Christmas is less than 10 days away. For the first 21 years of my life, this has meant being at home in Ohio, preparing for the holiday with an onslaught of holiday concerts, making Christmas cookies, playing in the snow with my dogs, and decorating our Christmas tree. This is the first time I haven't been home for Christmas since I was born. This is a very strange thing to consider.
However, it is an adventure to be in Rwanda for Christmas. For one, Rwanda is pretty much on the equator, so it is a balmy 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit every single day. It is like living in perpetual summer. The other day, I was sitting outside at a guest house with a friend. We were talking and enjoying cokes as a cool breeze came off Lake Kivu. At one point, the sun had shifted, we moved tables to be in the shade so as to not melt in the warm sun, and I said, "Woah, it's December."
So here are 5 Things I Miss About Winter in America and 5 Things About Winter in Rwanda that are Pretty Cool
5 Things I Miss About Winter in America
1. The Christmas Spirit: Call it Christian hegemony, but I am terribly nostalgic for the lights and decorations and carols you can find pretty much anywhere in America. I saw one Santa in a store in Kigali, and that was it for holiday decorations.
2. The Feeling of Winter Break: All of my PLU friends are struggling through finals right now (sorry everyone, but I wouldn't trade places with you). However, after a week of sleepless nights, junk food, and incredibly high stress levels, you get to go home and have your parents cook for you and have nothing to do but lay on the couch and watch HGTV. The agenda-less life of winter break is tantalizing.
3. Skiing: For something that I have only known how to do for a few years and am still pretty medium to below-average at, I really miss getting to go skiing in the winter. For the past three years, I've taken a trip to Montana to ski with PLU friends and it's going to be strange not to get to do that this season.
4. Sweater Weather: Even though long winters in Ohio get really old by like, mid-January, the cold of December is still endearing and exciting. There's few things I love more than playing board games by the fire in a warm sweater drinking hot chocolate.
5. Christmas Eve: Christmas Eve is a busy day in my family. My Dad is scrambling from one Church service to the next while we get things ready for the evening and next day. We go to an annual Christmas Eve party of good family friends where I always enjoy the homemade marshmallows and delicious appetizers. We end the night with the candlelight service at church, playing in a family string quartet. It's a great routine and a tradition I'll miss this year.
5 Things About "Winter" in Rwanda that are Pretty Cool
1. Sunshine: I mean, as much as I do love cool weather, it's not terrible to have beautiful sunshine literally every day. Even during the rainy season, I can count on multiple hours of sun. It's not too hot, not too cold. It really is perfect, tropical weather. My Chaco tan is getting to be very impressive.
2. Christmas with YAGMs: As much as I will miss my family back home, I am so excited to be spending this Christmas with my YAGM family. We are all meeting in Kigali for the holiday. Going to Kigali is always fun, not only because of the friendship, but also because it means getting to eat non-Rwandan food. Meze Fresh burritos and cajun chicken sandwiches, here I come!
3. Fireworks: Rwanda is not a country that is big into celebrations. People just tend to gloss over holidays, whether it be birthdays or Christmas. Thankfully, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is not like that. On New Years Eve, we will be able to step out onto the road my house is on, look out over Lake Kivu, and watch a fireworks show from the DRC. I would say that's a pretty cool way to celebrate.
4. New Year, New Beginning: Many times, New Years Day doesn't always feel like the start of anything. I have always measured my life by school years, so the holiday feels more like the halfway point. In Rwanda, since the whole year is summer, there's no need to organize the calendar around summer vacation. This means that all schools start in January, which shapes how the rest of the country runs. January really means the start of a new year.
5. Over the Hump: Before coming into my YAGM year, many people told me that once you're past Christmas, the year really seems to fall into place. You are used to being in the country, you have a routine, and it starts to feel like home. While I sill miss things from America (I'm looking at you, Thai food), I do feel like I'm getting more and more settled into being in Rwanda every day. Here's to 7 more months!
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Meet Me in the Pouring Rain
I had the afternoon off, so I decided to go into town to do
some long needed errands. I spent a chunk of time waiting at the bank—which, if
you thought American banks were slow, try going to a bank on African time—and
practicing my broken Kinyarwanda to the delight of the other people waiting
with me. As I finished my errands, a steady rain had started. The motos don’t
run when it’s raining, so I thought I would just walk home. Sometimes the rain
in Rwanda lasts for just a few minutes. Sometimes it never ends. I took a
chance that it would be the former…which I’m sure you can guess was not the
case.
I decided to take the slightly longer walk home because that
hill out of town was less steep and, as my host Dad endearingly reminds me, “be
careful, you can slippery.” The problem was that I hadn’t taken that way home
since my first day in Cyangugu. A passing truck with a poorly-translated window
sign advised me there was “No Time to Loose” so I tightened my raincoat around
me and made my trek home.
The rain showed no signs of stopping and as I hummed ‘Let it
snow’ and wished I had some corn for popping, water came at me from all sides.
The thunder crashed above like a ten lane bowling alley and I watch jagged
lightning illuminate the jagged mountain peaks on the horizon. It didn’t take
long for my pants to be holding twice their weight in water.
When I had been preparing to go into town earlier today, I
slipped on my trusty rain boots, stylishly cuffed halfway too offset the sight
of me wearing boots when it was hot and sunny. I brought them along to be useful against
the potential mud that would maybe accrue on the off chance that it rained.
Unfortunately, it soon became clear that this style only served to funnel
rainwater directly onto my feet. I soon learned as well that my raincoat, which
I always considered to be one part style and two parts function, was actually
one part style and the mere idea of function. Needless to say, I was quickly
soaked.
The water rushed down the descending hills next to me as I
wove down the gentle slope hoping that I’d picked the correct turn to get home.
Every so often I would pass an outpouring of water from the town above, gushing
out of the mountain and flowing beneath precarious log bridges in turbulent
rapids. The water, muddy brown and aggressively fast, was both beautiful and
frightening in that way that powerful water can be.
