Photo shoot!

So we are in the process of creating a website for the basket weaving cooperative. As a part of this project a friend of mine has donated his time to take some photos of the women and their products. We had about a 2 hour long session yesterday. After the session we sat around and looked at the photos from earlier in the week on my computer. We had a great time and the women made fantastic models! Photos are of me and the ladies going through the photos and some of my favorite shots.

Voila voiture!

Its fixed! One of the project drivers has taken it as his responsibility to ensure that we are safe on the road. Thank goodness for him! He came over this weekend with a mechanic. They played around with the clutch, then took a part out. The part seemed to be for hydrolic fluid or something. Apparently it was broken, so they took it out, went to the parts shop to buy a new one and came back and replaced it. The truck now shifts gears with ease. I swear her rumbling voice actually sounded happier too! Now just a few more things to fix... radiator/overheating problem and the fact that she leans to the right... we should count our blessings though as at least she is drive-able! Baby steps...

Wish List

My Mom recently told me to send her a wish list. I think she felt guilty when I mentioned that I was baking brownies which arrived in the mail for my housemate. Believe me, I don't really mind. People are starving in Rwanda, but its certainly not me. For entertainment, I stay pretty content with yoga downloads, books, and whatever DVDs are getting passed around. Of all of the things I listed there is actually only one really important one - Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in Peppermint. This stuff is amazing!! Its the best all natural mosquito repellant I have found. I shower with it every night and never get a mossie bite. If, however, I use the Khiel's Eucalyptus Shower Gel, they buzz around like crazy. Its awesome. You can buy it at Health Food stores like Whole Foods. I got mine at some sports shop in San Fran. Apparently you can buy the soap in bar form, though I use the liquid form. That might be difficult to ship over though. Oh yes, and Mom, as always I need my Shaklee. I'm almost out! So although I added the Wishlist on the side, no pressure. I am getting along just fine! (though packages and letters do make my day... thank you Anna for all of the postcards!)

First Flat

On my trip to Uganda last month, I got my first flat. It was a slow leak so it didn't happen when we were driving, but by the time we got back to the car a day later, the tire was flat as can be. I decided not to write about it at the time because I wanted to include evidence that I changed it! We were offered help, but I said no. 1) I wanted to change it myself and 2) I wasn't sure if it was punctured by some guy thinking 5 muzungu women couldn't change a tire. It took a while because we had a hard time getting the jack to work. But in the end all changed and off we went back to Kigali!

Dancing with Friends

I'm beginning to make some good friends in the community. One in particular is an old lady in our basket weaving cooperative. The ladies call her Mademoiselle for her charisma and spunk. She's not necessarily a great weaver... she's too old. But she does seem to be a great friend and member of the community. Our latest "thing" together is dancing. A few weekends ago we were at visit from the head of UNDP in New York. There were some kids dancing and I must have been stopping and swaying a long with them without realizing it. Afterwards while hanging out in a classroom with about 60 of our weavers, Mademoiselle comes up to me grabs my hands and starts dancing in traditional Rwandese style, encouraging me to join. So, I join her, laughing along. Before I knew it the group of 60 women began clapping and singing in a circle around us, filling the room with music and energy. We danced away for about 10 minutes and it was one of those experiences which makes my life here so unique. I'm barely able to converse with these women, but we can share plenty of meaning in a circle of singing and dancing. Now, whenever I see Mademoiselle around Mayange or Nyamata, she grabs me and we dance for a few minutes. We laugh and she tells anyone around her how I know how to do traditional Rwandese dancing.

Partners in Pomegranates!

This week's big news is that the Turwanyubukene Farmers Cooperative (TFC) signed their investment documents with USADF. It was a momentous occasion. Almost all of the beneficiaries of the grant came to the farm on Thursday to meet with the country representative and MVP to go through the documents and sign the agreement. The group took the process very seriously asking many questions and promising their commitment to the farm and their responsibilities of implementation. Once it was signed, the group threw their arms up in the air and yelled out in joy! Just as we finished with this group photo, the skies opened up and it started raining. Apparently in Rwanda its a good sign when it rains on a big occassion. I think we all felt that this farm and group of 32 farmers are going to be blessed with a lot of good fortune in the coming years.

