Namaste, Ciao, Muraho: January 2009

On Friday, 9 January 2009 I arrived in Nyamata after 25 hours of traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, Europe and Africa via Boston, Amsterdam, Nairobi and finally Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Highlights of the journey included - first and foremost - having my younger sister Mary accompany me on the flight to Amsterdam as she is studying in Barcelona next semester (leg 1 of the trip -and this was pure coincidence!), enjoying the window seat while passing over the breathtaking Alps across Germany and Austria (leg 2), and finally being blessed yet again with the window seat while crossing the River Nile in Sudan. After the 30 minute/30 kilometer drive to Nyamata, located south of Kigali, I woke up on Friday to a lovely African afternoon of sunshine, 75 degree weather and a light breeze (…are you jealous yet?) This type of weather is typical of Rwanda year-round, save for the rainy seasons - October-December, March-May - when it rains for a few hours each day between the sunshine.

In my role as English Language Mentor at the Maranyundo School for Girls, I will be tutoring the 120 7-8th graders in English and all of their academic subject (which are conducted in English) as needed. I will also be teaching daily English classes to govenment employees within the Bugasera district at the mayor's office, as the country is transitioning from conducting all official business (including education) from French to English in order to make the landlocked country more amenable to the services industry worldwide. The Maranyundo School, a secondary school for high achieving Rwandan girls with financial need, opened just this past year with the ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Rwanda’s first lady, Jeannette Kagame, and attended by a number of prominent Boston women who established the school after years of fund raising and planning. The six acre campus is gorgeous, constructed of light orange brick buildings and home to several types of fruit trees and bushes which (like our girls) grow taller and stronger each day. My residence overlooks the Maranyundo hillside; I feel so privileged to be living and working at such a unique place in the heart of Africa.

While the house that I share with three other American volunteers is quite simple by Western standards, it could be a palace when compared to the residences of most Rwandans. The poverty of this country is astounding. At the sake of sounding uninformed, prior to arrival my conception of a typical living situation came mainly from scenes from the film “Hotel Rwanda”, which depicts simple stucco roofed, one floor/multi-room houses in neighborhoods with backyards of green grass or fences delineating separation. While a few Rwandans and many ex-patriots may live in areas like this within the capital, I have not yet seen anything nearly as pleasant in my time here, and certainly not in Nyamata, which has had a particularly difficult time recovering from the genocide and which for many years served as a concentration camp for Tutsis. Common along the main road that connects Nyamata to Kigali are one or two room cement shacks or makeshift huts where families house multiple children. After the genocide, many survivors adopted the children of their slain relatives, and/or orphans found throughout the country, which means family structure is not always traditional; our school is home to several orphans as this is quite common. My residence has indoor plumbing, however most people in Nyamata get their water at a well. Despite a lack of resources, Rwandans pride themselves on looking presentable, so it is rare to see people dressed in unclean or tattered clothing – many may just wear one of two outfits every day. The exception to this is footwear - in Nyamata people generally have extremely weathered shoes (if at all) as almost everyone walks to get around. I am impressed time and again by the women and men who carry all sorts of things on their heads for efficient transport; from sacks of grain and jugs of oil to fruit baskets or giant piles of sticks and leaves. Some people have bicycles and upper class families may own a car or a moto, but it is definitely not the norm. Buses are available and do run regularly, although, as is the case in most developing countries, many people who live in villages outside the main cities do not travel too far from home.

Although urban centers and the majority of residences I’ve seen appear desolate and run-down, the country itself is abundant in natural beauty, which seems to resonate in the personality of nearly everyone I have encountered here. Known as the mille collines (land of a thousand hills), Rwanda is home to rolling hills of all shades of green, exotic plants and birds, and all sorts of animals that I have yet to meet! So far I’ve seen several goats, chickens, wild dogs and cattle, but it is also home to a large gorilla reserve in the northern part of the country where elephants, chimpanzees, hyena, buffalo and other animals can be found. Many Rwandans are fascinated to encounter a muzungu (white person) like me or my co-workers and some will even shout out the word in surprise, but I’ve had overwhelmingly positive experiences meeting people. On the street, people will always stop and say hi or wave from afar. Learning a little Kinyarwanda (the language native to Rwanda) has also helped me greatly in these interactions, and especially with children, who will often follow you all the way to your destination (or until they get tired) because they are so curious. My favorite example of this so far happened walking along the main road in Nyamata several days ago: a very small two or three year old boy in the field nearby noticed me walking with fellow abazungu and began to burst into tears – however a moment later when I waved to him, he stopped crying, smiled widely and began to wave back right away. The children here are extremely cute and friendly and are all over the place! Some also have really sweet names like “Dieudonné” (gift from God) or "Jean d'Amour" (John of love). Most Rwandans in Kigali are also friendly and happy to meet Americans and help with directions or anything like that. One thing that surprised me about Kigali was that, while there are teen boys selling cell phone cards all over the streets and of course people who beg for money, it’s generally a respectful place. The city is busy with people and commerce, but no one is very harassing or inappropriate about seeing white people or white women. I’m still being sure to walk around with people who know where we are going, but I haven’t felt unsafe or wary about anything in that regard that thus far.

Because there is much to tell, I will save stories about my tutoring experiences until a later entry. In general it is going very well and I am constantly impressed with how diligent, cooperative and attentive the girls are. While English continues to be a daily struggle for most of the girls at our school, they are such eager learners and really want to help each other succeed. If you haven’t yet seen the ten minute video on the school’s website, www.maranyundo.org, it’s a really great example of what the school stands for and why this is such a meaningful place for Rwandans and Americans alike. The Boston Globe also published a comprehensive front page article on the school shortly after its opening, which can be found here: http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/03/30/boston_women_help_build_rwandan_girls_school/

My mailing address is:
Maranyundo School
P.O. Box 110
Nyamata, Rwanda
Kerry Ann Dobies, English Mentor

Namaste, Ciao, Muraho

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Learn Kinyarwanda

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Week One - Arrival in Nyamata