Farewell, Rwanda

Today is a free day, our last one of the trip. Just back from my last Rwandan run this time 'round...it's certainly not called "Land of a Thousand Hills" for nothing! Apart from this (or perhaps, because of this depending on your perspective ;) it's a fabulously runner-friendly city. Wide sidewalks on main streets, warm weather but cool breeze, and not one cat-call (perhaps I'm losing it...I am long past 'marrying age' compared to my counterparts here!).

Signing off for now. I'll be sure to post final photos of the donor group's Murambi school when it is finished sometime in the next couple of months at the latest. Thanks for following along!

Day of the Girl in Rwanda

Happy Day of the Girl! Here is a statue of a woman and girl in main roundabout of Kigali. They symbolise the strength, resilience and compassion of Rwandan women and girls - qualities used everyday to help their families, communities and country advance. As our driver noted, "A woman is the mother of her nation."

Speaking of the power of women, meet Pauline - widowed with one child. She's the President of the Kiziguro Piggery Cooperative, established just four short months ago. When Plan introduced its small livestock program (funded through Plan Canada's Gifts of Hope catalogue) as an alternative to families who could not afford to keep a cow, this community decided that - rather than one pig per family model - they would set up a community co-op. Plan supplied the materials for the concrete shed (keeps pigs healthy from rain and overheating), the livestock training, basic medicines and of course the pigs (10 females, 1 male). Eleven families pooled their pigs and built one common shed for all to use. They take turns looking after the pigs, with many of the families' children leading the care. The co-op now acts as a demonstration piggery, inviting nearby pig farmers to visit and share in their skills and knowledge. With each of the 10 sows now pregnant, this project is ready to replicate its success at a super pace! Families will very soon be realizing the increased food security (household consumption) and disposable income (resale at market) these piglets will produce. Pauline said most pig profits they make will be used for education costs (books, uniforms etc.) and also family medical insurance. Keep up the inspiring work, Piggery President Pauline!

The co-op overwhelmed us all when they presented gifts for us to take with them as a remembrance of our visit. Handmade serving trays and baskets. The baskets symbolise a sacred partnership between giver and recipient, with the tightly fitting lid representing a firm relationship which respects any secrets or sharings within. What a touching present!

We next traveled to a newly constructed health centre which Plan funded. We learned about the most common patient ills (malaria, TB, intestinal parasites) and how the government supports both medicines as well as cost of medical visits based on a three-tier system according to family's means. Antiretrovirals (ARVs) to manage HIV is funded entirely by the government. Mothers are encouraged to deliver their babies in a facility such as this one, to decrease the incidences of infant/maternal deaths, and there is a fee if parents don't register their baby within 8 days of birth (birth registration is essential in ensuring all children have access to their rights, and to ensure the government is budgeting enough money to basic services such as health and education). Another amazing day full of insight into this incredible country.

More Plan program visits

Just back from a full day in the field. First we visited a community that is part of Plan's Promoting African Grassroots Economic Security (PAGES) project, which also comprises the donor group's school in Murambi. This future-school has yet to begin construction, so we met the community on the site where it will be built. We then visited a nearby school where most of the children who will attend the new school currently are. We learned from the Headmaster that classes are so full, and classrooms so few, that there is a double-shift to allow as many students an education as possible. Makes for a long day for the teachers, some of whom are still transitioning from teaching in French (the former official language of instruction) to English (mandated a few years ago).

Here the mayor of the area welcomes us back (we had met him last week at the donor group's Murambi school) and suggests that we consider a second home for all our visits :) He was very gracious.

In the afternoon we met a Village Savings and Loan Assn (VSLA). We sat in on their weekly mtg, to learn how they operate and how they are using their loans to ultimately increase opportunity for their families. This group was an extremely disciplined one - they set their own association rules and regulations, some of which include significant penalties for missing a meeting without a valid reason, being late for a meeting, or forgetting your association documents. This group was all business indeed!

Genocide Memorial

The Rwandan Genocide Memorial in Kigali is organised into three parts, ordered as follows: 1) before the genocide; 2) other genocides around the world; and 3) the child victims of Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

Within, a quote:
"This is about our past and our future;
our nightmares and our dreams;
our fear and our hope.
We begin where we end,
with the country that we love."

Photography inside the memorial is prohibited, but here are a couple of pics from the outdoor grounds.

During the annual mourning period (100 days to mark the duration of '94 genocide, beginning every April-June), a flame is kept burning here. The surrounding water represents life - the lives of those who survived amongst the terror and mass killings(symbolized by fire). The potholder statue is an elephant, as elephants 'never forget'.

Circling a Rwandan flagpost is the Children's Garden. The plantings are those of fruit trees, to represent that children are the fruit of life, we must help them to grow and protect them so that they may nourish the future.

It is noted inside that the militia were trained to execute 1,000 people every 20 minutes. The mass executions (often involving rape and torture) were extremely well planned and choreographed w the support -and, through inaction, endorsement- of those around the world in a position to help.

Below this children's garden are three tiers of mass graves, the final resting place for approximately a quarter of a million men, women and children.

Rebuilding Rwanda

In today's New Times, Rwanda's English daily newspaper. Further proof of why this donor group's school project is so important. Article reports that two students and one teacher nearly died last week, when they were trapped in crumbling school infrastructure. Apparently these incidents occur all too regularly, especially during the rainy season, and while the Min of Edn is concerned w the dilapidated state of many schools, they are also hesitant to close such dangerous schools down as this would mean denying children their right to an education. Thanks to this Cdn group of donors, the children of Murambi will not have to worry about such a dire situation.