After some slipping and sliding off the hill of Kamembe
Town, I was pleased to find that I had picked the correct turns home and made
it to Mont Cyangugu, where I live. I sloshed my way up the cobblestone road of
Mont Cyangugu, thinking that I would have made a terrible World War 1 soldier
and wondering how long it took for trenchfoot to set in. Thankful that my phone
case is waterproof, I set the soundtrack to my walk home (thanks One Direction,
for your jammin new album) and finished the short walk to my house. Just as I
reached home, the rain let up. One of my house girls emerged from her sanctuary
inside and saw me, dripping wet and pouring a good two inches of water from my boots.
She started laughing and then I started laughing, trying to explain in Kinyarwanda
that I got caught in a rainstorm.
Even though I was soaked to my skin, I had a hilariously
good time on my walk back. I wasn’t worried about being lost and it didn’t take
very long to be as wet as I was ever going to be, so I just decided to savor
the time walking alone in the pouring rain. There is beauty in a storm—from the
flooded fields to dark clouds over a lake framed by Congolese mountains. Plus, being
soaked by rainwater counts as washing my pants, right?
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| Rainwater coming through a sewer drain |
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| Where the many pouring rivers combine |
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| Enjoying the rain in my "suggestion" of a raincoat |
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| Pro tip: boots function best when worn as designed |
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| Muddy water cascading off the hill |
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Land of 1,000 T-Shirts: A Story of Development from an American in Rwanda, Part 1
My host mom, Mama Muhire, took me to the market to buy rain
boots. We’re just getting into the rainy season in Cyangugu and the steep hills
that carry you from one part of town to the other easily turn into mud chutes
after just a few minutes of the aggressive pounding rain. My trusty Chacos,
worn for years up mountain summits and through Canadian Lakes, just won’t cut
it in the sludge that is Rwandan mud. I need boots.
Unfortunately, I am white. When I go to a market I will
automatically be given a higher price than something costs. Mama Muhire tsk-ed
and mmm-ed at the seller, but he was determined to charge me double for the
boots. She walked away, telling me that she would come back later without me to
buy the boots.
While we were in the market—a multi-storied building with
various goods on each floor—Mama Muhire took me through the clothes section to
browse. She held up dresses to both herself and me, siphoned through baby
clothes to search for things for Mukire, and chatted with the women selling the
goods. It was just like shopping with friends in America, except one of these
similarities was unexpected. I was surrounded by piles and piles of American
clothes….in Rwanda. Each seller’s section of the market was defined by the
narrow walking paths in between feet-high mounds of clothing. Women sat in
these mounds, sometimes partially buried underneath them, and held up clothes
for you to look at. They sorted through the piles and pulled out items to lie
on top of their mountain. Some clothes sported familiar logos from Western
companies, some of the brands were the same as I owned, and much of the writing
on the clothes was in English.
Now, okay, I should have known that this was coming. I know
that many charities and organizations find a great deal of satisfaction from
sending used, unwanted clothing from America to countries “in need” of the
secondhand goods. I’ve been in Rwanda for months now, so I’ve seen people walking the streets in shirts I know are from America—after all, did that young man
really go to “Gerry’s 50th Birthday Bash!” or does that young girl
really believe that “Blondes are Better in Southern California”? I think not.
However, it was something else entirely to see the piles of these clothes in
one large room.
For those of you who are unaware about this phenomenon of
t-shirts (and other clothes) pouring into the developing world, allow me to
give a brief overview. This information is from an article that a professor at
my Alma Mater wrote while she was a lecturer at Duke University[1].
Dr. Shah writes about Gifts in Kind (or GIK), which are “services or goods
(usually goods) which are donated and distributed in the name of international
aid, charity, and development.” She assigns a second name to these donations:
SWEDOW—or Stuff We Don’t Want. Most often these are clothes that are rejected
from secondhand stores in America—think Goodwill or Salvation Army—or are
clothes produced in response to an undecided event, most often sporting events.
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks played the Denver Broncos in the Superbowl.
Living in Washington, I saw t-shirts almost immediately after Seattle’s victory
surrounding me. But for every shirt that proclaimed the Seahawks world
champions in a sport that’s only played in America, there was one produced that
said the same about the Broncos. These now-incorrect t-shirts can’t be sold in
a country that knows of their inaccuracy, so charities such as well-known World
Vision sends these shirts to developing countries.
Most of the clothes I’ve seen in Rwanda, however, aren’t
championship shirts for a losing team. Many are clothes that Americans or other
Westerners donated to charity stores. Shannon Whitehead explains about this process
on her website[2]. Americans
donate about 4.7 billion pounds of clothing each year, and only 10% of these
clothes are fit to be resold in American retail stores. There are a myriad of
uses for the remaining 90%—from textile recycling to ending up in landfills—but
one common place these unwanted clothes ends up is in the markets of
Sub-Saharan Africa much like the place where my host family buys its clothes.
The clothes are sent from America to Africa in huge container bales where local
retailers then purchase them. These clothes are sold in markets, and the
profits are used to purchase another bale. This seems pretty
straightforward—the retailer buys from a supplier and then sells it to make a
profit to continue buying from a supplier. However, the key point here is that
the supplier isn’t a local factory or textile plant giving jobs to local
community members—it’s the family that does spring cleaning and gives three
bags of clothes to Goodwill, or my housemates and me who, during move-out after
graduation this past May, took anything we didn’t want in our house to the
local donation center. The supply for these African retailers relies on Americans buying too much.
Does anyone else see the issue here?
Whitehead
quotes Professor Garth Frazer from the University of Toronto who says that “no
country has ever achieved a sustainable per capita national income (at a level
associated with a developing economy) without also achieving a
clothing-manufacturing workforce that employs at least 1 percent of the population.
