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.

Jackie and me--Sisters!

A good old-fashioned Rwandan line dance

Luke is learning some groovy moves

A morning of hard work and good friendships

To learn more about Umuganda, check out this website: http://www.rwandapedia.rw/explore/umuganda

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.

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!

Our courtyard at the guesthouse

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.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend: James "Jimmy" Imbwa

A view of Kigali from Kate's house

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.

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!"

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!

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.

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