An aside...further in the paper there was a lovely quote in regards to the upcoming senate elections in Rwanda: "Let us build a nation where every citizen has a place, where all can live in harmony and with dignity, and where we all have the opportunity to raise our children and realize our dreams."

Cruising Kigali

Yesterday we drove from Gisenyi, on the shores of Lake Kivu, back to Kigali where we checked out a local crafts market. Today we've been cruising the city on a city tour - we paid our respects at the nearby memorial for 10 UN Peacekeepers (Belgian) who were killed in the genocide while trying to protect the moderate (and solution-seeking) PM. We also visited the old colonial part of town, and the newly developed parts (the government is relocating thousands of people currently living in more traditional homes to the countryside, so that apartment buildings can be built to house urban dwellers more efficiently).

We learned about how Rwandans are grouped in "cells", with one cell comprised of about a block of people, or 10-15 families. Each cell has an elected leader who helps in the organization of civil activities. Every Rwandan is required to spend a few hours of the last Saturday of every month working for his/her community/country. If you're away that weekend, you make up the time or contribute a nominal fee to the cell's 'community fund' in your absence. And if you choose not to partake, there's a fee of 150,000 Rwa Francs (~$250US) which generally acts as incentive enough for people to pull their weight. Incredible organization for progress and development! Cells will gather to clean roads, garden parks, etc. The work is obvious as this country is spotless!

This afternoon we will visit The Genocide Memorial. It will, undoubtedly, be a powerful and poignant experience.

Gorilla Success!

Two-fold success...in that a) everyone made it to the top of the mountain! and b) we had a very lively experience with our gorilla family. We had it all - playful babies, lazy dining sessions, marauding silverbacks from other families trying to steal our silverback's ladies, an injured youth in the scrimmage...phewf, it was high drama in the Virungas! And we had some comedic moments as well, when our lead silverback bowled through a few of us - nothing hurt but pride :)
We're in Gisenyi now, a border town across from Goma in the Congo on Lake Kivu, the highest lake in all of Africa. We'll head back to Kigali tmw, with an afternoon at the market followed by two days in the field visiting Plan projects, and one day touring Kigali including the genocide museum. It's hard to believe we're halfway through - we still have so many interesting things to experience!

Virungas and Visions

Plan Canada donors enjoy traditional Rwandan dance from a children's group near Ruhengeri at the foothills of the Virunga Mtns. These mountains are where the rebel army (under current President Paul Kagame's leadership) gathered and prepared for their charge to power, which drew an end to the genocide. As we drove northwest to this magical, misty range, we learned about the country's ambitious plan for development - Vision 2020. President Kagame is a visionary leader, inspiring so many with feelings of hope and progress. Exciting times in Rwanda!

We visit the school

The community of Murambi welcomed a group of Plan donors today. Children sang and danced in celebration of the new school (Groupe Scolaire Murambi) the donors collectively funded. Murambi's Mayor told the group, "Your gift of education to these children will be repaid. In Rwanda we have a tradition that when you give a gift of a cow, you receive a gift of its first offspring back in return. If education were cattle, these children would one day fly many planes filled with cows to you in Canada. Because cows don't fly, instead these students will repay your kindness with hard work and progress. You are looking at the future of Rwanda, and they will make good things happen around the world bc of this opportunity. Thank you."

One of the donors said that the few hours we spent visiting the school they helped make possible, and meeting the children who will benefit, made the 2-day journey over here entirely worth it.

A fantastic day, which I'll write about soon. We're off to the west of Rwanda today, driving to the Virunga Mountains.

The school gets underway!

Exciting news from Rwanda...ground has been broken and the school construction has begun! Some photographs, taken mid-summer, are below.

A classroom block with just the foundation laid, walls are next.

The school will be built in three 4-classroom blocks, here is one block underway.














This is where the school latrines will be built.














Another view of the mid-construction classroom block.














Children's input is always encouraged and incorporated into Plan's work. Here some children map out how they envision their new school.

Plan Rwanda - an overview

Plan has been operating in Rwanda since January 2007, helping children to access their full rights to health, quality education and a sustainable future.

Rwanda’s children face great challenges as a result of poverty and historical circumstances such as the 1994 genocide, HIV and AIDS. Many children die from treatable and preventable diseases.

Plan currently works with 2,500 sponsored children, their families and communities in the Gatsibo district. We aim to open 4 more programme units within the next 5 years.

Plan’s core areas of activity include:
-girls’ education
-early childhood care and development
-youth empowerment

Background - what's this trip all about?

Hosted by Plan Canada, a select group of Canadian donors will visit a school construction project in Rwanda this September. Donors received a special invitation to join this exclusive trip when they made a significant contribution to help fund the education project.

This blog will chronicle our group's philanthropic journey halfway around the world: where they will meet with the local Plan staff who put their donation to excellent use; speak with the students who will benefit from the school they helped to build; and see, first-hand, how their support to Plan will positively change lives for generations to come.

We’ll visit with Plan communities to celebrate partnership, promise and hope, and meet with people who are leading lasting change for a better future. In addition to better understanding what it takes to build a school and improve education, we'll also learn how Plan Rwanda implements health, livelihood/micro-finance and child rights programs.

Along the way, the group will participate in one of the world’s best wildlife adventures – a private viewing of Rwanda’s mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. With only two populations (about 800 individuals) left in the world, a face to face meeting with these magical and majestic creatures is something very few people will experience and will no doubt be a personal highlight.

Stay tuned - we hope you will follow our adventure!

P.S. Big thanks to Uniglobe Geo Travel for all their work! Uniglobe has been a key partner of Plan's for more than 10 years, and in addition to sponsoring many children and funding education projects in West Africa, Uniglobe has generously comped Plan's land costs for this exciting trip. Thanks, Uniglobe!