The Dry Season has returned

Well, the dry season is here with a vengeance and Judy and I are off on the road again! The tarmac roads in Rwanda are amazing and are kept in much better condition than the roads at home, but as soon as you leave the tarmac and hit the dirt tracks it's a different story. The one in the photo has been upgraded since last year and it's now wide and with a fairly smooth surface. But as you can see when a vehicle passes by the dirt flies and you get covered in a fine red dust. In the next photo you can see Judy on the bike in front - sorry about the wing mirror in the middle of the picture. When you leave these roads the travelling gets really tricky because the earth is so dry and the small rocks and stones move about under the wheels of the bike. At home we would call it a goat track.

This term we are up in another of the Northern sectors, carrying out training on Methodology and Lesson Observation skills. We stay at the Priests house for two or three nights every week because the journey is too long to do daily. Even when you get to the sector some of the schools are a really long way out. We can't wait to go and visit one particular school which is a long moto journey and then a walk up and down a mountain for almost one hour. I haven't found anyone who has visited it yet!Judy and I think of it as a mythical school where a headteacher invents the names of pupils and submits examination papers etc. Anyway, I'll let you know if we make it up there and back.

 Rongi Sector is one of the most remote parts of the district. There is no electricity at all, even in the Sector offices - only a few solar panels with enough energy to charge everyones mobile phones (lifesavers, here and very essential)The Education officer and the headteachers have to travel down to the next sector or to Muhanga to charge their laptops. It isn't possible to use  a desktop.

From our viewpoint on the back of the bikes we see this amazing project. As you will know Rwanda has many many steep hills and in the heavy rains the soil gets washed away so there are many projects to create terraces to retain the soil. But I have never seen a project as big as this one. All done by hand and everyone working together in the heat of the sun. Apparently the dry season will last until April when the rains will start again. I don't remember it being as dry as this last year, but I had only just arrived, so maybe I didn't notice.

Anyway, a cheery goodbye from the guys and thinking of you all in the cold dark winter, but spring is coming soon.


Lots love, Tricia

Keeping in Touch- PO Box 207, Gitarama, Rwanda

A word about the postal system…. Not quite pigeon post but sometimes it is very slow, then other times amazingly fast! The photo shows me at the Post Office collecting my mail on January 13^th. The Christmas card that I am holding was posted by my friends on December 1^st and they collected it from the box with me, so they arrived before the Christmas card! Ha ha.

I am trying to catch up with my blog posts, so I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch but hopefully the weekly messages will begin again soon.

Meanwhile, thank you to all those wonderful friends who sent greetings, messages, cards, presents, calendars and Year Planners. I can tell you that each and every one was most appreciated. The calendars have all been distributed to colleagues and were snapped up – thank you Jan!! The Year Planners are being distributed as I visit schools. There is one in our District Office and when the Director of Education told the Vice Mayor how useful it is she wanted one too!  I went up to the top floor armed with blu-tak and we stuck it up on the wall together.  I explained how to use it and she was delighted. I was particularly pleased because she is quite a formidable lady, being very tall and elegant, and I was happy to make this contribution – so thanks to Sara, Wendy and Ann.

 The work continues and some friends ask ‘But when you do these ‘trainings’ what do you actually do?’  The answer is that the trainings vary dependant on the needs of the school. But just recently I carried out a training session for a school community where some parents couldn’t see the point of children going to school when they could be out collecting firewood or doing something else useful. The school and the community were divided. Also, for the last three years the headteacher  has had to concentrate on new buildings and he needed  to re-focus on Teaching and Learning.

So we held a ‘Vision day’ with all the stakeholders, ie all the people connected to the school.  I used to do this once a year when I was headteacher of my school in Oldham.

The aim of the day is: To establish the purpose and future direction of the school.

Objectives/aims:

·         Consulting all the stakeholders

·         Gathering information about their community

·         Finding out what we want from our community and especially our school – What is our vision?

·         How are we going to make our vision happen

Firstly we played a game called ‘Crossing the River’ which helps the participants to understand that we have to work together as team to get safely across the river. This was followed by a drawing activity where each representative had to draw what was important to them in their community – so parents drew their fields and homes, teachers drew the school and the sector officers drew buildings, water tanks, electricity (there isn’t any!) etc. we collected the drawings together to show the varied interests.