And no clutch...

So on my way home from our new weekly yoga routine, I got stuck in the middle of the road with no clutch, or at least what I thought having no clutch would be like. Basically the truck would not get into gear. It took me 5 minutes and a conversation with a police man to get the car into first. Moving along up the hill, I thought I'd try second, but bad idea. Got stuck again and had to pull over to the side of the road. Finally got it into first and decided to drive home without shifting. The car has been sitting in the driveway for a week now. Today a mechanic is supposed to come by. Fingers crossed its fixable without forking over too many $$$!

No Sex, No City

That about sums up life in Kigali after life in a city like Hong Kong, New York, or Washington. However, with a group of friends who are determined to make like here feel a little like life where we come from, I have started a weekend yoga class. Last weekend, two of us went and got a manicure and pedicure before the class - for $12! Even cheaper than Hong Kong! Then we went over to her house and we set up on her roof. I have joined www.yogadownloads.com and get to download 6 yoga class mp3s a month for $10. Its pretty cool and the classes so far have been great. At around 5:30 we set up the yoga mats, a citronella candle for the mossies, and my computer and speakers. Doing yoga over looking the hills during sunset was amazing. We may be existing with "No Sex, No City" but we do have sunset yoga with flocks of birds flying by and by the time we are cooling down into shivasana we have the moon and the stars and a flickering candle. Pretty cool, I must say. This weekend, the plan is to follow class with dinner and an episode of Sex in the City. Its a balance of give and take and all in all we get along just fine.

Angels

Today I went to the local home for disabled children. When my colleague told me about the place, I figured it was something more formalized. I'm not sure why... in a country where there is only one text book per classrooms and village kids ask for pens instead of money, I'm not sure why I thought that there would be a formal home for disabled children.
When we got out of the car, we received the most welcoming greating. 5 children with varying disabilities ran up with huge grins and gave us both enormous bear hugs. It was the best part of my day. We stayed and played for 20 minutes or so. There were about 10 children or so there. Most of them had been abandonded by their families. It was started by a woman who saw a need, and just started taking in kids until she had to expand. She rents a house for US$200 a month and pays 4 staff, living penny to penny. The kids had clothes with holes. But they felt lucky. It appeared someone had donated some bouncy balls and stickers, so today's entertainment was all set!
This is the perfect setting for small donations. People ask what they can do for our project and most times things are so large scale its hard. But this is tangible... you can donate used children's clothes, toys, etc and of course money. Those of you that have clothes that your kids have grown out of, I'll take them there. If you are in Hong Kong, just let Dennis know and he'll bring them over when he comes.
Next time I go I'll take photos so you can also see those big toothy grins which melt your heart!

First taste of profit!

After the books were ready, it was time to distribute the money. The committee announced that on Tuesday all of the women could come to receive their payment. Tuesday morning the President, Umutoni, and the Treasurer, Drocella, went to the bank to pick up their cash. Chantal and I went over to pick them up and when we arrived found out that their bank had allocated the money to a local bee keeping cooperative!! Unbelievable!! Chantal went in to sort it all out. Once they had reallocated the money, the bank proceeds to tell us that they don't have enough cash in the bank to cover their withdraw. At this point it was 12:00 and the women had been waiting since the morning to collect their funds. The bank said they wouldn't have the money until 2. We left. Chantal had to go explain to 100 women why there was no money yet (photo is of the room full of women). 2 and a half hours later we arrived at their main stock location with Rwf 1,300,000. About US$2,600 in cash. The women clapped and shouted in joy! 4 and a half hours later in complete darkness except for the light of my computer screen we completed distribution of all of the money we had brought with us. It was an intense day. A lot of the women had to face the reality that the materials they were given were only a loan and that they didn't get paid for their baskets unless their quality was good. A few women left unhappy, but the majority of the women were very happy to have a decent chunk of cash to bring home. Our most active women were paid up to US$75. In some cases this could be a third of what a household sees in a year and these ladies made that much in 6 weeks. It was incredibly inspiring and now its time to bust my butt to get more orders! Happy to say we just got another one for 900 pieces!