For some context, Rwanda has one major textile production company, UTEXRWA. To
employ 1% of Rwanda’s 11 million people, this company would have to employ
110,000 people. It’s website says that it employs 740[3].
Okay, so
there’s an issue, but what do we do about
it? People aren’t going to stop donating their unwanted clothing, shirt
manufacturers aren’t going to stop producing both team’s names on championship
shirts, and companies aren’t going to stop taking these clothes and selling
them in developing countries. At least, this won’t stop any time soon.
And here’s
the other complexity of this issue—the people in Rwanda who buy these bales of
clothing rely on their profits to send their children to school and buy food
for dinner. If the supply were to suddenly be cut, there would be nothing to
replace it with and many of these women would suffer for it. The systems aren’t
in place for a textile industry to replace the demand of donated goods with
locally produced clothing—and even if there were, the prices would likely be
much higher than they are now.
It’s a
complex issue, and not one that I have an answer to. However, I plan on
exploring these issues deeply throughout the year and sharing my thoughts with
you. I know this post ends with a certain level of pessimism—that the problem
is complicated and there’s no easy answer—but this is the world of
international development. It’s sometimes frustrating and unfair and seemingly
unsolvable, but there are also many brilliant people working very hard to make
this planet a better, more equitable place.
I welcome
any thoughts you may have about this issue of aid-gone-wrong. Look for further
posts in the future with more thoughts on international development in a
Rwandan context.
1 Sha, Ami V. "Shirt Off Your
Back: Stuff We Don't Want." Encompass
Ethics Magazine Spring 2011: 16-18.
2 http://shannonwhitehead.com/what-really-happens-to-your-donated-clothing/
3 http://utexrwa.org/company-profile/
Monday, October 13, 2014
Settling Into Cyangugu
My apologies for the gap between posts! I've been buying internet on a day-by-day basis, so it's been a while since I've been online.
This past week marked my first month of being in Cyangugu and I finally feel as though I'm getting settled into being here. As I've talked to other YAGMs--both current and alumni--I've understood that the first month or two can be very challenging. It's hard to be in a new country, and adding onto that being alone in a new country and the transition can be difficult. Kinyarwanda is a frustratingly difficult language and Cyangugu--being so close to the Congo--is filled with second languages of either French or Swahili. With communication being a significant barrier to my relationship building here, I've nevertheless found love and grace from so many people as I adjust to African life. The more of a routine I've fallen into, the more I can find my place in my community.
I've been spending most of my time working at a school just a stone's throw from my home. It's an English-speaking school sponsored by the Anglican Church of Rwanda, and I've been helping out with the English classes in the Secondary School. Rwanda is on a different school schedule, so the school is in exams right now for the end of term. There's no need for a summer vacation when your country is in summer year round, so Rwandans take their 2 month break over the holiday season instead. Many of the teachers find the American schedule funny, especially since the concept of seasons is so foreign to them. The easiest way to surprise a Rwandan, I've found, is to say that parts of America get to zero degrees Celsius or lower in the winter. This is now my "fun fact" when I'm asked to share something abou my home country.
I'm hoping to teach an English class to local government leaders as well, but the process for getting this class started is definitely running on African time. With these blocks open in my schedule, I've had plenty of time to relax. I've been reading quite a few books (I recently reread the entire Harry Potter series) and playing guitar upwards of an hour a day. I know that I will appreciate this free time once my schedule fills up, so I'm enjoying it while I have it! I've also taken some time to explore my neighborhood on my own, which has let me meet some cool people and gain some confidence in my being here. This is my home now too!
My newest friend has been Ralph, the rat who lives in my walls. We first met when I woke up to him crawling on my feet, but after a stern conversation that I would not like this to repeat (which mostly consisted of me kicking my feet in my bed a lot), we've come to a healthy co-inhabitance. And by co-inhabitance I mean that I'm tolerating him until I can find a way to evict him. I'm no stranger to rodents though, having worked in the mountains of Colorado for three summers and having dealt with pack rats the size of housecats, so it's like a little bit of my summer home in Rwanda. It's all part of the adventures of living in Africa! So put Ralph in your prayers for the week--that he will find a home with greater bounty and a less reluctant roommate soon.
This may be a promise often made on travel blogs from around the world, but I really am going to try and post more regularly! Now that I've figured out my internet situation more consistantly I hope to give more frequent updates on my life here. I also will be sprinkling in some longer, more reflective posts.
Here are some things to look forward to in the coming weeks:
-Reflections on development and America from a developing country
-A selection of some of my favorite daily sonnets that I've written
-What are the foods I eat here, from mundane to strange
-Reflections on race as a white person in the minority
-Things I love about Africa that I wish I could find in America
Enjoy your week!
This past week marked my first month of being in Cyangugu and I finally feel as though I'm getting settled into being here. As I've talked to other YAGMs--both current and alumni--I've understood that the first month or two can be very challenging. It's hard to be in a new country, and adding onto that being alone in a new country and the transition can be difficult. Kinyarwanda is a frustratingly difficult language and Cyangugu--being so close to the Congo--is filled with second languages of either French or Swahili. With communication being a significant barrier to my relationship building here, I've nevertheless found love and grace from so many people as I adjust to African life. The more of a routine I've fallen into, the more I can find my place in my community.
I've been spending most of my time working at a school just a stone's throw from my home. It's an English-speaking school sponsored by the Anglican Church of Rwanda, and I've been helping out with the English classes in the Secondary School. Rwanda is on a different school schedule, so the school is in exams right now for the end of term. There's no need for a summer vacation when your country is in summer year round, so Rwandans take their 2 month break over the holiday season instead. Many of the teachers find the American schedule funny, especially since the concept of seasons is so foreign to them. The easiest way to surprise a Rwandan, I've found, is to say that parts of America get to zero degrees Celsius or lower in the winter. This is now my "fun fact" when I'm asked to share something abou my home country.
