New and exciting possibilities...

This week has been very encouraging, reflecting on the progress made and the future possibilities for the school.

For some time we have heard a rumour that there is going to be a hotel built on the lakeshore very close to the village on the next peninsula. As we have passed by, on the boat, we have noticed some exploratory building work. This week we found out some definite information. There are plans to build TWO hotels in that area! As you will see from the photos on this blog this area is beautiful and has great tourist potential. Rwanda is trying to increase its income from tourism and to develop better facilities. This, combined with the building of the road from Nyamasheke to Karongi (Kibuye) by the Chinese will greatly improve transport links.

On the way back to the village this week we took a detour to visit Esperance Children’s Village on the further shore. The route we took by boat would eventually lead to Mugonera, which is where we usually go to the market. But this time we pulled into a small bay on the opposite side of the water where there were several canoes for children (I later found out that they were provided by students from Stockport Grammar School.  After leaving Samuel to look after the boat Jean Baptiste and I began an extremely challenging (for me) steep climb up the hillside along the edge of small remnants of rain forest. At the top I had a stitch and was trying to catch my breath when some friendly locals showed amazement at seeing us emerge from the vegetation. Lake Kivu itself is already at an altitude of 1,460 m above sea level and I think I must have climbed another 1000m in 20 minutes! The average elevation of Rwanda is 2,750m and this includes lower levels of savannah type land in the east. No wonder I was out of breath!

The view from part way up!

Anyway, we made it but we also realised that this would not be a way for visitors to approach the Children’s Village unless they were very fit. (like me??!) The road is equally challenging at the moment because of the thick mud - see previous blog entry. The road will improve in two years time though. Mmmm...

We were warmly welcomed by Victor the Director of the project (http://lesperancerwanda.org)  and we were given fresh cool water and tea.  We sat on the verandah looking out at the beautiful landscape around us and discussing our various projects plans and ideas.   It was here that we discovered that a hotel is being planned for the lakeshore just opposite from Gasundwe village. Victor will be in charge of the project and will re-locate to the eco- hotel when it is built, hopefully by January 2015.

The following day Victor and the volunteer teacher from Belgium came to visit Gasundwe and were very impressed with what we are doing there and what has already been achieved by the combined efforts of the local NGO (GIFO), the original founders of the project from Rochdale (R2R) and the major efforts of the Canadian NGO Ottawa to Rwanda (O2R) (http://www.ottawa2rwanda.org/).

learning about colours, observing and matching

Making decisions

The results of the visit are potentially very exciting:

Victor has agreed to provide some teaching materials for our school.

He has also said that he may be able to provide a storage cupboard.

A teacher of sewing skills from the Children’s village can come to stay in Gasundwe for several weeks to train some of the ladies to use the new sewing machines provided by O2R. His project will support her with accommodation etc. This will mean we can increase the number of ladies to be trained.

We also shared our ideas about the possibilities for some joint work once the hotel is full of tourists. All these things need to be discussed by the local community through their GIFO committee. It could mean many changes for the village and all the community need to agree on the way forward. 

Now, I need to write a report for all the stakeholders in the project so that discussions can take place and plans for the future can be made. I see my role as collecting information, sharing my knowledge and skills and facilitating ideas but the actual work and decision making is done by others. Thankfully. 

Lots of love and gratitude to all who read this blog. Tricia x

Stormy crossings lead to calm waters

After a lovely weekend at Home St Jean meeting new people, watching the Six Nations rugby and generally chilling out I set off back to the village by boat rather later in the day than was expected. Consequently the weather got worse and the lake became turbulent. It wasn’t raining but the wind was blowing and the boat was ‘dancing’ (to quote Jean Baptiste). In other words the boat was lurching up and down and waves were pounding into the hull. We had a ‘baler outerer’ in the form of Samuel and a small plastic container. We also had life jackets and I must admit that I considered what I would do if we capsized. I think I could manage myself but how could I leave my friends who couldn’t swim? Baptiste is an excellent swimmer so he could try to save one person. I am an okay swimmer and would make an attempt. My concern would be that their panic might take us both down. Someone once gave me advice that in that situation the rescuer should give the struggler a knock on the head so that their body would go limp and make the rescue easier. But with what would I hit them having been thrown out of the boat? – Ideas on a postcard please!!

After pondering on this for some time I decided to calm myself down and pray, so began singing quietly ‘Be still and know that I am God....’ It helped. During this stormy session on the lake we passed the fishermen out in their ‘tri- boat’ paddling against the storm. Three wooden boats are fastened together with long wooden poles and there are three paddlers in each boat. Watching them struggle against the high waves made me realize once again how physically demanding life in Rwanda can be.