The main part of the session was focused around a series of photos showing what was possible to achieve in a community with the school at the centre of learning. I have collected these photos over the past year whenever I have been to schools and seen good practice / new initiatives etc.  So they are all real situations that happen in schools in our district.

The photos provided a stimulus for the vision – they showed what is possible for the future. Having decided what we wanted the  school to be like in three years’ time we began to work out how we were going to get there – how were we going to ‘cross the river?’ We had a great time allocating tasks – including the serious suggestion that the headteacher should cook a mid-day meal for the teachers every day!! That one didn’t get through. But the serious issue behind that is that teachers are hungry – they often go a whole day without eating – and remember their working day is 7am-5pm with a long walk to school and home again. The children also need feeding during the day – these are serious problems which I can’t begin to solve without local knowledge. But a plan for the next three years is now in place, and the community is working with the school to make it happen.

Much of the practical work that needs doing, e.g. digging holes for new pit latrines or making a playground for playing football, making bricks for the toilet block, will be done by the community during ‘Umuganda’ which happens on the last Saturday of every month. On this day, throughout Rwanda, all other work stops – there are no buses running, no shops open, no banks open because everyone does community work in their local area.  It is a brilliant scheme and in the past many primary schools have been built during these times. Holes in the roads are filled, the rainwater drains are cleared of weeds and debris to keep the water flowing and avoid the laying of mosquito eggs and many other tasks. 

Anyway , that's enough for now. Lots love Tricia xx

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year 2012!!!

My resolutions are:

• To finish my placement to my satisfaction by limiting my focus to 3 main areas and 2 subsidiary areas
• To travel more within Rwanda to visit all the people I haven't yet visited because I have had my head in my work.
• To visit Zanzibar and Ethiopia
• To make the most of the rest of my time here
• To come home where I belong!

This weekend I celebrate the completion of 12 months in Rwanda and how exciting they have been. I look back on the photos of those first few days and can hardly believe my naivety!! Ha ha!

However, I am glad of that quality because it helped me to take the step of coming here and I’m so glad I did. I have made many new friends, both Rwandan and not Rwandan! And, the friendships that I left behind at home have become deeper and more important as the months have gone by. In addition,  I have had so many lovely visitors – if anyone else wants to come – take the opportunity whilst you can – I won’t be here forever!

I cannot begin to itemise all the wonderful experiences I have had nor even highlight special times, so we will have to wait until the book comes out!!

Add caption

The ending of an old year and the beginning of a new year always focuses the mind and it’s the same for me. 

My approach this year will take on a different aspect because now I have done as much as I can to build relationships with schools and headteachers and I need to work with the people and systems that it has taken me so long to understand. Also I have realised that I must focus down onto smaller ‘targets’ (hate that word!).

Then I have to maintain the work life balance and so I’ve made resolutions about travelling and enjoying the experience of living in Africa whilst I can. 

Amazing fabrics

Wonderful skills and a personal dressmaker

The variety and multiplicity of beans

Some highlights of Christmas

John and Cat at the Hacienda

The boys with their home made cameras

Here they are!!


John and Cat arrived on time and it was so exciting to see them at the airport. and the bags came two days later!! But it all turned out fine.










On one of the walks around Gitarama when Cat was taking photos these boys made their own cameras out of mud from the ground - fantastic!

Shelling peas with the family

Playing with the children

We went on an Azizzi Life Village Day. We dug over the banana plantation and planted some casava. When it started to rain we took the drying pea plants into the house and shelled the peas with the children. Then we were treated to lunch prepared by the women. Some of us cut grass for the cows, then we all tried our hand at weaving with sisal.


The children taught John and Cat to play with the hoop and stick. that was after Cat taught them 'Heads shoulders, knees and toes'

The beautiful Golden Monkeys

Golden Monkeys are an endangered species and they can only be seen in the Virungas. We walked through the forest of amazing bamboo and heard rustling in the branches above us and there they were bounding about above us. When the sunlight catches the fur on their backs it shines orange. Beautiful.

