is 28 km from the Nyungwe Forest…When I get my PC issued bike I may have to make some trips. Want to send my road bike Mom?
3. Nyamagabe sits atop one of the high “mountains” in the area, thus the view in almost all directions is beautiful green rolling hills. Maybe I can find a spot to take a 360 degree picture.
4. Before 1994 Nyamagabe was not well liked by the government because of the high Tutsi population. They considered it “Congo” area and thus did not invest in development. Since then however the government is trying to develop all districts, and Nyamagabe is seeing more infrastructure and investment.
To start, while in Kigali for the Health and Community Development Fair, I met Flavien from African Evangelical Enterprise who will be my counterpart for the next two years. He works with Internal Saving and Leading Groups (ISLGs) in the Nyamagabe District, facilitating training, helping start up groups, maintaining current ones, and everything that falls in between. As he is my counterpart, I will be doing a lot of these things alongside him. With 9 cooperatives and 16 ISLGs, I will be exposed to many of the challenges and successes of microfinance in Rwanda. Although I’m anxious to know what the exact projects I’ll be doing, but I’ll have to wait until May until those questions are answered.
On my town tour this morning, I stopped off at the AEE office with Flavien before touring the house I will be living in. Located near the World Vision compound, a two minute walk from the AEE office, I’ll have a nice little two bedroom house, with a living room (with electricity), bathroom (with toilet and hot water), a small yard, and a small rooftop deck. Not a bad humble abode for the next two years. I wasn’t expecting BOTH electricity and water, but I guess I’ll take it. The extra room will be a guest room/kitchen for any of you who want to visit by the way.
After my house visit, we walked through the market (market day is Wednesday) to see where I will buy food, clothes, etc. The prices were low when Flavien asked, we’ll see how much they are when the muzungu goes it alone. From there we passed through town to the health center (which I plan on visiting again for the detailed tour), and then the secondary school where Flavien taught French for a few years. The reception from everyone I met was warm and welcoming. I think everyone was excited I knew some Kinyarwandan and then even more happy to hear I’d be here for two years.
A few random thoughts and facts
1. I found the local resto/bar that plays soccer games. Phew… (sigh of relief)
2. Nyamagabe is 28 km from the Nyungwe Forest…When I get my PC issued bike I may have to make some trips. Want to send my road bike Mom?
3. Nyamagabe sits atop one of the high “mountains” in the area, thus the view in almost all directions is beautiful green rolling hills. Maybe I can find a spot to take a 360 degree picture.
4. Before 1994 Nyamagabe was not well liked by the government because of the high Tutsi population. They considered it “Congo” area and thus did not invest in development. Since then however the government is trying to develop all districts, and Nyamagabe is seeing more infrastructure and investment.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Umuganda Hands
Today was the first time I was able to participate in Umuganda (community work), the national day of community service which is set for the last Saturday of every month here in Rwanda. The idea of it seemed a bit Utopian when I first heard about it. Community work done by EVERYONE? Could it be? Today after an hour and half hike South of Nyanza, I realized how impressive and humbling it is witness and participate in umuganda.
The job today was to cultivate a field for cassava to be planted, possibly the project for next umuganda. It was amazing to walk up to the site and see over a hundred people from the local cell working together to clear a football field size area. It was overwhelming at first, not really knowing how or where we’d fit in. We were probably quite a sight, a bunch of confused muzungus that showed up without hoes, or any sense of direction for that matter. The confusion ended quickly however as I was handed a hoe and pointed to fill in for someone that was getting tired. From then on I realized the organized chaos that was happening. Shifts of people worked until they got tired, then they’d sit down as their replacement would take over. This process repeated itself throughout the morning until the hill was sufficiently churned and our hands were sufficiently blistered. The mark of hard work consisted of the scale of how blistered your hands were. I didn’t notice this until I finished my third shift and looked down at my 'umuganda hands'. One of the organizers noticed them as well, gave me a thumbs up and a subtle smile. After that, I knew that it was my first successful umuganda.
On a different note, this week we were given our site assignments which finally answered the question of what I will be doing for the next two years. Drum roll please…..I’ll be working in Microfinance with the African Evangelical Enterprise Rwanda (AEE Rwanda)! AEE works with cooperatives and Savings and Internal Lending Groups (SILGs), Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) and People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). Specifically they offer market development, business planning, and incoming generating opportunities.
Also, I’ll be living in Nyamagabe town in the Southern District of Rwanda, near the Nyungwe Forest...Chimpanzees anyone?
I will have the chance to visit my work and house next Wednesday so I’ll have more info soon enough.
The job today was to cultivate a field for cassava to be planted, possibly the project for next umuganda. It was amazing to walk up to the site and see over a hundred people from the local cell working together to clear a football field size area. It was overwhelming at first, not really knowing how or where we’d fit in. We were probably quite a sight, a bunch of confused muzungus that showed up without hoes, or any sense of direction for that matter. The confusion ended quickly however as I was handed a hoe and pointed to fill in for someone that was getting tired. From then on I realized the organized chaos that was happening. Shifts of people worked until they got tired, then they’d sit down as their replacement would take over. This process repeated itself throughout the morning until the hill was sufficiently churned and our hands were sufficiently blistered. The mark of hard work consisted of the scale of how blistered your hands were. I didn’t notice this until I finished my third shift and looked down at my 'umuganda hands'. One of the organizers noticed them as well, gave me a thumbs up and a subtle smile. After that, I knew that it was my first successful umuganda.
On a different note, this week we were given our site assignments which finally answered the question of what I will be doing for the next two years. Drum roll please…..I’ll be working in Microfinance with the African Evangelical Enterprise Rwanda (AEE Rwanda)! AEE works with cooperatives and Savings and Internal Lending Groups (SILGs), Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) and People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). Specifically they offer market development, business planning, and incoming generating opportunities.
