My first fall... well, slide really!

I tried to get to Nyabinoni this week and failed! I had 5 hour journey for nothing – except the experience of falling off the bike into the mud for the first time AND hailstones which felt like god throwing medicine balls at us! We were ‘bitten by ice’ as Charles said. He was mortified when I fell off and got covered in mud and later on as the rain stopped he found a water tap and literally poured water all over me and rubbed all the mud away – fortunately I proved that my waterproofs are, indeed, waterproof!

My plan was to give a presentation at the district headteachers meeting and travel up to the north of my district in the afternoon, arriving about 4pm, then spend the rest of the week there, visiting schools. My colleague had gone up the day before and we would return together on Friday. I have a great moto driver called Charles and he is safe and lovely!

I gave the presentation and left the meeting early. I had a heavy back pack because I was staying over, needed my netbook, work things etc. We set off, we left the tarmac road after an hour which meant at least 3 hours on dirt tracks – it is like scrambling rather than motorbike riding. An hour later the wind blew up (I’m beginning to know the signs!) – a warm wild wind – we put on all our waterproofs, then the rain started - it lashed down, but not just rain – ice balls!!! We were pelted by ice balls – I have the bruises to prove it. We needed some place to shelter , the track was becoming very slippy and dangerous. We pulled into a little sheltered place where there were other people. The local people told us that the road was blocked up ahead and it was not possible to go any further – I phoned my colleague who confirmed that the rain had been very heavy and it was bitterly cold – not the picture we have of Africa is it?! So we decided we should turn round and go back. The rain had stopped by this time. The journey along the track back to the tarmac took us two hours – it was extremely muddy in places and I had to get off and walk,(my preference by this time!) I fell off once but it was a gentle slide off into soft,wet mud rather than a ‘thrown off’ situation. Charles was mortified!

We continued on our way slipping and sliding and stopped at a water tap – Charles literally washed me down from head to foot!! – he was pouring water all over me and rubbing off the mud with is hands! By this time my bag was twice as heavy because of all the water he poured over it! I was aching all over and my back was so sore and stiff with carrying that weight – lesson – even if you’re staying overnight don’t bother taking anything – seriously I’m not going to take spare clothes or anything next time- just soap and toothbrush! We arrived back at the tarmac road and we were both relieved – it was another hour before we got home. We had set off at 12.30 and arrived back at 5.30 and basically got nowhere!

Oh well! Just another day in Rwanda

The next day was bright and clear and the sunset glorious.

Love to you all. Tx

A very special visit.....

I have just returned from an amazing trip which I feel privileged to have been part of (bad English, I know but I don’t care!!). My very good friend from Rochdale (Fidele) and his lovely wife came to visit Fidele’s home village where he lived happily as a little boy, with his family and friends. As we journeyed he told us of how he and his brother would walk the hillsides looking after the animals, and playing boy’s tricks. Those boys knew every nook and cranny of that lush mountainous terrain. Later on they went to school and studied hard, but tragically the family were separated for many years. In a wonderful turn of events, Fidele was re- united with some of his family last year and made his first visit home. When he left, he promised to return with his wife.

In the photos you will see the boat we travelled on and how excited everyone was to be seeing their family and friends again. We set out onto the beautiful Lake Kivu and all went well – until the storm blew in!! The waves got higher and higher and the rain lashed down – we made very slow progress and at one point decided to pull ashore to have a break and to pray against the waves – if you haven’t heard Africans pray... I tell you I would take notice if I had been those waves!!!

So, back into the boat and out onto the choppy water again.... singing, singing, and singing!! - singing our way to the shore – not only singing but clapping, whistling, beating the sides of the boat – and then we were in sight of the village – we saw people standing at the top of the mountain waiting for us!

...they had been waiting for hours – patiently praying and hoping we would get there. As we drew nearer we could see children running down the ,mountainside towards the watchers on the beach – we could hear their singing and clapping and the beating of a drum – they were dancing and running, jumping up and down – calling Fidele home....Then we were enveloped in welcomes and hugs and tears of joy!

We were led up the hill to see the home where Fidele and his brothers and sisters grew up and the small coffee plantation which his grandfather bought for him as a present. Further up the hill we came to the church where a wonderful feast was laid out for us. After our meal we were treated to the singing and dancing from 3 choirs from all the churches around.