Anyway, Baptiste is an experienced boatsman and having held the tiller steady for two hours he steered us into the calm waters of the bay. We noticed a very overloaded boat had also taken refuge in our bay. The people were possibly from DRC on their way home from the market.

Hello! from Viro Primary School, Gihombo

Harvesting the beans in the school grounds

This week I visited the local Primary school again and had a lovely time with some of our children who have moved up to Primary 1. I was delighted to discover they still remembered the songs and the role play activities in English!  I gave them the letters from schoolchildren in Rochdale which had been translated into Kinyarwanda by my friend in Kigali. I asked the teachers to help the children to write replies in Kinyarwanda and planned to collect them next week. A real and unexpected bonus came in the form of Samuel who is a School Based Mentor and, of all the schools in the area that he could be based at, he is based at the two schools where our children from Gasundwe go after being at our school. I just love how these things happen sometimes – things working together for good. The presence of Samuel in the school has meant a vast improvement in the use of English by the teachers and subsequently the students.

In the background of the photo you will see the school children harvesting the beans that are grown in the school grounds- no bit of land is left uncultivated here in Rwanda and many hands make light work.

Samuel came to the village to take part in some training that I was doing with the teachers and he stayed overnight. He and Gabriel exchanged telephone numbers and I think they will be a big encouragement for each other. I also went to the school nearest to the Sector Office where some VSO volunteers were doing training and it was wonderful to see them at work in this neglected area of the District. My dear friend and colleague, Tracy, who is doing the same job in Nyamasheke District that I was doing in Muhanga District was there and she also came to stay overnight in the guesthouse. All these links are raising the profile of Gasundwe in the sector and in the District.

The photos above show the members of the household who look after us all. This  is a busy house with folks working hard on growing, gathering and preparing food for much of the day. 

This week we had a harvest of groundnuts (see photo), mangoes and beans. We also decided to improve the porridge recipe by adding soya to the mixture of sorghum and maize. This decision was taken because some of the children are suffering from protein deficiency.

We had a great day of training on Thursday when I got out some of the locally made teaching materials and showed how to use them. We had two teachers, a Teaching assistant and the School Based Mentor. I was going to do the training for more of the Nursery teachers in the sector but the journeying and organisation is so frustratingly difficult that I decided to do it just for our little school. I'm glad i did because the children enjoyed it and they didn't miss a day of school.

Bottle tops for counting and making patterns

Put the correct number of beans in the bottle - the bean harvest is in the backgroun.

Learning colours and matching

The children are not used to sitting on the grass mat in school. They usually sit on benches facing the front but we wanted to try something new and the children are able to manipulate materials easier in this situation.

These individual boards are the Rwandan equivalent of the little white boards that children in the UK use with a marker pen.The Teaching assistant is showing a little boy how to hold the board and the chalk at the same time.  

So... we had great fun!

The next day it was back on the boat to Kibuye and then to Kigali for me. I had to come back to Kigali again bringing the teachers laptop to have additional programs and drivers installed. 

Off we go again...

Look what was in the reeds waving us off.

I will return to Gasundwe on Wednesday for my last visit before going home on 20^th February.

Am I getting too old for these shenanikins?

Last Sunday we made the lovely journey by boat from Kibuye to the village. The lake was calm and beautiful. The sun was so strong that I had to use my umbrella as a shade, it was not very effective but caused some friendly laughter!

Friendly fellow passengers

Past the fishing boats. Goodbye Kibuye!

Past the Methane conversion plant

Out comes the parasol!

Still calm waters today

And here we are again at the landing stage.

We arrived once more at the guesthouse and soon settled in. Jean Baptiste made the best chips ever!

Gabriel and I spent the week in school, trying out new teaching methods and getting to know the new children. They are a fun bunch on the whole, with one or two exceptions – oh- not because of bad behaviour but because of sickness and lethargy. 

Home made puzzles

Counting with bottle tops

Bring me 5 stones

We have had a busy week in school and in addition I have been planning the training sessions for other Nursery teachers in the sector. I must admit I find it very frustrating trying to organise anything here and it is particularly difficult in the rainy season because when it rains no-one can move and you just have to stay wherever you are. If you have an appointment, it is just too bad!

On Friday we walked to one of the Primary Schools where some of our children from last year now attend. We chatted to some of them and agreed to return on Monday. This school is called Viro Primary School and it is about one hour and quarter walk from Gasundwe village. I found the walk in the hot sun, up hill and down dale to be exhausting.

There is another Primary School closer to the village across the valley but it can only be reached by crossings a river. The community have discussed the possibility of building a footbridge but the land is very silty. It would be difficult.

