Thursday 18th and Friday 19th: Days Twelve and Thirteen in Rwanda

Please note that VSO is in no way connected with or responsible for the content, comments and observations in this blog: these are solely my own in a personal capacity.

Oh boy – prepare for a LONG blog!

Big day dawns! Joe was supposed to be the first leaving so we got up at six! Well, he did – I lay on until 6:30. Everyone was quite wound up, waiting for different employers or VSO vehicles that would bring them all off to their places of employment. Of course, few of the arranged times turned out to be correct and Tina and I ended up being one of the last to leave. Francois turned up around midday with a pickup truck and two other men and we loaded everything into it and off we went. We stopped for almost an hoiur and a half just down the road from the guesthouse at a printers where they were expecting to pick up something that – of course – wasn’t ready yet. Then a brief stop for some dry cleaning before finally heading for Butare.

It was a lovely drive – we got a great impression of the amazing topography of Rwanda: hills and valleys, all the different crops but, most of all, every inch possible under cultivation and everywhere inhabited. There was not one moment where you were not within sight of a couple of dwellings. It really brought home the massive problem Rwanda faces even at the moment. The thought of the existing population doubling in 20-30 years is frightening. Also, as we headed further south, the degree of poverty became much more pronounced. Except for the main towns of Butare and Gitagara we saw nothing but the most basic and primitive housing, no facilities, electricity, only occasional communal pumps (the most common sight on the roads is people travelling by bike or on foot with jerrycans) and hardly any shops except for the occasional place selling beer and Fanta.

It was also clear from the astonished looks of some, especially younger children, that abazungu are not a common sight here. In Kigali they would often shout muzungu! as I walked by. Here they seemed more dumbstruck than anything else. Should make school visits quite interesting!

We stopped off in Butare to buy some stuff for supper and breakfast and then arrived at the house. The house itself is fine, quite imposing really – big sittingroom with couches and armchairs and – incongruously – a large TV in the corner (no electricity however). Small dining room, kitchen amd bedrooms. This is where things began to get a little bit complicated. There was one very big bedroom and one tiny one. At first we thought this was it and we would have to work out who got the small one but eventually we deciphered that one of our two bedrooms wasn’t yet ready and the tiny one was only temporary. Francois showed us two locked bedrooms: one was the mayor’s who very occasionally stayed here if he couldn’t get back to his home in Butare. The other was the second bedroom which was currently being renovated for one of us.

The next thing was that Francois said that the workman who had been working on the house felt he should be paid RWF20,000 rather than RWF15,000 and he seemed to feel we would have to make up the difference. We said we would refer it to VSO and that seemed to be that. The next thing was that the tiny bedroom does not have a lock and the one on the large one didn’t work. Francois said he would have to get someone out to fix it and that would cost RWF8,000. This one we felt we didn’t really have any choice on so I coughed up. He then came back and said the guy wouldn’t come for less than RWF10,000 so that was another RWF2,000 (Tina did get a receipt off him for this).

Anyway, VSO had delivered the furniture for the house which was stacked in the kitchen but none of it (particularly the beds) had been assembled or put in rooms. Of course, the living room was already fully furnished and my bedroom (I took the small one for now, especially as it didn’t have a lock) would only barely fit a bed in it so the furniture (other than beds) would have to stay put until the other room was ready. It was now almost dark and we started assembling the beds. The slats were too broad so we had to cut about an inch of each of the supports with a Swiss Army knife. Eventually that all got done and we at least had beds to sleep on. We also explored the kitchen and found quite a lot of crockery, utensils, even vegetables but Francois said they belonged to others and weren’t ours to use, though we were allowed to use the sink. We couldn’t quite figure out what he was saying but thought the stuff belonged to the workers who were doing up the house for us.

Anyway, he left saying he would call back at around nine to bring us to the office and introduce us around, we’d be back at the house by 12 or so and then he’d be back after to do the tour of the district, bring us to Butare etc. We also had a ‘chat’ with a young boy (Ephraim) who lives out back and does the housework (I say ‘chat’ in that he only speaks Kinyarwandan). He gave us each a key for the back door and showed that he had one himself. The back door doesn’t have any glass in it, mind you, but it is barred. Wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at but figured we could check with Francois in the morning.