Village Accounting

These last 2 weeks I have been working with Chantal and the basket weaving coop on their accounting. They received their money from their last big order and had to ensure proper book keeping in order to distribute the large sum to all of the women who sold baskets for this order. It took a while to figure out that they actually had no idea where to start. I finally asked them at a meeting if they were ready to distribute and there was silence. Finally someone spoke up and told us that they were not comfortable doing it. So we had a look at their books and redesigned their accounting based on each woman and the transactions which she has with the cooperative. Loan - she takes a material loan from the coop of Rwf X. Stock - she puts X number of baskets at X value into the stock room. Sale - her basket is sold by the coop for Rwf X. 10% - 10% of the sale is kept by the coop for management fees. Pay - she is paid the sum of all of the above. After designing the sheet, we had 2 training sessions with the executive committee. The first one was a bit overwhelming. We also introduced a calculator and taught them how to use it. The second one was a bit better. We spent a half day with the committee doing practice records. 4 days later, the Sales Manager, Jeanne, had completed recording all of the books in the new accounting system. It was quite a process and quite humbling for us all. For me to remember that we sometimes need to slow down. For the ladies that they have a lot to learn, but they are still very competant and able to handle it.

First Visitors!

I had my first visitors to Rwanda last week. Belinda and Adam came from Hong Kong! It was SO nice to have them here and be able to share everything new with some old faces. They were lovely guests and took advantage of the opportunity to see lots of the country! The weekend they were here we went to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu. It was another lovely relaxing trip with lots of food, reading, and swimming.
The best story from the week they were here was on our way back from the lake. That morning I had drank several cups of coffee and proceeded to drink tons of water on our way back down to Kigali. About an hour and a half into the ride I couldn't hold it anymore and really had to go to the bathroom. The problem with Rwanda countryside however, is that there is not a single bit without tons of people! So every place I thought I could pull over on the side of the road, there were more people. I finally couldn't hold it anymore and jumped out of the car where i thought there were no people. Unfortunately the kids up the road that we had passed saw us and shouted "Muzungo!!" This is like the national children's call for "Come quick! There are some white people and we might get something from them. If not at least they are entertaining!" I ran across the street and up a little hill only to run straight into a little group of houses and more children shouting "Muzungo!!!" I ran back down the hill and up to where Belinda and Adam were standing outside of the car. I quickly told Belinda to entertain them. I thought she'd take out her camera or something, but she took me very seriously and proceeded to start dancing, singing and clapping. The kids killed themselves laughing and 2 keen little girls started immitading her. It was just enough time for me to run quickly back to the trees on the other side of the road and relieve myself. Ahh! Thank you Belinda! (Don't worry we have it all on video!)
So once again it was a lovely time having Bel and Ads in Rwanda. It was a great time and of course you are always welcome again! I hope to see many more of you here at some stage.

To Uganda on Umaganda

Susan's neice was in town for a long weekend, so we decided to take the opportunity to go to a little lake resort in Uganda for Sat and Sun. The Sat we left was the last Saturday of the month, which means it is Umaganda. Its a nation-wide community service day. You are not supposed to work or go anywhere but to your community service location for the entire morning. As a result we tried to leave by 7am so we could get out of Kigali before Umaganda started. We were a little late and got stopped and reprimanded on our way out of town. Opps. The cop let us go anyway. We explained we had a meeting outside of Kigali.
After a 3 hour drive and a 1 hour boarder crossing (stops on both the Rwanda side and the Uganda side for passports, car registration, paying for the car, stamping the forms, shuffling the forms, stamping them again), we arrived at the lake. It was a peaceful little tent camp on top of a hill with views overlooking Lake Bunyonyi. Bunyonyi means Place of Little Birds and it lives up to its namesake. Birds where flying all over the place singing lots of songs. So to the backdrop of a clear lake and the songs of birds, we began to relax over books, swings, lots of food and a long swim across the lake. It was really lovely and definitely on my list of future weekend visits!