I'm hoping to teach an English class to local government leaders as well, but the process for getting this class started is definitely running on African time. With these blocks open in my schedule, I've had plenty of time to relax. I've been reading quite a few books (I recently reread the entire Harry Potter series) and playing guitar upwards of an hour a day. I know that I will appreciate this free time once my schedule fills up, so I'm enjoying it while I have it! I've also taken some time to explore my neighborhood on my own, which has let me meet some cool people and gain some confidence in my being here. This is my home now too!
My newest friend has been Ralph, the rat who lives in my walls. We first met when I woke up to him crawling on my feet, but after a stern conversation that I would not like this to repeat (which mostly consisted of me kicking my feet in my bed a lot), we've come to a healthy co-inhabitance. And by co-inhabitance I mean that I'm tolerating him until I can find a way to evict him. I'm no stranger to rodents though, having worked in the mountains of Colorado for three summers and having dealt with pack rats the size of housecats, so it's like a little bit of my summer home in Rwanda. It's all part of the adventures of living in Africa! So put Ralph in your prayers for the week--that he will find a home with greater bounty and a less reluctant roommate soon.
This may be a promise often made on travel blogs from around the world, but I really am going to try and post more regularly! Now that I've figured out my internet situation more consistantly I hope to give more frequent updates on my life here. I also will be sprinkling in some longer, more reflective posts.
Here are some things to look forward to in the coming weeks:
-Reflections on development and America from a developing country
-A selection of some of my favorite daily sonnets that I've written
-What are the foods I eat here, from mundane to strange
-Reflections on race as a white person in the minority
-Things I love about Africa that I wish I could find in America
Enjoy your week!
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Life in Cyangugu
I've been in my site placement for two weeks and I've experienced a wide array of emotions and experiences. I underestimated how difficult it would be to leave the comfort of my yagm group and head off on my own to the other side of the country, but luckily my host community has been supportive and welcoming, making me feel right at home!
I'm living with my site supervisor who is the pastor of the Kamembe Parish of the Lutheran Church of Rwanda. In the home is Pastor Godwin, his wife Mama Muhire, and two little ones named Mukire and Reinhild. Pastor Godwin has three other sons who are away in boarding school, but they will be home this fall for school holiday. Rwanda's school year is different from America--the year goes from January to October. My family is wonderful and I've loved getting to spend time with the kids. Reinhild, or Reiny as we call her, is the only girl of the five children, so I think she likes having another female around the house!
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| The YAGMS and our Pastors on departure day--and some youth from the Kigali Parish to see us off! |
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| Pastor Godwin and myself |
Cyangugu is a really wonderful town, with rolling hills and beautiful views of Lake Kivu. There is a nice downtown area of Kamembe with supermarkets (which are unlike American supermarkets and more like small stores with food and drink), pharmacies, banks, internet cafes and more! Cyangugu is right on the border of the Congo, and my host parents do some business there trading small fish and cassava flour across the border. My first day in town, my pastor took me to visit his wife in Rusizi, which is the small area right on the border. He showed me across the lake to where we could see the hills of the congo and walked me right up to where the border is. It seemed to me so inconsequential, that a nondescript division of land so changes the lifestyle and economy of the people on either side of it. The homes look the same on both sides of the lake, and as we walked through the town I couldn't tell who was Rwandan and who was Congolese. It's interesting to reflect on the ways we create divisions between us and others.
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| I made it to the water! |
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| Enjoying a cold coke by the lake |
All in all, I've been enjoying my introduction to this part of the country. I'm starting to have a regular schedule, which is helping me to feel more settled. This week and next I am beginning to work at a local Anglican school teaching English and helping to advise some of the clubs. I will also be teaching English classes for district and sector government leaders in the evenings. Both the school and the district office are on the same hill as my home, so it's a very close walk.
In my reflections about these first two weeks, I had a conversation with someone about other life transitions I have had, particularly with college orientation. I remember the first few weeks of being at PLU to be stressful and intimidating and sad. Soon enough, however, I found my place and eventually PLU became the best thing to ever happen to me. Without placing too many expectations on the experience, I have a feeling that being in Cyangugu will be the same. I've been experiencing a whirlwind of unexpected homesickness and awkwardness, but all that is starting to feel like it's passing. I think it's important to name the fact that moving across the world isn't always easy. However, I know that I am supposed to be here. In the generous greeting hug from my host mom, the enthusiasm of the children from church at my introduction, and the repeated phrase "you are welcome" when I meet with someone or visit a new place: these are the things that remind me that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be.
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| Lutheran Church of Rwanda, Kamembe Parish |
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| Receiving a generous welcome gift |
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| Visiting with Mama Kibonge and her family |
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| Visiting with Baptiste and his wife, some of the earliest members of this church |
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| Running into Baptiste's daughter on the walk back |
Monday, September 8, 2014
Umuganda: Community Work Day
Umuganda, a word that means
"coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome." Umuganda,
a practice that has helped build and rebuild Rwanda through the work of its
citizens.
Umuganda is a practice of community service in Rwanda. The last Saturday of the month, citizens of Rwanda aged 18-65 are obliged (and those outside the age range or foreign visitors/expats, welcomed) to participate in work that benefits the infrastructural, environmental, and economic development of the country. The streets are shut down, buses stop running, and businesses are closed as around 80% of the country's population engage their local communities in work to benefit their country.
Traditionally, Umuganda happened when Rwandans would call on their friends, family, and neighbors to help in times of need. Think a good, old-fashioned barn raising in American history. Umuganda was institutionalized in various iterations over the last half of the twentieth century, often in ways that were not received favorably. In particular, the term was abused during the 1994 genocide in describing the need to seek out Tutsis who may have been in hiding. Despite this checkered past, the government of Rwanda reintroduced Umuganda in 1998 as a means of unifying the country and promoting a shared national identity.