We then got down to making something to eat. We had no kerosene and no way of either heating or cooking anything, so fruit juice and water, bread and tuna were our staples. We lit a candle in the sitting-room and sat around (got to give Tina full marks here for always putting the best face on a situation!! As we got started we heard a noise in the kitchen and found a young girl (who Ephraim had obviously let in) curious to see the new occupants. I shook hands with her and ushered her out and Tina then very firmly closed the door: there were a few others hanging around but no one else came in.

Anyway, we continued with our ‘meal’ and I took a few photos. Then, we heard a key turning in the back door and a man walked into the sitting room. He introduced himself in very good English as Jack/Jacques and sat down on the sofa. He said he was the Executive Secretary for the District and that he lived here. The room that Francois had said was the one still being prepared for me was actually his and he had lived there for over two years. It was actually a requirement of his job as DES (District Executive Secretary) that he live here and be available. This, of course, explained the stuff in the kitchen. Jack was extremely nice and we chatted for a long time about his job and his background but Tina and I realised that what the District had told VSO was, to put it mildly, somewhat at variance with the truth. In other words, we were to all intents and purposes living in someone else’s house. It was his kitchen and his bathroom we were sharing, and not just with him necessarily as it transpired.

We cleared away our stuff and had a chat. At least the lock on Tina’s bedroom was working (if only from the inside) so we decided to head to bed (it was only about 8.30 but we felt knackered). I actually slept quite soundly and didn’t wake up til about six, though I did think I heard some people moving around during the night.

The next morning when I got up Tina had already been up since five and had only got to sleep around one. There had been a stream of people visiting the house all morning, all of them just walking in, either looking for Jack or about some other business. One policeman just walked in, went straight to Jack’s bedroom and emerged having changed his clothes. Another woman walked into the front door into the sitting room as Tina was sitting there, told Tina she had to kiss her on the cheek as a greeting, kissed her back and then marched off down to Jack’s room!! It is clear that this house is not just Jack’s as a residence, but is also used for general District business.

Once I had washed a bit and brushed my teeth (drinking water is vanishing rapidly) we discussed what to do. The main thing is that this is not our house, it is – to all intents and purposes – Jacques’ (think I’ll use the French spelling). When Tina got up, she couldn’t use the bathroom because he was in there for ages getting ready for work. Whatever about no water or electricity (we knew that before we came) we cannot stay somewhere where we have absolutely no access to facilities of our own. We texted Lydia in VSO to this effect – she is away so we sent copies to Flavia and Charlotte and said we were meeting Francois at nine and would ring after that.

It is worrying that Francois has told us things that are obviously not the case (I don’t think my and Tina’s French could have been so bad as to be mistaken about that). The look on Jacques’ face when I told him Francois had said his bedroom was going to become mine was almost comical. I felt bad because he is perfectly entitled to be here, indeed is required to be here, so I don’t know if we have fallen into some kind of political gameplaying or what (the permutations there are endless so I gave up trying to second- and third-guess what exactly is going on).

Anyway we have both changed into good clothes ready to go and meet the mayor at nine (it now being ten!) but, of course cannot actually leave the house becasue none of the rooms here are lockable and Francois said under no circumstances should we leave the house without locking all our property away. I should add that the lock we spent RWF10,000 on and which only worked from inside Tina’s room anyway didn’t work at all this morning – Tina had to use a knife to get out of her bedroom! There was supposed to be someone coming this morning to fix it but so far no sign. Anyway, battery is getting low and I want to make sure I have enough power left to finish today’s entry. We have told VSO we can’t stay here as things are and we don’t want Jacques put out (even if that were offered) so it’s either somewhere else in Gisagara or they find us somewhere in Butare.