 And Christmas at Lake Kivu was wonderful. A swim before breakfast and back to our room to open presents, another swim after breakfast and a christmas picnic on the beach. In the evening we played card games under the mosquito net - a really fantastic time.




Thankyou so much for all your messages of love and friendship and I hope you too have memories to cherish of happy times with family and friends.  I really do want to hear your news so please don't forget to write! xx

Christmas Eve in Rwanda

Advent and the waiting game…

Thanks to Phil for the beautiful photo

Advent and the waiting game…

We are used to waiting here in Rwanda – we spend many hours waiting…. Waiting for the bus to come, waiting for the bus to leave… waiting for teachers to arrive at school… waiting for meetings to start… waiting for the rain to stop… waiting for post to arrive at the Post Office … AND THEN IT DOES!!!!  HURRAY!

I have learnt to wait.Things do usually happen in their own good time, but you need a great deal of patience and faith that it will happen..., it will…, it will….

And Advent is a time of waiting, a time of hopeful expectation that something good will come.

In my case I am waiting for the visit of John and Cat who will be arriving next week! This trip has been planned for such a long time and there have been so many preparations, inoculations and vaccinations to get through, but finally they will be here and we will all be so happy.

I am imagining my wait at the airport, standing with all the other people looking for loved ones in the crowd. Kigali airport is small and it is possible to see people in the arrivals area. Last time I had visitors I could see them dressed in their travel clothes, walking across to get a trolley, waiting anxiously for their luggage. I could see the look of expectancy as bags began to go round on the conveyor belt and the relief as they spotted their own, then the lifting off of the bags onto the trolley and off we go…  I saw them do all this, but I could not help them.

But then the waiting was over – there they were in front of me – smiling, smiling faces and hugs all around. Was the wait worth it? Yes, of course!!!

So now, I’m waiting for John and Cat. It will be worth it. 

What are you waiting for? Can you make it happen? Do you have the patience, the faith, the desire? Whatever it is I hope it happens for you.

Lots of love at this Christmas season,

Many blessings, Tricia

Building hope and optimism

Gasundwe village

Gasundwe (village)is home to approximately 200 adults and approximately 200 children.  It is known as one of the poorest villages in Rwanda.


It looks beautiful - it IS beautiful but life here is very hard and the people are subsistence farmers.

There are no nurseries, schools or colleges within the village. The nearest school is at least a 2 hour walk away through mountainous terrain.  As a result the people of the village are poorly educated and have no chance of finding work.

Rwanda is a developing country and greatly requires a workforce that is literate in English and Kinyarwanda.

Within the village there is currently no clean drinking water available – this is the cause of many illnesses. The nearest drinking water is located 4 kilometres away. The villagers have to boil all water prior to cooking which still doesn’t ensure 100% safety from harmful diseases.

There is no electricity in the village thus resulting in no lighting and heating. Cooking is carried out on open wood burning stoves which produce smoke and consequent health issues. The main reason for lack of electricity is the initial cost, the government has offered an option to assist with this supply, but given the poverty within the village this would not be achievable without outside help. We would like to purchase solar panels for the village.

Having identified the village as having more than its fair share of struggles a plan has been put into place to assist the village with help from overseas – mainly the UK.

Restoring the building

 I went to visit the village last week to look at progress so far. It was another wonderful and uplifting experience.

The building that is being restored will be used as a health centre and guest house for visitors to experience village life in Rwanda. This will generate income for the village.




We have also started a school for pre-school children so that they can have a flying start to their education. The school takes place in the church building which at present has an earthen floor and we are trying to get funds to provide a much more hygienic concrete floor.

The community has really responded to the opportunities offered to them and is so very happy and proud of what is happening – there is a real feeling of hope and optimism. 

The children are given sorghum porridge every day before they start their lessons.  The parents have formed a PTC (Parent Teacher Committee) which makes decisions about the school, they chose to give 1000francs each to buy kitchen equipment and the plastic beakers that the children are drinking out of. The treasurer looks after the money for the food.

I was completely amazed when a child passed me his empty beaker and just casually said ’Thankyou very much’ – in such a natural voice! These children have only been learning English since August.

