A New Year - January 2013

After the buzz of Chris's visit, the post Christmas and New Year period was relatively quiet.

There was, though, a very lively Scottish New Year party in Kigali, thanks to Andy and Frances.

 

Back in Musambira, I planted bean, nasturtium and sweet pea seeds, which grew at an amazing speed, sprouting in less than a week 

 

 

 

The guard's hen made a mess of the garden but was missed when she was gone.....

 

 

 

 

There were walks with friends along beautiful and well trodden paths through the village to visit Rwandan friends .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some days, Pascal came for his English lesson.

 

 

 

 

And then there was inevitable housework - all by hand

 

 

 

 

I was able to use this time before the new school year started, to plan and set up school visits and teacher training workshops.

During the first week of January, work began in earnest.

Teachers in Rwanda get very little in the way of in-service training or continuous professional development, as we do in our country. At present it is up to NGOs like VSO or Handicapped International to provide teaching and SEN training at the invitation of the government through the Rwandan Education Board. An additional problem is that teachers have to teach the older classes in English, when many speak very little, or at best, do not have a good working knowledge. The official language of Rwanda changed from French to English in 2008. When asked what they would like in the way of training, head teachers always request English lessons for their staff, being aware of the difficulties. 

 

However, the brief of VSO Education is not specifically to teach English, but train primary teachers in 'learner-centred methods'.
To improve the learning in primary schools, teachers are being encouraged to include the pupils much more in activities in the lessons. This means teachers using methods other than those where the pupils just sit and listen.
The teacher worshops are run in a participatory way, including many learner-centred activities to demonstrate how the pupil lessons will develop in the future. This is the hope!

 

By using activities and teaching methods which allow pupils to use all their senses, it is well documented that learners can learn more effectively. If pupils just sit and listen, they remember only 5%. Pupils need to have opportunities to use visual, auditory, oral, tactile and kinesthetic activities to learn well. For those with a disability, this way of learning is even more vital to them accessing something of every lesson.

 

Beginning lessons with an energiser, which involves counting or using language and actions, is one way. Shake down, change the action, circle ball or an action song are some examples and have proved to be very popular with teachers during workshops. Pupils get the chance to see, hear, speak, touch and move their bodies whilst learning.

 

Knowing and using the pupils names, giving praise and wearing a smile, are some of the ways teachers will enable pupils to feel happy and be more able to learn in a positive learning environment.

 

 

Providing pupils with opportunities to 'pair and share' and discuss their ideas together before answering or sharing their ideas with the class is another important way of giving learners opportunities to learn more effectively.

The feedback after training is often very positive, with teachers surprised at how much they had enjoyed the participatory nature of the workshops. The request was for more of the same but with subject specific content for the five primary subjects of maths, English, Kinyarwanda, science and social studies (geography history citizenship). They are also keen to know how to make and use teaching resources using local materials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But now, due to unforseen circumstances, my time in Rwanda has come to a sudden end.
The need to return home has overwhelmed me.

However, I believe that all is not lost. This is not a closure, just a change of direction.
The work I have begun with teachers and head teachers will be continued by colleagues.
I will keep my links with Rwanda by supporting some of the volunteer projects from the UK.
Researching, editing and contributing ideas can all work well by email.
Now I have an understanding of capacity building, secure livelihoods and sustainable development which will enable me to share my experiences and understanding of the culture, education and life in Rwanda. I have learnt so much from my experiences and from the people of Rwanda.

Now my aim is to give talks to groups and educational organisations who want to know more about international development and opportunities in an African country such as Rwanda. I would very much like to contribute to a wider understanding and acceptance of life in a developing country.
If anyone reading my blog, or knows of anyone, would like to see and hear about my African experiences, please contact me via my email.

 

And finally, I would like to thank all of my VSO colleagues and friends in Rwanda for their support and friendship. I look forward to meeting you again when you are in the UK.

 

 

 

 

Christmas

 

Just a few days left in this truly beautiful country. I have had the opportunity, through M, to get to know and understand this country’s culture and people in a deeper way than I could have by just being a tourist. To see the efforts of Rwandans to build a better country, after the atrocities of 1994, have truly to be admired.