You can just see the school almost in the middle of the photo at the top of the hill. As you can see the valley is wide.

At the school we discussed the training and we hope it can be arranged for next week.

Then, it was onto the motos to road to begin the long journey by road to Kibuye (where I knew a cold beer would be waiting for me) We had only been going a few minutes when the rain started. We pulled over and took shelter in a nearby house. The lady of the house, which was under construction by her, made us welcome and found a bench for us to sit on whilst we waited out the storm. Forty five minutes later we were back on the road – possibly the worst road in the country!

After going through the market town of Muhororo the road became impassable for a while so we got off and walked whilst the guys skilfully manoeuvred the mud bath. I am constantly amazed by these drivers out in the rural areas. 

During the two hour journey to Kibuye we saw several vehicles stuck in the mud, including one of the big ‘Onatracom’ buses. The passengers had climbed off the bus safely and some of them were helping to dig out the thick mud from around the wheels. I don’t know whether they got out before nightfall.

We arrived thankfully in Kibuye and Gabriel went home to visit his wife for the weekend whilst I carried on to that haven called ‘Home St Jean’ – look it up on Trip Advisor, it’s beautiful. As usual, I was given a warm welcome and a cold beer!

Love to you all and thanks for your interest and support. Triciax

Gasundwe Village Rwanda

Dear All

The villagers grow a lot of their own food, including various types of bananas, maize, beans, casava etc

In the first photo you can see the maize (corn on the cob to us!)which has been growing around the houses.

In the short film you will see the maize (corn cobs which taste nothing like the sweet corn that we are used to) When it is harvested it is put in the sun to dry and it can be stored before being cooked on the charcoal burner.

One day when I was working for VSO and I was visiting one of my regular schools the female teacher, Pelargie, said:

"Tricia, do you like to eat mice?"

"Pardon, what did you say?!"

"Mice. Do you like to eat mice?"

Me, slightly shocked:
"No, I don't like to eat mice. Why? Do you like to eat mice?"

"Yes, I have some here for you to taste."

With that, she produced some cooked corn cobs - maize!!!I was so relieved I ate the offering thankfully.

Lots of love and warm wishes from Rwanda, Tx

Gasundwe Village School - Update

As you know I visited the school in the village last week and spent two lovely days with the new children. I will be visiting them again in a couple of weeks, but this time I just wanted to get a ‘feel’ of where we are up to and to meet the new intake.

All of our children except 2 have been promoted to Primary 1 at the nearest Primary School where we have links and where I will be doing some training with the teachers. At the moment, because we only have use of a building which does not belong to us but to the local church, we are unable to develop the space into a quality Nursery learning environment. But, even so, the work that Gabrielle, our teacher does with the children is inspiring. He clearly loves children and enjoys their company, He is firm but kind and he uses interactive methods when he can. He not only teaches but he is also a focus in the community for advice on other matters, often concerning health issues.

The school year in Rwanda runs from January to November and so at this time of year Gabrielle is very busy registering new children and passing on reports of children who have moved up to P1. Every day parents or grandparents bring children to be registered, building up to a maximum of 60 (theoretically).

On my first morning back in the village I left the house and walked up to the school. I strolled past Mama’s coffee plants and through the banana trees, coming across familiar sights and sounds. The view of the lake opened up before me as I passed the homes of friends. People greeted me with big smiles and happy handshakes.  I climbed up the rough steps carved into the hillside by human feet and came to the rough church building which acts as our school base. As I rounded the corner my eyes were awash with the sight of little children playing in the sunshine. I saw Gabrielle with skipping rope in hand giving a demonstration of how to skip! I saw another group of children playing hopscotch in the dirt.  I spied the new water tank and mothers by the new water tap, washing the pots after serving the porridge. It was a happy and healthy scene!

As soon as I get the camera out they stop playing! 

Outdoor play after porridge

Before school starts in the morning or in the afternoon children are given Sorghum Porridge which is a staple food of this area. Feeding the children was a priority when the project started and it made a tremendous difference to the children’s development and health. As each new intake comes to the nursery we see again how poor these families are. There are still children with big (empty) bellies, caused by protein malnutrition. The kids don’t get enough protein so fluid leaks out of the blood vessel walls in the abdomen area. This fluid collects in the ‘peritoneal space’ and the space extends. (I got this on google, I am not a health expert). So, really we need to be feeding more protein to the children.

As with all young children when they first start school or Nursery there are some who don’t want to leave their mothers and there are others who can’t wait to get into the classroom. The children are shown how to line up one behind the other so that they can enter the building in an orderly fashion, without hurting anyone else in their excitement. Time spent on these strategies now is time well spent for future learning. 