Gabriel is a great teacher – kind and gentle with the children and everyone is enjoying their learning. He starts the lesson with a prayer and a song. 


The children’s English is fantastic – they are using role play to practice greetings and they also give individual speeches learned by heart. They stand boldly at the front of the class and speak out with their hands on their hips. They are so funny. 

Gabriel is using the solar powered speakers and CD player, that Phil gave him, to play the ‘English Dialogues’CD. The adults and children listen carefully and repeat the words. My only concern is that they will end up with a standard English accent instead of a northern accent!! 

Gabriel gave all the children a test at the end of term and one child got 94% and no one got less than 60% He has printed out the results and is keeping a record of everything he is doing. The community had a celebration at the end of term where Gabriel presented the adults with a certificate each for their hard work in studying English. The children were given special loaves of bread each.

If you would like further information about this project please inbox me on Facebook or e mail me on tricia.atherton@gmail.com

'Isn't she lovely...isn't she wonderful..'

Isn't she lovely?

This is one of the children in a family of five who live just up the road from me. She is a real character and so lively. She is showing off her new dress that I gave her from your generous gifts. Every day when I pass their house on my way to work she runs out to greet me, holding out her arms to be lifted up and swung into the air for a twizzle. She repeats all the English words that I say to her. I also gave gifts to her two brothers and two sisters. Her brother was particularly keen on the cap, as you can see

Isn't he wonderful?

A pretty princess...

Inside the house

3 of the 5 children outside their house

The family

This weekend Mama invited me to the baptism of the three youngest children. Nothing is as you expect it to be!! I arrived at the church at 10am and sat on one of the many benches. Two brides appeared - I thought 'Oh, there must be a wedding before the baptism, that's ok, so the baptism will be late starting' (you get used to that here)

Then more brides appeared... and more..oh there's another one... and another...

The church began to fill up with bridesmaids, grooms, family members in all their finery and children. I thought I must be in the wrong place.

The service started. I hadn't a clue what was going on!! Then Mama appeared and took me to sit with her family.By now it was 11am and the adults had been baptised. Then they started on the weddings - about 35 couples. Each bride and each groom has to say the legal words. It took half an hour to marry 10 couples! then the baptism of the children - so work that out and DON'T dare complain about the length of church services again!!!

Lots of love to everyone and keep warm, enjoy all those lovely winter pies and casseroles. Mmmmm Yummy. xxxxx

Back in touch......

The parcel from Jack

Ooooo! I've missed writing my blog but all is well again! I have had several technical problems and I'm still ironing out one or two , but hopefully I can write my weekly account again now.


When Jack came to Rwanda in August we searched for a bread tin so that I could make my own bread which wasn't full of sugar. We couldn't find one anywhere, so Jack sent me one in the post.Look carefully at the photo and you will see my lovely bread tin - squashed out of all recognition! Goodness knows what happened to it on the way here but as you can see, the only bread that's going to be baked in there is 'flatbread'!!! lol. But thankyou Jack - you're a star! The sweets and jelly are much appreciated as well. And, as it happens Phil also sent a bread tin - a silicone one so I'm going to be trying that out soon. 

Playing with jigsaws in the bank

Regular readers of the blog will know about the village project which my friend Fidele and his friends and family have initiated. Back in February I went down the lake to visit the village for the first  time and then in August Wendy, Phil and I went to stay in the village for several days. Jack is also heavily involved in the project and was in Rwanda the whole of his school holidays. Now every month I go to Kibuye to meet up with the teacher, the project manager and the treasurer. We sit in the bank and sort out the accounts etc and then I do some teacher training. Last month I took some home made jigsaws and here is a picture of Francois doing his first ever jigsaw!!! He really enjoyed it. 

A very happy teacher

And in this photo you can see Gabriel, the teacher with the biggest smile in the world! He's so delighted because I gave him a solar powered speaker set and an old 'Walkman' CD Player so that he can play English Dialogues to the adult English class that he has started in the village. So, thanks Phil for that wonderful kit which will help to transform lives. Every time I go to pay the wages I take teaching aids as well and it's wonderful because everyone in the bank is intrigued and even the security guard and bank staff come to see what is happening this month!Last month we played a game with a coloured die and a game board made from a rice sack. No-one had seen such a game before. We were in the bank about 3 hours and it occurred to me what a unique situation this was - it couldn't happen in the UK - we'd probably be charged for sitting at the table!!