Sorry!!

Well, its been a month since my last post! Sorry, sorry! It all started with a crazy return from Europe and having to catch up with a lot of things. Then the internet went down at the office and then at my house for a week. I was checking email, but didn't have the time to post since internet connection wasn't readily available. Then I went away for a weekend to Lake Bunonyi in Uganda and right after that my friends from Hong Kong came for a visit. So lots of excuses, but I plan to spend the morning telling a few stories of the last few weeks. From now on, I'll try my best to write more often!!

Pangas for Peace

Just before I left Rwanda for my trip to Europe, I was able to distribute farm tools to our pomegranate cooperative. Not only did the gum boots arrive, but I was also able to distribute other tools such as shovels and pangas (machetes).

When I first arrived in Rwanda, I cringed in horror every time I saw a machete. They were the weapon of choice during the 1994 genocide – every genocide book and movie ingrains in your mind the sound of machetes at work and the appearance of bloodstained handles. However, pangas are still an important tool in rural Rwanda, so I had gotten used to farmers carrying them and I had figured that the same was for most Rwandans.

The distribution of machetes did not go unnoticed. As soon as the bag got dumped at the project office in preparation to count out the 64 needed for the farmers, project staff began to make several comments. Our driver said to us in Kinyarwanda, “I do not allow pangas in my truck.” Most of this was all said in good spirits and with a laugh, but there was a definite undertone of seriousness and respect for the country’s history.

When we arrived at the farm and began distributing to the coop members, there were more jokes and comments, but in the farmers eyes you could see a painful past, a sincere thankfulness and a hopeful future all in one moment. One middle aged woman walked up to accept her tools and said, “Every time I see pangas I am frightened” and in the same breath she said, “Murakoze cayne." Thank you very much.

Photos: #1 is of the distribution of tools to the group #2 is of me, Chantal (a member of my team), and the oldest of the farmers (he is over 80) whom we call "muzee" - grandfather.

Lucky Me

I just returned from 2 weeks in Europe and all I can say is that I am lucky. I traveled to some of Europe’s greatest cities – Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva. I had business meetings with a top financial services company (ING), went to the biggest fashion trade fair in the world, met the founder of Made, one of the biggest names in fair trade fashion, and had a meeting at the United Nations. I met close friends from all over the world in restaurants, cafes, chateaus, luxury apartments… canal-side, seaside, mountainside and lakeside. And best of all I got to see the love of my life and spend time with his fantastic family. Could I be anymore lucky?

Cruising the jungle in my new voiture

After a week and a half of meetings, trips to government offices, delays, and confusion, we (my housemate, Susan, and I) finally got out "new" car. Its a 1990 4Runner, interior in excellent condition, and the body not too bad. There are some strips missing and a few reflectors. Apparently our friend knows who steals them and sells them, so we can always buy them back. Its a trusty diesel with a nice rumble. The sound reminds me of my first car! Its very fun cruising the streets of Kigali. We get lots of looks - not a lot of women drive here. So next task is for me to learn to drive a stick shift. I gave up on that at 16 when my Dad was too worried I would strip the gears of his beloved Saab!

P.S. Started French lessons yesterday and learned a new highly relevant word, voiture = car!

Paddling Rwandan Style!

Today I went out to Lake Muhazi with a group of people from all over the place for a nice leisurely Sunday lunch and some fresh air. Lucky for me there was a canoe you could hire and be paddled around in! So we all took turns paddling the canoe. All of my HKO pals would be pleased to know that my friends all commented on how much faster the canoe went when I was paddling! :) Lunch was basic goat and fish brochettes and of course the compulsory french fries, but nonetheless it was really nice to get out of Kigali and meet some new people. They were all really nice and fun, so I hope to see them again sometime soon!