Later on; as it began to get dark, the people gathered to receive clothes that had been sent by people in churches in Rochdale… six suitcases full in all. And then, children were wandering around with their new t-shirts, trousers, dresses and anything you can think of!

I began to be concerned that we would be travelling home on the lake in the dark (at least a two hour journey) and wondered if the boat had a light – I asked the boatman. His reply:

‘No we don’t need a light, we’ll be fine’!?!

... And we were!

Travelling home in the dark with only a few fireflies for company the lake was peaceful and still. The night was calm and as we drew into the harbour the full moon shone down on us in all its glory!

Taking the goat for a walk?

These 2 photos were taken just outside my front gate. There is a lot of livestock wandering about here; including chickens, goats, cows and turkeys. Sometimes I see a man or a boy taking the goat for a walk on a lead, just like a dog...where are they going?? Are they going to find more grass to eat or are they going to be made into goat brochettes?? I just don't know!!

Like so many things here in this world in which I have found myself...

I don’t know what is going on half of the time! Sitting on a bus, waiting to go, the bus is full what are we waiting for? (don’t know!) people start making comments and chatting in Kinyarwanda... what’s going on (haven’t got a clue!) just sit and wait...all will be revealed! The bus starts off very, very slowly – pulls out into the carriageway then back in again. (what’s going on? Don’t know) Motorbike pulls up...passenger gets off...jumps on bus... ok we’re off! *tugende!* See – all will be revealed in good time!

One thing’s for sure you mustn’t be in a hurry and you must be able to accept that you won’t understand what is happening. This weekend I went to visit some friends in a different part of Rwanda. I travelled into Kigali on the bus (this journey is becoming familiar now), went to the VSO office – got lost – asked a friendly moto driver – got found again – collected some books to read – took a moto into city centre – booked into a room for the night – met up with Rachael – went to Heaven –( a wonderful restaurant in Kigali centre) Coming out at the end of a lovely meal we were overtaken by a raincloud and the storm broke – we were soaked to the skin within one minute – I kid you not!! We were screaming with laughter! Then a car pulled up and a perfect stranger offered us shelter and a lift – so we got into this car with a strange man – something we would NEVER do at home but which here seems perfectly safe and natural. He gave us a lift to our rooms and we left him with a very wet back seat and many thanks...‘Muracose Charne’

I’ll be so happy to start my Kinyarwanda lessons tomorrow!

Love to everyone and let me know when the snowdrops and daffs start showing through xxxx

Beginning to realise

Hi everyone, I’m beginning to realise that I am living in Africa! It may seem obvious to you, but to me it has seemed unreal for most of the time.

I am getting into some sort of routine so I’m sure that is helping to makes things more solid. I wake with the sun at 6am, wash, dress, breakfast and leave for work.  By 6 .45 I am walking down to work along the main road, along with many other people – one of the really nice things about living here is that so few people have cars which means that you get to meet and greet people on the street – it is a social highlight!

Last week I spent most of my time inputting data and teaching myself how to use Excel Spreadsheets – a boring job but it has to be done. My reward for all those hours (and more to come , not finished yet) was being able to provide my boss with information that he required at two minutes notice. This week I am visiting four schools with another volunteer who has been here a long time and is going home in April, so I need to make the most of his knowledge and experience.

As I walk home, exhausted, I meet friendly faces and smiles all the time. Usually,  the children who live close by come to welcome me home, with arms outstretched for a hug. It is a delightful welcome mixed with sadness for the poverty in which they live. Their ingenuity in providing toys for themselves is boundless! Old bicycle tyres and a stick, paper helicopters, amazingly intricate wire cars with plastic lid wheels and footballs!!!???? Footballs made out of anything they can get their hands on – bits of netting stuffed with banana leaves, plastic bags filled with rubbish and wrapped around with cloth – the strips of cloth unfurling as the ball is kicked through the air and along the ground. Oh the excitement and joy of playing bare footed football !

I am including this photo in the blog this week for those who work in schools in the UK and may have seen a Peace Pole in the school garden. This is an international movement involving children and schools all over the world. I was thrilled to see this one in the garden of the Catholic school I visited today. It is a wonderful school founded by Pope John Paul to educate children from poorer families - the facilities are excellent and the staff team are wonderful. there is a Primary section and a Secondary section. Many of the children live in the 'Family Dormitories' and each has a House Mother. Children from the local area also attend the school, so that there is a good mixture and so that the school can serve the local community as well.