My only worries while I have been here have been travelling in the crazy mini buses that can pack 20 or more people into a 15 seater, the motor bike taxis which, although very efficient at getting you from A to B, give me cause for concern. And one particular memory - the look of the Silverback male leader of the gorilla family when his young offspring were inquisitive while we photographed their antics. With 250 kg of muscle, I wouldn’t fancy having to try self-defence.

 

Chris’s arrival into Rwanda was delayed by 10 hours – not because of snow and ice in the UK, but by fog in Kigali! After being diverted to Uganda’s Entebbe airport he did get to watch the sunrise over Lake Victoria and a complementary omelette. Meanwhile, I had set the alarm for 1am to get to the airport to meet him. At 3am I went back to my Kigali hotel empty handed. We eventually met up in time for a leisurely lunch at our rather luxurious hotel (having a bath and hot shower being the most important aspect for me). For three days we relaxed in the gardens and by the pool as well as exploring Rwanda’s capital city. The squash of people in Toyota taxi buses and freedom of motor bike taxis were experienced when going shopping, eating out and visiting places of interest, one of which included the informative and thoughtfully designed Kigali genocide memorial. We met some of my colleagues when we visited the VSO office and at different venues throughout Kigali. It was a whirlwind of new acquaintances and cultural experiences for him.

Life in M’s home village of Musambira is certainly different to Bolly life. As the only Muzungus in the village, you certainly attract attention. But it also has its similarities. Being friendly, talking to the shopkeepers, children and older people pays dividends and I was quickly accepted. In fact I introduced M to some villagers she hadn’t met herself.

 

 

 

Hers and Hetty’s home is posh compared with the adobe mud brick village houses (they have running water and electricity) with their supportive 33 year old landlord living next door. With a night guard and cleaner (umucoze), M has few domestic chores around the house to worry about. Shopping for food is the biggest challenge, although the weekly village market has a huge variety of very fresh fruit and vegetables, in fact, everything needed for sustainable living. But for those of us who are carnivores, finding meat other than live chickens is challenging. Milk and eggs are also highly valued and are as expensive as in the UK.

 

One unique experience we had was to spend a day with subsistence farming family arranged by the charitable organisation, Azizi Life www.azizilife.com/get-involved/experiences.

 

 

 

 We went to work and eat with the village women – cultivating, hoeing, using machetes to cut grass for their 2 cows, fetching water from the spring and preparing the lunch of cassava and vegetables. In the afternoon we learned how to prepare and weave sisal fibres into jewellery and baskets. It is all so vastly different to our lives in the western world, but so sustainable in Rwanda.

 

 

For three days, Chris came to work with me beginning with 30 minute motor bike taxi journeys along rough sandy roads to two of my sectors – Nyamiyaga and Nyarubaka. I had meetings arranged with the Sector Education Officers and their head teachers. Whilst I held my meetings about training in the schools for next term, Chris amused himself by watching building projects, meeting S Koreans who are working in Rwanda and generally being an item of amusement for the locals. He has begun to pick up a few Kinyarwanda words. Afterwards, we went on to my Kamonyi District education office for lunch in the canteen.

 

Our travels have taken us south to the university town of Butare, where we stayed overnight and met some of M’s other fellow volunteers for Primus beers and meal, followed by a very worthwhile morning at the country’s new national museum. The reconstructed traditional tribal house left us feeling that we could happily stay in one as a summerhouse in our garden. They would make excellent upmarket campsite accommodation, being made and furnished with wood and natural woven fibres.

Our next adventure was to travel by express bus two hours NW into the Virunga Volcano tropical area on the Congo border to see the mountain gorillas – an awesome experience which was the subject of my previous blog.

Before we left home for our final week away, we had a Christmas Day at my house, starting by decorating a 'tree', then opening presents.