Emotional Rollercoaster

Rwanda is an emotional rollercoaster. Between the high of feeling like you are making a difference, the hope of opportunity, the frustration of going nowhere, the saddness of the intense need, the horror of genocide, and the pure desperation... every day its a mix of these things. Most times this rollercoaster keeps you going - knowing that your next fix is just a day away. But it also can be extremely exhausting. As a communicator / sharer, I NEED to share these things with other people especially friends and family. Keeping it all bottled up makes me feel like I will explode! Thank god for email, phones, and blogs, and for all of your mails, comments, and feedback.
This morning was one of those mornings where its all piled up. And 2 young boys showed up at the gate. We have a replacement guard today. She is actually our maid, a shy timid woman. Not much of a guard. She tells me and I come out to tell them to go away. I guess she thought me coming out meant she should let them in. So two little boys walk down the driveway. The one boy had in mind that we could talk and he could practice his English. I met him on the street one day and he walked me home. He's not a bad boy or anything. He's first in his class and wants to learn. But the last thing I needed was to entertain two little boys! I told them I was busy and they had to leave. I felt rude and that this was entirely not Rwandan to tell someone to leave your house. But sometimes its just too overwhelming and you really need time and space to yourself. TIA.

Princess Weddings and Pavlova

That is how I would characterize my weekend - Princess Weddings and Pavlova.
I was invited to the wedding of a friend of a friend of mine. All I was told by all of my muzungu friends is that Rwandan weddings are boring! Well, it was a bit... but interesting in some things as well. First we went to the Catholic church service. There were 4 couples getting married in the same service. The best part about the service was the music. There was a live choir, but all of the hymns were sung in Kinyarwanda accompanied by African drums. Very cool.
Afterwards we went to the top hotel in Kigali, The Serena, for the reception. Now this part was really different. The guests were seated in rows like a theater all looking at a stage where the bride and groom sat. The close family were sitting at tables closest to the stage. Basically there were a lot of speeches which I didn't understand, separated by traditional Rwandan dance. The dances were cool - also accompanied by drums and singers. I came to find out that a lot of the speeches were blessing the couple, as expected, and at the end of each speech, the couple were given a cow as a gift. Sometimes one person gave 2 cows. Sometimes they gave a more expensive modern cow (meaning imported from Europe). At the end of the night, the couple was 12 cows richer. By the end of the reception, I was happy to go home. But, I was still glad to have attended.
On Sunday, I decided to be domestic and make my first pavlova. Ingredients aren't easy to come by, so I came up with the idea of pavlova, as all you really need are egg whites, sugar, whipping cream and some nice tropical fruits (which we have plenty of!). So, despite the fact that I didn't have a blender, I was actually able to stiffen the egg whites using 2 forks. I put the meringue in the oven and got to work on the whipped cream. It ended up that the pavlova had to go without whipped cream. I chose the closest thing to cream at the grocery store, but I think I might have gotten buttermilk. The French on the box translated as firm milk. Hmmm... Anyway, one thing I have learned in Africa so far is that you use whatever you got! So, we had meringue and fruit, drizzled with buttermilk!