Rice sacks

Today I have made my first rice sack visual aid and it’s going in my office.

As you can imagine there is a shortage of resources here so teachers are very imaginative and use whatever they can find. There is an abundance of rice sacks and if you can get hold of waterproof marker pens many fabulous creations can be made. Mine is not sooo fabulous but it will be very useful. It is a simple plan of the district showing the 12 sectors. I will put it in the office wall with the names of each of the schools in the sector so that I can get an idea of their geographical location. I have also started the number crunching so that I can decide where to focus my work. Shall I go for the poorest performing sectors or shall I look for the most enthusiastic headteachers who I may be able to train up to become trainers themselves? I will need to think and plan carefully - but I do have 2 years to implement a plan so that’s good.

On Friday I went on my first visit to a school, riding on the back of a motorbike. Another volunteer took me to visit one of her schools so that I would get an idea of what to expect - the schools are pretty much the same as in Bangladesh and in Congo, but I was interested in the approach that was taken by the volunteer. There are so many needs that we have to be very focused on what our actual task is, so sometimes we need to be firm, but friendly.

First visit to a school

On Friday, I took my first ride out on the back of a motorbike!

I went up this dirt-track road into the countryside to visit a school.

I've found Tricia looking lovely at one of her language classes...

Take a look at this other blog....

'Where's Tricia?' ...well here she is:

looking like she is enjoying her Kinyawanda Lesson!

The Hacienda of Dreams.... is what our house is called.

I have arrived at my new home and it is beautiful!! I did not expect this! After being in Kigali for 10 days I was getting worried that Gitarama would be just a smaller version of the big city , so I was amazed when we drove off the main road and came into a little semi- rural location with goats and turkeys wandering about. Our house has 4 bedrooms, a dining room, sitting room, kitchen, and a bathroom each! We also have a lovely vegetable garden. My housemate is a good cook and she made me a lovely meal on my first evening.

Today I went into the office as requested and introduced myself. The boss was friendly but busy and asked me to come back on Monday morning at 7am (we work 7am -5pm!) So I had a lovely walk home again. Later, another volunteer who has been here since September came to call for me and we went to open a bank account so that my small allowance can be paid in . We only had to wait for 2 hours so that was great! Gitarama is quite a hub for volunteers from all over the place and they often meet up for social occasions.

The local people are very friendly and helpful, stopping to say hello with a smile and a greeting. Today the sun was quite hot with little cloud cover so when I returned I was exhausted with the heat and the walking. I lay down on my bed and slept for an hour – I won’t be able to do that when I start work. Tomorrow I am going to visit a school with a colleague and it will involve my first excursion by motorbike into the rural areas, so I’m really looking forward to it. Click here to see a map of Rwanda in detail.

I hope you are all well, thank you to those who make comments either on here or on Facebook or by e-mail – it doesn’t matter how brief they are they are very welcome.

Going to a new home

Today (Tuesday) is the last day of our ‘In Country Training’ and tomorrow we go to our placements and I see my home for the next two years!

I am lucky because my house has all mod-cons including running water, electricity and gas...we even have a warm shower! There is a photo of the outside of the house on my blog page and I will post photos of the inside when I take some.

Some of my new friends will be taking a whole load of items to their new homes – water filter machine, kerosene stove, kerosene lamp, great big jerry cans for carrying water, pots, pans– you name it – yes even the kitchen sink (plastic bowls). For some of them they will be the only English speaking person for miles round – what a challenge! We are all really keen now to get out and unpack, make our beds up and create a new home space. Not everyone is here for two years, some are here for 3 months, some for 6, some for 12. Some have come with their partners, some have come without their partners. Some are educationalists, others are business managers, advocates, social policy workers for the Disability programme – all sorts in fact!

I’ll probably be out of touch for a couple of days now until I get to find out where I can go on line. Hope everyone is well and that it is not too cold and rainy!! xx

What a Week!!

This time last week I left my lovely friends and family in the UK, not knowing what lay ahead. You will be pleased to know that I have already made new friends here and we have been working things through together. For the 10 days that I am in Kigali I have a great room mate - the danger is that we chat long into the night instead of getting much needed sleep!