 Afterwards Chris cooked our christmas dinner of samosas, potato curry and local vegetables, all washed down with red wine. During the evening we invited my landlord to share our christmas cake which had been made by my mother. it was a really special day, even though 6 days early.

Finally, we are now having chill out time over Christmas, at Lake Kivu. Another two hour express bus journey westwards, through the most beautiful and scenic mountain countryside, brought us to Kabuye.

 

 Lake Kivi is Africa’s fourth largest lake and could be a financial saviour for Rwanda, who, although one of the fastest developing African nations, still relies on some western aid. The lake bed has significant reserves of methane, some of which has already been extracted to produce electricity. But the potential is enormous with sufficient to export to neighbouring countries. The main Rwanda brewery also extracts it to produce their excellent Primus beer, which goes down rather well in this fantastic climate. Talking of climate, it is this which enables Rwanda to be pretty much self-sufficient in food needs as they grow crops on every square metre in the country known as ‘The land of a thousand hills’. Tea and coffee are the main exports. With people working by hand on their plots of land from dawn till dusk, the intensive cultivation on terraced slopes has to be seen to be believed. Everywhere in Rwanda is covered in vibrant green foliage of banana trees, pineapples, cassava, potatoes, beans of all types and other crops too numerous to mention.

 

 

We are staying in a blissfully quiet hotel with bungalow rooms at the lake’s edge. As I write, sitting with an early morning cup of tea on our little terrace, the water is lapping the shore and a myriad of song birds are flitting by. Chris is watching the fishing boats and assessing the potential for future water sport development. We are anticipating our breakfast of fresh mango and pineapple, omelettes and the excellent Rwandan coffee. Today we took a boat over the lake to Amahoro Island, also known as Peace Island, for even more tranquillity. There is a tiny bar which serves the local goat brochettes, but not much else.

 

Christmas here will be very different but very memorable for many reasons. I do not miss the hype and materialistic way of celebrating in the western world. In Rwanda I’ve seen a few Christmas trees, there will be a 2 day national holiday and a big emphasis on the Christian celebration on the eve of 24^th. Of course I will miss family and friends this year, but there will be other Christmases to be with you all. Chris will be home on 28^thand I'll see you all again in 2013.

Chris and I would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas time and we send you all our very best wishes for a prosperous and healthy New Year.

 

Chris and mountain gorillas in Rwanda

 

Arriving in Rwanda was a incredibly exciting. Marg had tried to describe for me the colours, smells, cultural differences and Africa Time, but nothing could have prepared me for such a culture blast. Her stock phrase has been - is Chris ready for Africa and is Africa ready for Chris? 

 

Our decision to visit the mountain gorillas was, without doubt, one of those experiences which will be a lifelong memory. From the capital city Kigali, we took the Express bus for two hours (at £1.70 muchbetter value than our local home Bolly Bus) north towards the Ugandan border. The northern Rwandan town of Musanze was our base for two nights.  After an overnight stay at the Hotel Muhaburo, a 4X4 drive took us up to Virunga Volcanoes area.

 From the National Park base, where we watched local intore dancing, our guides took us on a further rougher 4X4 drive to the edge of the jungle. After an hour’s trek through bamboo and creeper vegetation with our guides using machettes to clear a path, and armed guards for protection, we came across a family of 15 wild mountain gorillas!

 

The gorilla population across the Uganda, Congo & Rwanda borders area has now grown to 700 since being protected after the 1994 genocide. In Rwanda, it has been 10 years since the last death of a gorilla by poachers.

 

 

 

 

The female adults were eating while the youngsters played tough and tumble. They seem comfortable with humans as close as 3 or 4 metres, providing you don’t touch the inquisitive young ones or stare directly into their eyes. Any untoward moves by the gorillas meant the guides quickly used their gorilla vocabulary to ward off approaching parents.

 

The Silverback male leader watched over his family with a protective pride. 

 

 

It is difficult to describe this truly awesome experience. But we hope the photos catch a flavour of an awesome hour we spent with this gorilla family.

 

 

Life can be tough with so much excitement in one day!

 

 

 

 

More experiences to follow……………