Also, I’ll be living in Nyamagabe town in the Southern District of Rwanda, near the Nyungwe Forest...Chimpanzees anyone?
I will have the chance to visit my work and house next Wednesday so I’ll have more info soon enough.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
We're talkin about bed nets...bed nets
As some of you may know, PC Rwanda does things a little differently than other country programs regarding PCT integration into the community and culture. As most country programs will assign each volunteer to live with a host family, here in Rwanda we are given a Resource Family who we visit throughout our PST (Pre Service Training) but do not actually live with. Although there are pros and cons to this approach, it matters more the time and effort each volunteer is willing to put into making our RF an integral part of our understanding of the Rwandan culture.
At first it seemed a bit of a hassle. Our schedule typically goes something like this: Breakfast at 7, classes from 8-5, with breaks for meals, and then home after dinner around 8:30. Fitting in a few family visits each week, especially on Sunday, our “day off”, hasn’t settled well with everyone, myself included. Despite what might have seemed like an extra task on a full plate, the visits have been educational, insightful and inspiring.
I have also been blessed with a great Resource family, with Francine, Manuel and their two daughters Kevine and Helvine. Francine has been the one who has mainly facilitated my visits. She attended the introduction party at our Training Managers house to greet me, and is always setting up evening or day visits with her and her family. Although sometimes our schedules haven’t worked, she has been a great friend, helping me with my Kinyarwanda and discussing Rwandan culture. The last two visits have been especially interesting, touching on Rwandan school systems (she’s a primary school teacher), health policy, and the complicated subject of family (umuryango). After each visit I feel more inspired to learn more about this culture, language and more thankful that I was placed in Rwanda.
I’d been waiting to have the family discussion until I had learned more of the language and history because I knew the genocide would play its role in shaping our discussion. I wanted to be educated and prepared to ask insightful questions without probing too much. Whether I wanted it to or not, we discussed her family, which was sadly too short. Her story is one I’m sure can be replicated thousands of times throughout Rwanda, and its one I don’t chose to write about. It’s as if there was a life before the genocide and now one after. People often make the distinction of ‘before’ or ‘after’. It’s a time marker that sadly seems to change their story, often to a somber, sobering tone. It’s a reminder that it is still early in the healing process for individuals and the country as a whole. The idea that “Time heals all wounds” will surely be tested here.
During my most recent visit, Francine and I discussed the use of bed nets, a discussion brought on from her youngest daughter’s recent diagnosis of malaria. We discussed her family’s health insurance and what typically happens in a Rwandan household when someone becomes sick. Our conversation soon reached the tone of a lesson on development health however, as we discussed the relationship between health and education. Francine very bluntly and honestly stated that “education helps people understand the value of a life”. A true statement that I think has even more meaning in a country like Rwanda.
I have been thinking about her statement since our talk and how education will play a role in my placement as a health volunteer. It was a reminder that my success as a volunteer is not based on an arbitrary act such as distributing bed nets, but rather to collaborate, educate and be educated by the people whom I will work and live with. It was a reminder that the physical bed nets is just as important as understanding how to use them, why we should use them and why health needs to be inherently valued. Understanding the why and how questions are just as important as the action itself.
At first it seemed a bit of a hassle. Our schedule typically goes something like this: Breakfast at 7, classes from 8-5, with breaks for meals, and then home after dinner around 8:30. Fitting in a few family visits each week, especially on Sunday, our “day off”, hasn’t settled well with everyone, myself included. Despite what might have seemed like an extra task on a full plate, the visits have been educational, insightful and inspiring.
I have also been blessed with a great Resource family, with Francine, Manuel and their two daughters Kevine and Helvine. Francine has been the one who has mainly facilitated my visits. She attended the introduction party at our Training Managers house to greet me, and is always setting up evening or day visits with her and her family. Although sometimes our schedules haven’t worked, she has been a great friend, helping me with my Kinyarwanda and discussing Rwandan culture. The last two visits have been especially interesting, touching on Rwandan school systems (she’s a primary school teacher), health policy, and the complicated subject of family (umuryango). After each visit I feel more inspired to learn more about this culture, language and more thankful that I was placed in Rwanda.
I’d been waiting to have the family discussion until I had learned more of the language and history because I knew the genocide would play its role in shaping our discussion. I wanted to be educated and prepared to ask insightful questions without probing too much. Whether I wanted it to or not, we discussed her family, which was sadly too short. Her story is one I’m sure can be replicated thousands of times throughout Rwanda, and its one I don’t chose to write about. It’s as if there was a life before the genocide and now one after. People often make the distinction of ‘before’ or ‘after’. It’s a time marker that sadly seems to change their story, often to a somber, sobering tone. It’s a reminder that it is still early in the healing process for individuals and the country as a whole. The idea that “Time heals all wounds” will surely be tested here.
During my most recent visit, Francine and I discussed the use of bed nets, a discussion brought on from her youngest daughter’s recent diagnosis of malaria. We discussed her family’s health insurance and what typically happens in a Rwandan household when someone becomes sick. Our conversation soon reached the tone of a lesson on development health however, as we discussed the relationship between health and education. Francine very bluntly and honestly stated that “education helps people understand the value of a life”. A true statement that I think has even more meaning in a country like Rwanda.
I have been thinking about her statement since our talk and how education will play a role in my placement as a health volunteer. It was a reminder that my success as a volunteer is not based on an arbitrary act such as distributing bed nets, but rather to collaborate, educate and be educated by the people whom I will work and live with. It was a reminder that the physical bed nets is just as important as understanding how to use them, why we should use them and why health needs to be inherently valued. Understanding the why and how questions are just as important as the action itself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