There have been so many new experiences this week, it's hard to pick out just a few, but here goes:

'Mwaramutse' 'Amakuru?' 'Ni Mesa'

>>> it means Good morning, how are you, I'm very well

So, we've had Kinyarwanda lessons every morning and I have learnt quite a lot more than this! I'm enjoying the lessons and have tried out some phrases with the kind people around here. I've also learnt how to light a Kerosene stove, how to get on a bus, pay my fare and shop in the market - if you enjoy bartering you would love it here!

Yesterday we went to the Genocide Memorial Centre, as you can imagine it was very moving, but it is important to understand what happened and some of the reasons why it happened. We don't need to talk about it with our friends here but it helps me to understand how wonderful Rwandans are - they have survived this atrocity and are working together to build their country. Below is a photo of the Memorial Gardens and a beautiful peaceful walkway leading to the wall of names of victims.

I have started to notice the bird calls here and can't wait to get to my home and put up my National Trust bird clock on my kitchen wall!!(Thanks, Phil!)

Don't forget to keep in touch, but remember that the blog is a public space, so you can send an e-mail instead or write to me on Facebook. xx

Hi everyone! I have arrived safely in Rwanda and the journey was straight forward – I even slept well on the plane , so thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

We were greeted at the airport by workers from the VSO headquarters in Rwanda. I’ve always wanted to be met by someone holding up a sign and giving me flowers!! (Remember that for when I return home ,please, family)

There is quite a large group of us, most from the UK, but also from Philippines, Australia, Canada and Netherlands. We will all be in Kigali for 10 days and then we will disperse around the country to go to our own placements. These next 10 days will give us time to acclimatise, but there is also quite a heavy schedule of training and we have already been given an enormous folder of paper and workbooks – that did not go down well believe me! But I suppose I am here to work.

Today, our first day in Rwanda, we caught the bus into town and visited the bank and the supermarket and the shop where you buy dongles! Best of all we went to a ‘luxury coffee shop’ - it is the capital city after all and it has it’s trendy parts. I had iced cafe latte to cool me down, I’m so hot and sweaty, but hopefully my body will adapt fairly quickly – so no madcap dancing for a while!

Although I can get internet access it is very slow and unreliable so I will just need to keep on trying. Skype would be best but the connection keeps dropping, so it will take me some time before I can have regular contact.

Don't forget to comment xx

Guest House in Kigali

Just been chattin with Tricia...she was outside her guest house in Kigali. This is where she will be spending the next 10 days with the other British VSO volunteers while they have their initial training. She is sharing a room with a woman from the group. They have mosquito nets up and are settling in today including making a right mess with their unpacking! She has had omelet and fruit for breakfast and coleslaw/fried eggplant for lunch!

The weather is bright, warm, and a bit sticky! I saw a couple of locals walking past and they looked very cheerful/smiley. So we can look forward to hearing more from Trish about the people she is meeting. I suspect you will get slightly more riveting updates from Tricia when she is able to post on here but at the moment her connection is slightly wobbly! Tomorrow (Monday 17th Jan) is the first day of training, so watch this space for more news!

Have you seen this woman?

Calling all followers in Rwanda:

Please post a comment when you have seen Tricia.

Kind of like 'Where's Wally?', but this game is called... 'What's Tricia Doing?'

We like a good game so join in the fun!

Happy Hunting...x.

Tricia has Arrived...

Just had international incoming call from Tricia!

She is safe and sound with her other travel companions. The journey was fine, but she said she was hot and sticky and tired! Sounded in high spirits and was in a hotel room with a friend from VSO.

"So I'm here and had my first meal in Rwanda - coleslaw, beans and rice - delicious

GUESS WHAT - they have fizzy Vimto here produced in a bottle by Fanta!!! So that should draw the northerners to Rwanda."

She will be spending the next 10 days in Kigali on training and then off to her placement!

Nearly There!!

Thank you to all the friends and family out there who have already donated through the 'Just Giving 'page. I've almost reached my Fundraising Target of £900 - it would be fantastic if I could achieve it by the time I get on the plane at 6.40am on Saturday January 15th 2011. If anyone is reading this before then PLEASE think about donating. Just click on the icon to the left of this post. Thank you , thank you , thank you. x x x 

Party! Party!

My Bon Voyage Party...

We had a wonderful time at the Bon Voyage Party on Saturday organised by my beautiful daughters and son. There was lots of dancing, live music, food and fun. Thank you Sara, Naomi and John xxx

The band linked up for one night only and disbanded because the singer is going to Africa for two years.