Pomegranate Power

This week I met our Turwanyubukene Farmers Cooperative (TFC) for the first time. The TFC consists of 32 men and women who have each donated one hectare of land to the co-op to farm of organic pomeganates, chickpeas, and chili peppers. Millennium Village Project (MVP -me and my colleagues) are working with the US African Development Foundation (USADF) and the TFC to turn 32 hectares of dry barren land (yet virgin organic... never seen a pesticide!) into Rwanda's newest and most successful cash crop exporting farm. Pomegranates are in extremely high demand around the world right now and it is predicted that the demand will only increase in the years to come.
But at the moment this dream is all on paper. I sat in a 1.5 hour conference call with USADF in Washington yesterday discussing the ins and outs of the proposal. We have a long way to go!
At the TFC meeting on Thursday morning, Chantal (a member of my team) and I picked our way across the red ground and carefully stepped over and around the briars and thorns to meet the farmers at the area they were clearing the land. Not too long into the meeting some of the women started explaining to me with animated gestures and facial expressions how they are in desperate need of rubber boots. Some of the other members were too busy picking torns out of their calloused feet to stop to talk. About half of these people were barefoot and the other half have on flip flops. I told them that I would try to return with rubber boots at next Thursday's meeting. When I asked them what else they needed to clear the land, they sat thinking for a few minutes. One lady looked at the machete she was carrying and gestured that it was really dull and not very strong (it wobbled when she shook it). Ok, I agreed, machetes for each of you. After some more thinking we came up with gloves, shovels, and hoes.
Its the simple things that make a dream come true. Next week my dreams will come true if I can bring rubber boots to the co-op meeting on Thursday!

Basket audits

Yesterday I spent about 3 hours in a store room auditing baskets. This is the first time our ladies have had to deal with an international order where they need to really pay attention to quality. So I spent some time going through them, so we could help them think through how to handle these issues. It was both an inspiring and saddening exercise. Inspiring because you can see and feel the hope that this business provides in so many things - in the piles of baskets, the carefully written name tags, and hand deliveries to our field office to make sure they make the delivery time. Sad because you realize just how disadvantaged they are. A lot of these ladies are illiterate. Maybe they can write their own name. You can tell those name tags which are written with care and pride, but they are so hard to read because their handwriting is so poor. The others have someone write their name for them. The scribes are also proud that they have a skill others do not have. But when someone else writes your name and you can't really read, then your name gets misspelled. So you can imagine trying to track and audit 300 baskets when last names are about 10 syllables in Rwanda and first names are spelled a number of different ways (or in some cases changed completely!). It certainly reminds me why I am needed here. Its also sad because some of these baskets we simply cannot send overseas. The quality is too poor. In order to help them learn and incentivize them to be more careful, we have to send some back. I get a sinking feeling thinking that the lady who made this basket will earn a whole dollar less for her mistakes. When you only make sixty cents from crops in on a good day, earning a dollar less is the difference between eating dinner and not eating at all.

Cipro bonding

Over the weekend, my roommates and I all started dropping like flies. Every one of us went through about 24 hours or so of running to the toilet and feeling like absolute crap - headache, aches, chills. It was no fun. So we entertained ourselves for a few days describing symptoms, joking about the quality of toilet paper in Rwanda (none of this baby bouncing on clouds stuff), and just generally checking up on each other. Much to our surprise it really only lasted 24 hours. We originally thought it was food poisoning, but could not identify a single food source which we had all eaten. It was very strange.

Happy to say now that we are all feeling fine and back to working long hours in the field, in the office, and at home at night in our beds! Maybe getting sick is just what we need for a short break now and then...

Baskets for Sale!

Our basket weaving cooperative is working on their first international order of 350 baskets. Compared with the last time I was here, I am so impressed at how far they have come! Check out how beautiful they are. In the next few posts, I'll be reaching out to all of those readers out there who are involved in schools or church groups or volunteering groups who do annual holiday bazaars to raise money for a good cause. Our ladies really need their next order asap, so how about selling baskets in America, Asia, or Europe on their behalf? All money raised would go to the ladies profit for weaving (weaving baskets they can make over US$2 per day; in farming they make US$0.60) and also a training fund so the cooperative can learn more detailed designs and learn more professional ways of managing their business. If you order now we can have an order of a few hundred complete within a month, just in time for those fall or holiday fund raisers. Let me know if you are interested. And by the way, the training program they would enter would ensure income for the next year and that they are weaving baskets for Macy's (yes the department store) next line of Rwandan baskets. How cool!