I think I should tell you a bit more about the Kibingo Project because I realise some of you will be confused. So, to clarify, my main work is my job with VSO which is quite separate from the project. The project is situated in a village in a very poor rural area, 2 hours by boat down Lake Kivu. The children from the village have to walk about 2 hours to get to school - even the little ones, so we have started a Nursery school in the village for children aged 4-7years. We have also started adult classes for the parents at the end of their days work cultivating the fields to grow food for their families. We provide food for the children every time they come to school.The project will make a tremendous difference to the lives of the children and their families.The project has also involved building work to provide suitable accommodation for guests to the village. We have lots of plans for the future, and a website is under construction.

The short term goals of the project are:

·         To establish a Nursery School  for the youngest children, providing breakfast and dinner for the children aged 4-7years

·         To establish adult literacy lessons in English as a second language

·          To provide clean drinking water to the village.

Long term goals include:

·         the erection of a health post, providing health checks and care for expectant mothers and young babies

·          the installation of electricity to the village. (In the short term and as fund raising allows we aim to bring electricity via solar panels to the church and the school. This will also act as an income generating scheme for replacement of parts and batteries. The electricity will be sold to local people to charge their mobile phones)   

The project is funded entirely by individuals in the UK and if you would like more information please send an e-mail to tricia.atherton@gmail.com 


So, that's probably enough for now but please don't forget to comment or write on facebook or send me an e-mail. Lots of love to everyone xxxxx. Oh and the swallows have returned to Africa so I guess it's too cold for them now in the UK - Sorry!

test post...

Tricia wanted to let you all know that she has really missed writing her blog this month, and will be back ASAP once Sara has resolved the technical difficulities...x

Blog blockage...

Hi all,

I'm thinking this isn't going to be anywhere near as interesting as Tricia's posts but i've been asked to let you know there is a blog blockage...as in too much blog roll causing issues! In plain simple words Tricia is having technical difficulties posting on her blog this month.  So don't be worried...she's still alive and kicking just not kicking the tales out on line at the moment.

Remember posting time for Chirstmas in Rwanda is approx 6 weeks delivery time (if your lucky)...so get organised with your card for T this year extra early...i'd say you've got about 1 week from now before final posting!

Happy following...Sara..x

There's something about trees.....

If you are building a house it can be very easy here in Rwanda – you clear the ground and make a hole for the foundations. Then you dig up the earth , mix it with water and make your bricks. You lay them out in the sun to bake. Need any wood? It’s easy - you chop down the tree that is growing on your land and make it into roof struts etc. The roof is the most expensive because you are no longer allowed to make your roof of the local sword grass and bamboo. It has to be either a tin roof or baked tiles , both of which have to be purchased. This is the only thing requiring transport, so energy costs are few.  There is even a way around this. The other day I saw a young boy walking along the road with his schoolbooks under his arm and roof tiles on his head  ‘Here you are, son, on your way to school, drop these off at your Auntie Mauds.’

 However things are changing and developing and no doubt soon everything will have to be acquired through large warehouses and distribution centres, adding to the costs of building a house and the cost to the earth of transportation.

There are some magnificent trees here in Rwanda and they are used for all sorts of things. This week some of these trees near my office have been taken down – enormous Eucalyptus and Pines growing by the side of the road – felled by men with one chain saw and a thick rope. Next day the trees are turned into wood for the use of carpenters and builders. There was only one miscalculation and the front perimeter wall was damaged but was rebuilt immediately the next day.

Wonderful workmanship and skills.

This weekend I'm off to Gisenyi at the north end of the Beautiful Lake Kivu!!

Keep in touch and DON'T FORGET the Year Planners!! Thank you.

Lots love, Tx

Bungee Jumping Mamas and other things...

So, this week the blog is a hotchpotch of experiences and brief encounters.

I was in the town with a bag of shopping and my work bag and so decided to hop onto a Moto to go home, rather than walk. I negotiated with the young driver and we were just setting off when the guy on the moto next to me said something in Kinyarwanda (couldn’t catch the meaning) But I am CERTAIN that my driver replied by saying ‘Bunjee jumping Mama’!!! WHaat?? Am I hearing things? Course it could’ve been something else.