Today, Rwandans eagerly participate in Umuganda monthly. From building schools and clinics to assisting community members in need, the impact of Umuganda is vast. Since 2007, the estimated community contribution is valued at over 60 million US dollars. Impressively, it is not allowed for anyone to receive any contribution, either financial or otherwise, for their work during Umuganda. It is entirely done out of service to the country.
The service lasts for around three hours and after the communities gather in a meeting about the work that was done and what to do in the next month. There are various levels of institutional organization—from community to national—that help advise Umuganda projects in order to best benefit the country’s development. There are also yearly contests highlighting particularly successful projects.
Umuganda happened the second Saturday we were in Rwanda, but because the streets were shut down and the buses weren’t running, we did not participate in the organized service. However, we had our own Umuganda with some of the youth from the Kigali parish of the LCR this past Saturday.
We spent a few hours in the morning clearing a plot of land below the hill the church sits on that will eventually be the home of a parsonage and office. We also did some work sweeping and assisting in general landscaping around the grounds. It was hard work—using machetes to chop at weeds and heavy hoes to break up the ground, bundles of dried stalks used as brooms—but the morale was high as we listened to music over speakers and shared in conversation with the youth.
After the work was completed, we had an impromptu dance party in which the youth taught as some traditional ways of dancing to modern music popular in Rwanda. If you know me, you know I love a good dance party, and so we stepped and swayed and turned with joy as we let loose and built on friendships. We danced in a line into the church where we sat in a circle and passed a guitar around, sharing in songs both in English and Kinyarwanda and sipping on Fantas. Even though I woke up tired, feeling the long week of Kinyarwanda lessons, I was reminded how life-giving it can be to enter into community with other people. There is such a simple beauty in sharing with another in hard work, good conversation, and a little bit of dancing. Pastor Robert estimated that our work over a little more than two hours was worth 100,000 RWF—around 150 dollars in just labor.
It makes me dream of what Umuganda could do for the rest of the world. In communities where people don’t know their neighbors or turn their eyes away from someone in need—this is where Umuganda is needed the most. Imagine confronting the needs of your community head on, of letting go of your own agenda for one morning and celebrating the commonality of humanity with those around you. If for one day, the world could put down our computers and phones, its flags and road blocks and guns, its walls that shut out those who look or act or believe differently, and instead reach out a hand to those standing next to us, how much work could those hands do?
Consider how you can celebrate Umuganda in your own life. Maybe you stop and ask your neighbor how they are instead of giving nothing more than a quick nod as you both walk your dogs. Or perhaps you could rake the yard of the man down the street or go with your Pastor to visit shut-ins during the week. How beautiful it could be to enter into this space of community—you might just get your own dance party out of it.
Umuganda is a practice of community service in Rwanda. The last Saturday of the month, citizens of Rwanda aged 18-65 are obliged (and those outside the age range or foreign visitors/expats, welcomed) to participate in work that benefits the infrastructural, environmental, and economic development of the country. The streets are shut down, buses stop running, and businesses are closed as around 80% of the country's population engage their local communities in work to benefit their country.
Traditionally, Umuganda happened when Rwandans would call on their friends, family, and neighbors to help in times of need. Think a good, old-fashioned barn raising in American history. Umuganda was institutionalized in various iterations over the last half of the twentieth century, often in ways that were not received favorably. In particular, the term was abused during the 1994 genocide in describing the need to seek out Tutsis who may have been in hiding. Despite this checkered past, the government of Rwanda reintroduced Umuganda in 1998 as a means of unifying the country and promoting a shared national identity.
Today, Rwandans eagerly participate in Umuganda monthly. From building schools and clinics to assisting community members in need, the impact of Umuganda is vast. Since 2007, the estimated community contribution is valued at over 60 million US dollars. Impressively, it is not allowed for anyone to receive any contribution, either financial or otherwise, for their work during Umuganda. It is entirely done out of service to the country.
The service lasts for around three hours and after the communities gather in a meeting about the work that was done and what to do in the next month. There are various levels of institutional organization—from community to national—that help advise Umuganda projects in order to best benefit the country’s development. There are also yearly contests highlighting particularly successful projects.
Umuganda happened the second Saturday we were in Rwanda, but because the streets were shut down and the buses weren’t running, we did not participate in the organized service. However, we had our own Umuganda with some of the youth from the Kigali parish of the LCR this past Saturday.
We spent a few hours in the morning clearing a plot of land below the hill the church sits on that will eventually be the home of a parsonage and office. We also did some work sweeping and assisting in general landscaping around the grounds. It was hard work—using machetes to chop at weeds and heavy hoes to break up the ground, bundles of dried stalks used as brooms—but the morale was high as we listened to music over speakers and shared in conversation with the youth.
After the work was completed, we had an impromptu dance party in which the youth taught as some traditional ways of dancing to modern music popular in Rwanda. If you know me, you know I love a good dance party, and so we stepped and swayed and turned with joy as we let loose and built on friendships. We danced in a line into the church where we sat in a circle and passed a guitar around, sharing in songs both in English and Kinyarwanda and sipping on Fantas. Even though I woke up tired, feeling the long week of Kinyarwanda lessons, I was reminded how life-giving it can be to enter into community with other people. There is such a simple beauty in sharing with another in hard work, good conversation, and a little bit of dancing. Pastor Robert estimated that our work over a little more than two hours was worth 100,000 RWF—around 150 dollars in just labor.
It makes me dream of what Umuganda could do for the rest of the world. In communities where people don’t know their neighbors or turn their eyes away from someone in need—this is where Umuganda is needed the most. Imagine confronting the needs of your community head on, of letting go of your own agenda for one morning and celebrating the commonality of humanity with those around you. If for one day, the world could put down our computers and phones, its flags and road blocks and guns, its walls that shut out those who look or act or believe differently, and instead reach out a hand to those standing next to us, how much work could those hands do?