To market, to market

Yesterday Susan (my roommate), Ben (her local engineer friend), Matt (and MVP staff from NYC), and I went to the market for a look and some shopping. What fun! I was very excited to find colorful African print fabrics, chilis and other fresh spices like rosemary. Susan was excited to find cookstoves (that's her speciality), a thermos, and some ceramic mugs. We have decided that we might make a weekly or bi-weekly trip to the market. There is one in particular which is very big and apparently has a lot of handicrafts.
Speaking of handicrafts, we also went to the local "artists village." Its a group of little houses which sell locally made and regional imported handicrafts and all things African. Here I found a necklace with beads made from newspaper. Something I was considering for a cooperative in our project. There were also tons of baskets, wood carvings, you name it. Another idea I had was to use the local beans in some sort of craft. They are absolutely beautiful - multiple colors and patterns all from one species of plant. If anyone has some ideas, please leave your suggestions here!

Business Meeting in a Sauna?!

Last night I went to meet a the guy who is running one of our partner organizations for a coffee. We talked for an hour getting to know each other and about our working relationship. He mentioned that he was going to a local sauna with a friend and said I was welcome to join. Knowing very well that I would go home and sit on my butt by myself, I decided to join. The friend, Christine, was a beautiful Rwandan woman, who used to work as the guest relations manager at the Serena Hotel and work in President Kagame's office, so she knows everyone. She was extremely sweet and took great care of me.
We arrived at the sauna and were given some big pieces of African print cloth - one for the body and one for the head. These are used as a cover up while in the sauna. For the next 2 hours (? I lost track of time) I was followed the Northern European ritual of sauna, cold shower, relax, sauna, cold shower, relax... with one other muzungo (white man) and roomfulls of Rwandans. It turned out to be incredibly relaxing. Water mixed with herbs is thrown over the heating system in the sauna, so it had the most fragrant intoxicating smell. I especially liked my frabic and hair do!
The most difficult part was continuing to talk about work and business as the night went on and I got more and more drowzy from the heat, steam, and relaxing atmosphere. Its a good thing we plan to have a normal business meeting this week, but I hope I can remember even half of what we discussed in our loin cloths!

Week One - Hitting the Ground Running

Regards from Rwanda! This is the end of my first week in country and its been an exciting, fascinating, and fun time already. Below is a flash report - daily highlights from my week.

Sunday - travel delay by 7 hours; absolutely nothing to do in the Addis Ababa Airport; arrive in Kigali to an overflowing toilet.
Monday - out to Nyamata office for the weekly team meeting; back to Kigali for meetings with a livestock and agriculture specialist and a bee keeping specialist.
Tuesday - meetings and brainstorming - village tourism, brick making, jewlery, cards....
Wednesday - Visits to the basket weaving cooperative groups to follow up on their first international order!
Thursday - Spent the morning surpervising a school cleaning in preparation for painting and in the afternoon had a surprise visit from 2 Brittish Members of Parliment. Scramble to get the right people in the right places (including my team member Chantal tracking down a group of basket weavers from the cooperative!), only to wait hours for them to show. With any luck this will pay off...
Friday - bumpy morning in the village with 2 visiting agriculture specialists to understand the poosibilities for irrigation, which is poorly needed!
Saturday - finishing the proposal for the Brittish MPs for a new knitting cooperative.

That's it in brief. There were so many things which were striking, frustrating, exciting... its hard to remember them all, but in the future I'll try to write more regular to capture those things. For now, keep the comments coming - you have no idea what a shock it was to wake up early this morning and have no idea what I was going to do with my whole weekend!!

P.S. It couldn't be any different than my last few days in Hong Kong! Riding the Ferris Wheel at Ocean Park and drinking Proseco at Isola...