Much, much later on Friday

Well that was an interesting and – dare I say it – I hope productive day! Tina sent a long text to Lydia at around 8.30 explaining the situation and sent copies to Charlotte and Flavia when it transpired Lydia was away for the day. Francois turned up at ten or so, got the locksmith to fix the lock and then took us around the village (even he said you cannot call it a town). I thought I was prepared for the looks and interest but it was still quite disconcerting! Francois took us to his office (passing the sector HQ where our temporary housemate Jacques works) and showed us around and introduced us to all his associates. We left our computers there to recharge and then went to the bank but they didn’t have any application forms for opening an account. Then we walked to the District Office which was about a kilometre away. The sun was blazing down and I was wearing my good shirt and black trousers and (carrying) a black jacket plus laptop backpack so it was really tiring and thirst-inducing. As we walked to the office, Francois told us that the mayor was away so it would be Monday before any decision would be made. Tina and I expressed some alarm at this and I said I wasn’t sure what to tell VSO in this regard. Francois seemed a bit alarmed that we had already been in touch with VSO and assured us they were moving on this issue. He then, tentatively, suggested that we might consider living in Butare and coming in and out each day to work. We thought this would be a great idea and said it would have our full backing.

When we went into the office we were again shown around and introduced and then bumped into the vice-mayor who agreed to see us immediately. He was extremely pleasant (in both English and French) and said that when the placement was originally being suggested they had suggested Butare but that VSO office had said it wouldn’t really work. I have to say I can see exactly why the VSO Office would have though this: Butare is 20 minutes away by car or bike and there is no bus service but it turns out the majority of the staff live in Butare and there is no problem arranging a lift in and out each day. Anyway, we gave this idea our full support and agreed that we would stay as we were until Monday when there would be a meeting.

The vice-mayor siad he was going into Butare if we wanted a lift so we took him at his word and off we went. He even let us stop at Francois’ office to collect our computers and put them back in our house. He dropped us in Butare and we set off to explore what might become our new home. It actually seems a lot nicer than Kigali though there seem to be far more beggars and hawkers. Mind you there is only one real main street so it’s inevitable they all concentrate there. Some nice little supermarkets and shops, pub in the Hotel Faucon shows Premiership and Champions League football (!) and loads of cybercafes. We went into the Lebanese supermarket for lunch as a treat (the Mutzig was a very expensive RWF900 for a small bottle but is did come in a frozen glass but the burger chips and coleslaw was only RWF1500 and very good. That’s €1 and €1.80 respectively roughly (good value) and the average labourer would need seven days’ wages to buy the burger alone (not so good value).

It was nice to sit and relax for once and read a Ugandan paper about the trade dispute between Kenya and Uganda whereby Kenya has blocked imports of Ugandan bull semen in apparent retaliation for Uganda’s blocking imports of day-old chicks. Oh, and the RPF won the election by a landslide and the proportion of women in the Rwandan parliament has gone up from an amazing 48% to an incredible 55% (that latter was from a headline in a paper I didn’t actually buy). The main Rwandan English-language paper is the New Times which one could fairly say is a fairly strong supporter of the present administration, as indeed all the newspapers seem to be.

We then went to a cyber cafe where I answered a few emails and noted that Obama seems to be bouncing back a bit but it is still looking a bit hairy for November and that Chelsea had knocked four past Bordeaux!! We met up with Francois for a few minutes – he actually lives with hsi wife and four daughters in Butare so wasn’t heading back to Gisagara. We got some more water and packed everything into our packpacks and hired two motorbikes to bring us home (the price is usually RWF1500 but we couldn’t knock them down past RWF2000 each).

Now, getting a lift on the back of a motorbike in Kigali with slow-moving traffic and tarmac roads is one thing, this was quite another. The road from Butare to Gisagara is jsut a dirt track, though well-packed and firm and not as bumpy as some. However, it was quite bumpy enough for me! I kept bashing my helmet into the back of the driver’s as I didn’t see the bumps and ridges coming – I think he was getting quite irritated towards the end!! Anyway we arrived safely but I wondered what it would be like to do that for two hours instead of just ten or fifteen minutes and on less friendly roads too!

So here we are settled back in. The bar next door is doing a roaring Friday night trade but we are just glad to be home with a weekend to relax. I’m typing, Tina is texting and Beethoven’s 3rd is on in the background. Neither of us is very hungry so it’ll be early bed, lie in and then we are going to venture into the Gisagara fruit and vegetable market (quite possibly the first ever muzungus to do so – that should be quite something – full report to follow).

Murabeho!

Thank you very much to all those who have supported my ongoing fundraising effort. I will be continuing my fundraising for VSO for a few more months so, if you would like to contribute, please go to www.mycharity.ie/event/ruairi.