Consider how you can celebrate Umuganda in your own life. Maybe you stop and ask your neighbor how they are instead of giving nothing more than a quick nod as you both walk your dogs. Or perhaps you could rake the yard of the man down the street or go with your Pastor to visit shut-ins during the week. How beautiful it could be to enter into this space of community—you might just get your own dance party out of it.
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| Jackie and me--Sisters! |
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| A good old-fashioned Rwandan line dance |
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| Luke is learning some groovy moves |
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| A morning of hard work and good friendships |
To learn more about Umuganda, check out this website: http://www.rwandapedia.rw/explore/umuganda
Monday, September 1, 2014
Rwandan Differences
As I've been getting to know Rwandan culture here, I've been noticing some very endearing traditions. So, in the style of Buzzfeed, here is:
7 Reasons why Rwanda is Endearing to Me
1. Greetings are Important
In Rwanda, the time spent greeting someone is a part of being polite. For example, in America, you might walk into a store and immediately say to the shopkeeper "Where do you have paper towels?". This would be considered very rude in Rwanda. Even to strangers, it's important to exchange greetings, such as "Hello, how are you, what's the news?" before jumping into a conversation. This establishes a rapport between you and another person.
2. Rwandans Like to Hug
In the same vein as greetings, Rwandans like to hug when you meet someone. It's customary to give a quick hug and then shake someone's hand as you are exchanging the greetings. In addition, it's normal to acknowledge someone's presence by shaking or slapping their hand when they come up. So, for example, if you are in a group of people talking and someone comes up to join you, even if you are talking you shake their hand to acknowledge that they are there.
3. Urudabo to You!
In Kinyarwanda class, we often take turns practicing conjugation or nouns or making sentences. When someone gets an answer correct, we shake our hands over their head and say "Flowers to You!" which I just find so wonderful as a form of praise. I wish everytime I got an answer correct in my 18 years of schooling someone showered flowers over my head.
4. The Fountain of Youth
Our second day in Kigali, we were told we were going to meet with the youth of the church. This doesn't mean high school students. In Rwanda, youth refers to anyone 18-35, even if they're married. So you can be 33 and married with two children, like our language teacher Peter, and still be considered a youth. It's nice to know that I have such a long stretch of being a youth ahead of me--and here I thought I was going to have to become a capital-A-Adult soon!
5. Rwanda loves Cell Phones
It's normal in Rwanda for someone's phone to go off during a meeting or class and often they answer it, even if they're leading the session. After years of feeling public shame every time my phone made even a quiet vibration in class, it's refreshing see that people aren't ashamed of being contacted.
6. Africa Time is Real
Before we came to Rwanda, I was often told by people that African time is a reality, that is that people in Africa take life a lot slower than our busy hustle-bustle in America. I have found this to be a reality. If someone is 20 minutes late, it is not the end of the world. In fact, they aren't even late. Church starts as people file in over the first hymns, classes end sometime around 10:30--which might mean close to 11:30, and food in a restaurant can take close to an hour to get to you. Instead of frustrating, I've found this a nice way to stop worrying about the clock or the schedule and instead appreciate the time spent with people. An extended start to church means more time to sing hymns; a loose end to class allows time for final questions to be answered; waiting longer for food means more time in conversation with your dinner company. I've found that I quite enjoy taking life at a slower pace.
7. Fruit, Everywhere!
Finally, I have so loved getting to eat cheap, fresh fruit every day. The bananas are smaller but sweeter than bananas in America, the pineapple is sweet and juicy, the passionfruit tastes like skittles, and the oranges explode with flavor. Yes, I could eat a meal of just fruit and be happy.
7 Reasons why Rwanda is Endearing to Me
1. Greetings are Important
In Rwanda, the time spent greeting someone is a part of being polite. For example, in America, you might walk into a store and immediately say to the shopkeeper "Where do you have paper towels?". This would be considered very rude in Rwanda. Even to strangers, it's important to exchange greetings, such as "Hello, how are you, what's the news?" before jumping into a conversation. This establishes a rapport between you and another person.
2. Rwandans Like to Hug
In the same vein as greetings, Rwandans like to hug when you meet someone. It's customary to give a quick hug and then shake someone's hand as you are exchanging the greetings. In addition, it's normal to acknowledge someone's presence by shaking or slapping their hand when they come up. So, for example, if you are in a group of people talking and someone comes up to join you, even if you are talking you shake their hand to acknowledge that they are there.
3. Urudabo to You!
In Kinyarwanda class, we often take turns practicing conjugation or nouns or making sentences. When someone gets an answer correct, we shake our hands over their head and say "Flowers to You!" which I just find so wonderful as a form of praise. I wish everytime I got an answer correct in my 18 years of schooling someone showered flowers over my head.
4. The Fountain of Youth
Our second day in Kigali, we were told we were going to meet with the youth of the church. This doesn't mean high school students. In Rwanda, youth refers to anyone 18-35, even if they're married. So you can be 33 and married with two children, like our language teacher Peter, and still be considered a youth. It's nice to know that I have such a long stretch of being a youth ahead of me--and here I thought I was going to have to become a capital-A-Adult soon!
5. Rwanda loves Cell Phones
It's normal in Rwanda for someone's phone to go off during a meeting or class and often they answer it, even if they're leading the session. After years of feeling public shame every time my phone made even a quiet vibration in class, it's refreshing see that people aren't ashamed of being contacted.
6. Africa Time is Real
Before we came to Rwanda, I was often told by people that African time is a reality, that is that people in Africa take life a lot slower than our busy hustle-bustle in America. I have found this to be a reality. If someone is 20 minutes late, it is not the end of the world. In fact, they aren't even late. Church starts as people file in over the first hymns, classes end sometime around 10:30--which might mean close to 11:30, and food in a restaurant can take close to an hour to get to you. Instead of frustrating, I've found this a nice way to stop worrying about the clock or the schedule and instead appreciate the time spent with people. An extended start to church means more time to sing hymns; a loose end to class allows time for final questions to be answered; waiting longer for food means more time in conversation with your dinner company. I've found that I quite enjoy taking life at a slower pace.