I was determined not to be late with my birthday cards this year so I gave them out early!

Packing up and moving on ...

Well, what a week of frenetic activity! This photo shows me and my eldest daughter, Naomi, in the lift at the mill where I am storing my stuff for two years.It was a really good exercise to look at all the things I own and decide what I wanted to keep and what could be disposed of. Items which hold a great deal of meaning like old photos and diaries are being held for me by close family and friends. My paintings are also distributed amongst various households for them to enjoy or hide away once I am out of the country!! But other things are being stored in an old mill which has specially designed storage facilities and this week we have been busy fetching and carrying. 

Here's Ellie and I re-living the days when we stored all our art equipment in another old mill and had to carry heavy trays of tiles up 3 flights of stairs. Ahh! those were the days - the pure luxury of having a lift!


I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of friends and family at my 'Bon Voyage' Party on Saturday night - then next week I can concentrate on packing my bags!!

Thankyou for a Happy Christmas

What a lovely Christmas season I have had with my family and friends - thank you all sooo much. From christmas stockings outside the bedroom to to lovely crisp walks in the fresh Lakeland air, not to mention the laughs, food and drinks. 

Helmets and other things

What a carry on - or not a carry on depending on which airline you speak to!!! lol Most of the group who are going to Rwanda in January have to take a new motorbike helmet, but arrangements for the carriage of 10 helmets on board is extremely complicated. Fortunately Stephen is acting on behalf of us all and he has spent many hours trying to get a clear and accurate response. It is not necessarily the fault of the airline because they are subject to security regulations. Our helmets could be used as protection against an attack and therefore should be carried in the hold. However, even 'fragile' baggage is thrown around which would invalidate the effectiveness of said helmet in the event of a motorbike crash. So, at the moment messages are flying around right left and centre - which is more than can be said for the aeroplanes!


Sorry! That isn't funny especially if you are trying to get home for Christmas. It's not only the planes but also train travel and motorway travel is hazardous at the moment. Sadly Ken's train was cancelled and so we had to abandon our arrangements to meet up in Manchester today. Ken has been doing the job that I will be doing in Rwanda and has sent me lots of information useful to the work with schools. I was looking forward to talking with him face to face and still hope to do so before January 15th. Ken has been fantastically helpful and supportive and is not used to this cold weather!


As far as motorway travel is concerned, two very dear friends set off on Saturday morning to visit their daughter, who had just gone into labour, and got stuck on the M40 for approximately 10hours. They arrived safely at 3am to see mother, father and baby doing very well - but that grandchild will hear the story of 'The Struggle through the Snow' on every birthday for the next thirty years!!! xxx to Jessica, Duncan and Benjamin.


As for me I have a had a super Christmas weekend with my pals - concert of Christmas music on Saturday night, followed by visit to Real Ale pub. Sunday morning - the 'Pals Christmas Day' we opened our pressies and then had fun preparing our Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. In the evening, down to the 'Hollins and the Ivy' event at the Hollins in Macclesfield and a first sighting of new baby Darcey. Aaahhhh x 


Today? Back home to the nitty gritty organisations still going on for my departure in January. 


Travel safely everyone and remember 'Don't make unneccesary journeys' But my journey to spend Christmas with my lovely family is definitely necessary. xx

Oh! Panic! Panic!

 I have several lists going and I'm feeling really pleased cos I've just ticked off 12 out of 20 tasks on 'Supplementary Page 1'of the spreadsheet that my brilliantly organised daughter, Naomi has set up for me!However, I have 4 other pages to go and I haven't looked at them yet - they include things like transferring the van insurance into my son John's name (done),booking and organising storage of my effects, getting a gas safety certificate , writing a will etc, etc. Add to this the 'do' on January 8th, (organised by my other brilliant daughter, Sara) and ... Christmas is coming!!


This weekend though,saw the last of my shifts on the market in Rochdale. I am a founder member of a group called 'Fair For All' and every Saturday for four years we have staffed a stall in the centre of a very cold and draughty 

outdoor market.I have moaned a lot over the years but I will miss the comaraderie and friendliness of the market traders and the interesting people that pass by. Sometimes, they even stop to buy things!!I notice that the latest rota does not say that yesterday was my last shift on the market but instead it stated 'Tricia will not be available to do the market for two years' Oh Monica, Jan, Jenny and Diane you are all wonderful!!!!Happy Days :)