Sitting at the Bus Park , waiting for my bus to Kibuye, with two Rwandan ladies and their children when along comes a guy selling shoes. This is a common sight in Gitarama. The shoes are second hand given by donors in Europe and America. The guys carry about 20 single shoes in their two hands and the other members of the pairs are in a rucksack on the guys  back. So, this lady tries on several shoes and none of them fit. She’s really disappointed. She really tried to squash her feet into a shoe which was covered with beads, but no joy – none of them were suitable. I was watching, and she was watching me watching. When the guy turned away I stopped him and asked to try on the lovely bead covered shoe – no joy – too small for me too. The Rwandan lady and I looked at each other with great sympathy and understanding – it was one of those ‘girlie moments’! and reminded me of Cinderella – I wonder if the shoe guy found his princess?

Another bus story. I was sitting on the bus on my way back to Gitarama from Kigali, ticket in hand waiting for the driver to check our tickets so that we could set off. Then a delightful little girl and her mummy and baby got on the bus. She began to chatter away to me in Kinyarwanda – it didn’t seem to matter that I couldn’t understand , she was going to tell me all her news anyway! By the time the ticket man came, somehow my ticket had disappeared out of my hand!! I looked everywhere. The man next to me was very concerned and helpful – indicating my pockets, my bag, under my seat – nothing – not there. I was concerned because before now, I have seen people being told to get off the bus because they didn’t have a ticket. But the driver knows me (I try to blend in and be inconspicuous, but it’s difficult!) and the helpful man told him that he had seen me with the ticket in my hand. The little girl said nothing. Happily I was not thrown off the bus. Where was the ticket? The mischievous little imp had it in her hand all the time. (nooo, not me, the little girl – Sophia).

Just a lovely random photo

The best sign I’ve seen from the bus window this week has to be an advertisement outside a college, indicating the date, time etc for the ‘Swearing Ceremony’ YES!! I want to go to that.

Oh well, just another week in Rwanda!

Love to everyone. Xxx

Gitarama Road Works

PS Don’t forget to post Year Planners or calendars to:

Tricia Atherton

PO Box 207

Gitarama

Rwanda

We have hens!!! Introducing Heckerty Peckerty...

Can you spot 5 hens?

Yes, it’s true we now have hens, five to be exact – we wanted three but we have five! This turns out to be a good number because it means that each of us has been able to name a hen. I chose the name ‘Heckerty Peckerty’ for my hen because she is the lowest in the pecking order and if you look carefully at the photo you will see that the other hens have been pecking her head, just below the red crown. I know ... it’s mean isn’t it? 

But apparently quite normal for hens. (I’m glad I’m not  a hen)

Heckerty Peckerty

Anyway, I chose

‘Heckerty Peckerty my fine hen,

She lays eggs for gentlemen.

Sometimes nine and sometimes ten,

Heckerty Peckerty my fine hen’

Does anyone else in the whole world know this Nursery Rhyme? 

By the way, she hasn’t laid a single egg yet, but Kelly has. She lays one every day. The whole enterprise is not economically viable you understand – at least, unless we decide to eat them (the hens I mean), which we won’t!

Children make their own toys

What other news? 

Oh yes. I have a very exciting new project at the moment. I have been asked to help with the development of a Centre for Early Childhood Education, so I am collecting photos and ideas for resources for young children to learn through playing. If you have any suggestions please let me know.

Make your own construction materials

When we went out for a walk on Sunday afternoon we spotted these small mud bricks which the children had made in imitation of the real thing - see the photo above of the wall of the house.

Kids are great aren't they?

Lastly, please can I make a  request for 2012 Year Planners. If you want to contribute something or if you have annoying businesses who send you loads of Year Planners or calendars and you only need one, please will you consider sending any spares to Rwanda? They don’t need to be fancy – any type will do  - so many headteachers would be helped in this way. 

The postal address is:

Tricia Atherton

PO Box 207

Gitarama

Rwanda

Thank you my lovely friends and family. xxxx