The Wasting Wonderland

During my last week in Hong Kong, I've been running around the city for lunches, coffees, and the myriad of errands I need to do before leaving. After spending only 10 days in Africa in early May, one of the biggest contrasts between Hong Kong and Rwanda which I noticed was the level of waste. In Rwanda, there is so little waste. Non-biodegradable plastic bags are not even allowed in the country (they take them away from you at customs). And village women come to market or to the health center with the one bag their family possess. Its likely to be a fertilizer or seed bag and it will hold their few Rwandan Francs, whatever they might be bringing to sell, and their medical insurance card. Every possession is dear, even the recycled seed bags.
In Hong Kong, on the other hand, almost nothing seems dear! In particular one thing which drives me crazy is the lack of concern for the waste in energy. Building after building has air conditioning blasting away with doors wide open. I wish that the Environmental Agency would do a study on how much money and resource is wasted from simply leaving the doors open (or not having doors at all).
So all of my friends in Hong Kong, while I'm gone, do me a favor and if you see the door to a shop open, please close it and think of the ladies in Rwanda with their recycled seed bags.
P.S. See picture for another way Hong Kong wastes energy... but what a beautiful skyline nonetheless!

Best wishes from Japan

Today I received a farewell card and gift in the mail from my friends at ING Life Japan. They sent a framed picture of the team there. This way I never forget what a lovely group of colleagues they all are. I received other sweet letters and gifts from other old colleagues in the region as well - from Malaysia, China, India...

All of these people from around the region extending their warmth and luck reminds me how blessed I am to have spent nearly 5 years in Asia. What a wonderful blend of cultures, tastes, sights and sounds that I am getting sad to leave!

So here is one last thank you to all of the people in all of the countries which have made those 5 years special.

Fair Vanity at "Vanity Fair"

A good friend told me that this month’s Vanity Fair magazine is all about Africa and the people and programs around the world that are trying to help Africa face and overcome her challenges. It’s a great issue, with articles about various programs including Product (Red) and yes, Millennium Villages Project (MVP), or rather about Jeff Sachs the founder of MVP. Anyone who cares to learn more about the state of Africa today should read this issue. Link to Vanity Fair's Africa issue.

Right now I’m on my way back from America. So many people know so little about what is going on in the rest of the world, especially Africa, and the little that they do know or think they know is mostly antiquated or negative perspectives about corruption, AIDS, and people shooting each other in the streets. The interesting thing is that a person will talk about how awful, unsafe, and undesirable Africa is and then mention about people getting shot in their city, about the neighbor who is HIV positive (or maybe they have no idea), and about the injustices of oil prices and the war in Iraq without realizing that they face the same issues in their own beloved country.

Most Americans really love America. This is great, but often this love of state is blinding. Yes, there are a lot of problems “over there,” but there are an equal number of problems at home. Equally there are good things in the states and good things in other countries. We can learn a lot by just being open to learning about them and not wearing rose colored glasses when looking at our current situation.

Bono is a guest editor of this month’s “Vanity Fair.” He has suggested to the magazine to change the name to Fair Vanity. Not a bad idea… I believe that some more American’s could use a little less Vanity Fair and more Fair Vanity.

Ancient Eggs and Chicken Heads

Last night was my farewell dinner with ING. After almost 5 years with ING and in Hong Kong, its all coming to an end. How strange!

5 years ago eating Thousand Year Old Eggs and having a roasted chicken head staring at me from the table would have been strange too. But after 5 years perspectives certainly change... I would imagine that my perspectives will change dramatically once again in these next few years.

One thing that for sure will not change is my respect for all of the people I have met and worked with around the region at ING. I will certainly miss them and I might even miss the chicken heads too!

Daily Muraho

I decided to call this blog "Daily Muraho." Muraho means hello in Kinyarwanda, the local language of Rwanda. So many people wanted me to start this blog so that they could keep track of me, know what I am doing, know that I am alive and haven't been swallowed by the "Dark Continent." So really, its like a daily virtual hello to my friends and family... and I get the benefit of only having to write it once (not a bunch of times in different ways to different people).

I think muraho sets the right tone for this blog. When I was in Rwanda in May, I learned that muraho means a little more than just hello. It means "Welcome. I am happy to see you." And it is always offered with a smile.

So therefore... Hello! Welcome! I am happy to see you here! And know that I am smiling at you whenever you come for a visit.

P.S. Comments are greatly appreciated so that I can keep track of you too!