7. Fruit, Everywhere!
Finally, I have so loved getting to eat cheap, fresh fruit every day. The bananas are smaller but sweeter than bananas in America, the pineapple is sweet and juicy, the passionfruit tastes like skittles, and the oranges explode with flavor. Yes, I could eat a meal of just fruit and be happy.
Muraho! Amakuru? Ni Meza!
Greetings from the Kiyovu District of Kigali! It seems hard to believe that we've only been here a little over a week. We've been keeping busy, mostly with Kinyarwanda lessons, but I've been loving my time here in Rwanda so far.
We're staying at the Presbyterian Guest House in Kigali for the time being. It's a beautiful, gated oasis just a short walk from downtown. There's a beautiful lawn area and we're lucky to have a great view of the sprawling expanse of Kigali from the grounds. The food has been plentiful and delicious, a nice mix of traditional Rwandan food with some Western influences here and there. For example, at nearly every meal, we've been served hand-cut fries!
We're staying at the Presbyterian Guest House in Kigali for the time being. It's a beautiful, gated oasis just a short walk from downtown. There's a beautiful lawn area and we're lucky to have a great view of the sprawling expanse of Kigali from the grounds. The food has been plentiful and delicious, a nice mix of traditional Rwandan food with some Western influences here and there. For example, at nearly every meal, we've been served hand-cut fries!
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| Our courtyard at the guesthouse |
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| The view from our guesthouse |
Outside of Kinyarwanda lessons and other orientation sessions, we've had some time to explore Kigali a bit. Some of the youth (which in Rwanda means anyone 18-35) from the Kigali Parish of the Lutheran Church in Rwanda showed us the bus system one afternoon and we had the chance to see more of Kigali. We've also spent some of our afternoon Kinyarwanda classes going into the city to markets and shops. It's been cool to see more of Kigali than just our neighborhood.
Our country coordinator, Kate, has also been very welcoming in hosting some sessions at her house. I've especially enjoyed playing with her dog, Jimmy. Yesterday, we all made lunch together and had a feast of pesto with fresh basil, roasted vegetables and chicken. Jimmy enjoyed snacking on the chicken bones and cheese rinds.
Life has started to feel normal in Rwanda. I know that when we are uprooted again to travel to our site placements, there will be another period of adjustment, but so far I'm feeling as though I'm at home.
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| The Man, The Myth, The Legend: James "Jimmy" Imbwa |
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| A view of Kigali from Kate's house |
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| The wall below Kate's house using recycled glass bottles as a sort of Rwandan barbed wire |
Life has started to feel normal in Rwanda. I know that when we are uprooted again to travel to our site placements, there will be another period of adjustment, but so far I'm feeling as though I'm at home.
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| Sleeping in my mosquito net: I always did want a princess canopy bed |
p.s. The title of this post means "Hello! What's the news? It's good!"
Thursday, August 21, 2014
I'm Trying So Hard to Get to Rwanda
So there I was, ready to get to Rwanda. I've fit my entire life for a year into just a few bags and I am ready to get on three planes!
The six of us got to Chicago O'Hare airport and enjoyed what we thought would be our last American meal for a year. The Rwanda country group was traveling with the group going to Central Europe to Washington DC and getting on our international flights from there. It was really nice to have some more time with these friends before we went our separate ways for a year!
The six of us got to Chicago O'Hare airport and enjoyed what we thought would be our last American meal for a year. The Rwanda country group was traveling with the group going to Central Europe to Washington DC and getting on our international flights from there. It was really nice to have some more time with these friends before we went our separate ways for a year!
After getting onto the plane, we awaited take-off. Our friendly flight attendants informed us that due to a mechanical issue, our takeoff was going to be delayed. I've traveled quite a bit in my life, so I felt confident that we would get in the air quickly make up for lost time in the air. Both groups had just over an hour to get to our international connection, so we were keeping a close eye on what was happening. And I was so incredibly incredibly wrong.
After an hour and a half, our flight finally takes off. We're hoping that our connections might be delayed as well and we can still catch flights out to where we're going. Unfortunately, as we got to DC, a thunderstorm set in and we couldn't land. We ended up diverting to Pittsburgh and sitting on the plane for a few hours. My friend Beth and I were definitely feeling antsy but kept our spirits up with many selfies.
Despite the frustrations and stress, I was reminded--as I always am when flying--how breathtakingly beautiful the sky is.
We finally were able to land in DC--over four hours after we were due to arrive. Needless to say, we missed our connections. After some negotiation with Customer Service, we were all set with new flight plans and a hotel outside the city in Virginia. We made our way to the beautiful and castle-like resort that the airline had put us in and reveled in our year of humble service while lounging in fluffy bathrobes, enjoying flat screen TVs, and relaxing in our private rooms.
We're on our way to the airport again shortly, so hopefully we are able to get to Amsterdam and then Rwanda soon!
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are a collection of the most common questions I've received in the past eight months of my preparation for this journey.
Q: Wait, so what exactly are you doing?
A: From August 2014-July 2015, I will be serving in Rwanda as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Young Adults in Global Mission.
Q: What in the world is YAGM?
A: YAGM is a program initiated by the ELCA which sends young adults around the world for a year of service in partnership with Lutheran congregations in a variety of countries. This year, the YAGM program has young adults serving in Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay, The United Kingdom, Jerusalem and the West Bank, Central Europe and Hungary, Rwanda, Madagascar, and South Africa and Swaziland. 63 young adults have been called to serve for this year.
Q. Oh, okay, so you're missionaries.
A. Well, yes, technically. But I want to take a moment to stress that we're not the image of missionaries you may have. Throughout this experience, I've been exploring a lot about what it means to be a missionary. We are serving at the invitation of Lutheran Churches from around the world and are excited about sharing in relationship with our new congregation and community we're serving in. There's no conversion, there's no imposition. We believe that to be a missionary is to live into God's commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, and in this case, in a global context. Everyone who strives to spread love and peace through relationships and intentional community is a missionary, no matter where you are. By reclaiming the word and being aware of its presence in our year, we live into this new definition.
Q. Cool, so where are you going?
I will be serving in Rwanda. If you're my bank, you may be asking "Rwanda, what country is that in? I've never heard of it." So here's to you Key Bank: Rwanda is a country in Central Eastern Africa. I will be serving in Cyangugu (pronounced Chan-gu-gu), a city on the Western border of the country.
Q: Wait, so what exactly are you doing?
A: From August 2014-July 2015, I will be serving in Rwanda as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Young Adults in Global Mission.
Q: What in the world is YAGM?
A: YAGM is a program initiated by the ELCA which sends young adults around the world for a year of service in partnership with Lutheran congregations in a variety of countries. This year, the YAGM program has young adults serving in Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay, The United Kingdom, Jerusalem and the West Bank, Central Europe and Hungary, Rwanda, Madagascar, and South Africa and Swaziland. 63 young adults have been called to serve for this year.
Q. Oh, okay, so you're missionaries.
A. Well, yes, technically. But I want to take a moment to stress that we're not the image of missionaries you may have. Throughout this experience, I've been exploring a lot about what it means to be a missionary. We are serving at the invitation of Lutheran Churches from around the world and are excited about sharing in relationship with our new congregation and community we're serving in. There's no conversion, there's no imposition. We believe that to be a missionary is to live into God's commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves, and in this case, in a global context. Everyone who strives to spread love and peace through relationships and intentional community is a missionary, no matter where you are. By reclaiming the word and being aware of its presence in our year, we live into this new definition.
Q. Cool, so where are you going?
I will be serving in Rwanda. If you're my bank, you may be asking "Rwanda, what country is that in? I've never heard of it." So here's to you Key Bank: Rwanda is a country in Central Eastern Africa. I will be serving in Cyangugu (pronounced Chan-gu-gu), a city on the Western border of the country.
The above map shows where the six of us will be serving next year. I am on the left side, at the circled pin. As you may have noticed, I'm pretty far away from the rest of the group. I'm excited about being on the West border by Lake Kivu, and looking forward to exploring the joys and challenges of being farther from the other placements in Rwanda. Cyangugu is on the border that Rwanda shares with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and a few miles away from Bukavu, a larger town in the DRC. There's going to be so much to explore!
Q. So, what will you be doing?
This is the question that stumps me the most. I haven't received any details about my placement other than the city name. I could be doing any number of things: teaching English, working in a congregation doing parish work, engaging with youth ministry, partnering with community NGOs and local groups, or any number of things I don't know yet. I know that my job will be fluid throughout the year. This is the first year for the Rwanda program, so we are all living into this year of questions together. As I am able to learn more information, I will be sure to share it with you!
Q. Will you have internet?
This is a good question. I know that in my first few weeks I will be in orientation in Kigali and have access to wifi. I don't know yet what my internet connection will look like when I get to Cyangugu. I'm hoping that I will at least be able to find an internet cafe. Again, as with so many of these questions, as I know things, you will know things.
As more questions pop up or I know more answers, I will keep this section updated. Please let me know if you have any questions I didn't get to.
Wow, I finally have a blog!
In typical fashion, I'm posting this first blog post at the last minute. Honestly, I think people would be surprised if there wasn't something (or, you know, many things) I put off until the last possible moment. But here it is, and here I am--on my way to fly off to Kigali and live in Rwanda for a year.
Many of you reading this will have some part of an idea about what I'm doing this year, but I understand that not everyone (myself included) have the whole picture. This creates the opportunity for us to travel this journey together. In a separate post, I've outlined some frequently asked questions that I've received in hopes that it helps you understand better what I'm doing. As I know information, I'm excited to share it with you here. I will keeping this page as updated as my internet access allows.
In an exercise of self-control, my plan is to keep these posts brief. I tend to ramble, so I'm stating here in the open, in an attempt to cultivate some accountability, that this year will be a practice in economical writing. That being said, if I touch on something in a post that you want explained more, please let me know!
Finally, I'm excited to share with you in my writing project for the year. Upon the advice of my poetry advisor and mentor, I'm including in my daily writing practice a sonnet project. I'm going to be writing a sonnet every day as a way to catalogue the day and uphold my poetry practice for the year. I plan on sharing some of these with you--Sonnet Sundays, anyone?--throughout the year.
Feel free to poke around the FAQs of this blog and let me know if you have any questions at all! My email is emilybishop76@gmail.com and I can be reached there.
Love,
Emily
Many of you reading this will have some part of an idea about what I'm doing this year, but I understand that not everyone (myself included) have the whole picture. This creates the opportunity for us to travel this journey together. In a separate post, I've outlined some frequently asked questions that I've received in hopes that it helps you understand better what I'm doing. As I know information, I'm excited to share it with you here. I will keeping this page as updated as my internet access allows.
In an exercise of self-control, my plan is to keep these posts brief. I tend to ramble, so I'm stating here in the open, in an attempt to cultivate some accountability, that this year will be a practice in economical writing. That being said, if I touch on something in a post that you want explained more, please let me know!
Finally, I'm excited to share with you in my writing project for the year. Upon the advice of my poetry advisor and mentor, I'm including in my daily writing practice a sonnet project. I'm going to be writing a sonnet every day as a way to catalogue the day and uphold my poetry practice for the year. I plan on sharing some of these with you--Sonnet Sundays, anyone?--throughout the year.
Feel free to poke around the FAQs of this blog and let me know if you have any questions at all! My email is emilybishop76@gmail.com and I can be reached there.
Love,
Emily
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