Our school is very basic at the moment but we have plans to improve with the support of friends in O2R, Canada. When the children enter the classroom they sit on the benches in rows, girls on one side, boys on the other. When all 57 were assembled Gabriel greeted them warmly. I introduced myself and they giggled to hear me speak in Kinyarwanda. The first session was about learning names and Gabrielle patiently asked each little one to say their name out loud. Some of these children are very shy and quiet, whilst others are only too pleased to stand up in front of everyone and shout their name out loud! The Teaching Assistant, Esperance sits on the benches with the children to give them encouragement and to take them to the toilet when they need to go. 

The new water tap by the school/church

After the next outdoor play session Gabrielle uses a rice sack teaching aid to extend vocabulary in Kinyarwanda, getting children to think about what is missing in these pictures. This will be the first time these children have seen pictures of any kind.

Parents also often bring children who have particular health needs or disabilities and ask for advice. In these situations it is very difficult because we have such limited resources. The Rwandan Government has a policy of Inclusion of children in schools, which is fantastic. However, if a child has problems walking, how can he get to a school when the journey is a walk of more than one hour over difficult terrain? And if he does manage to get to school, what facilities will there be for him there? All these are difficult questions for the school system on top of all the other challenges. 

Anyway, that's all for now. Sorry about the poor presentation. I still don't understand what happens to the font colour and background colour sometimes even after 3 years of posting this blog!!

Lots of love, Triciaxx

Mama's Knitting Association at Gasundwe

This is my first attempt to post videos so I hope it works out.

As you know, whilst I was at home in England I requested knitting wool and needles to take to Rwanda and I was inundated with gifts. Thankyou.

In the previous post you saw the wool being carried up the steep hill to the guesthouse. In this film you will see them knitting with their own needles and wool. I realised that they only have one size of needle and one type of wool. So they are not used to knitting with different sized needles and thicknesses of wool. It is a challenge to teach them, but I will try. I wish my friends from the knitting circle at home were here to help me! They are far more accomplished than I.

This lady is knitting a jumper (umupira)with many different colours. We hope that the Knitting Assocaiation is the beginning of a Craft Training scheme which will earn money for the workers. We want to buy a non-electric knitting machine. They cost about £300. Our friends in Canada have already provided three hand sewing machines and the ladies will receive training. 

The next part of the plan will include training in carpentry and other skills.

Apologies if the video clip doesn't work for you. But thanks for reading the blog. When I come home to England i have lots of other film clips.

Keep warm and cosy.

Love Tricia

Happy New Year 2014

New Years Day 2014 saw me at Manchester airport once again and it wasn’t long before I was soaring into the clouds. It took many minutes to get through the thick cloud layer that was covering the whole of the UK that day. As we left Manchester it was a cold grey day with rain lashing onto the tarmac, but even so I was reluctant to leave.

 I’ve had such a wonderful summer and autumn, living in my unusual home and re-establishing my life in a new town. I recognise that so many things have worked together for me, resulting in an enhanced and simpler life in England. But then I felt the sun on my neck coming through the window of the aeroplane – and it was good! I was on my way back to Rwanda...

I first came here three years ago and stayed for two and half years, so I got to know the country quite well. As we drove from the airport in Kigali I experienced the familiarity of the warm night air, the many people walking in the streets, the ever present motos looking for passengers and most of all the enthusiastic welcoming smiles on people’s faces. I felt I was coming to my second home country.

I spent the first few days in Kigali, making the most of some luxury foods and meeting with friends who stayed behind to make their lives here. Even in the 6 months since I have been away there have been big changes in the city. Like any capital city, it is the wealthiest part of the country. There is a noticeable increase in cars – not old bangers but big expensive cars. The city streets are clogged already and in another 6 months there will be big problems. I never understand why emerging cities want to follow the mistakes of ‘developed’ cities. Surely everyone knows that with wealth comes traffic and that traffic should be kept out of the city centre... Will I see ‘Park and Ride’ when I come again?

My plans for the seven weeks were vague – but that’s normal in Rwanda. However I knew I wanted to get to the village as soon as possible so that I could work out how best to spend my time in helping to develop the Nursery School. Getting to the village can be difficult, but the best way is by bus and boat. From Kigali we have to take the bus to Kibuye and Lake Kivu – surely one of the most beautiful places on earth? The journey takes most of the day whichever way you do it. I met my friend Alexis, who is the local co-ordinator of the project, at Nyabugogo Bus Park.

I enjoy the sights and sounds and all the activity of the bus park at Nyabugogo in Kigali, but some people hate it – love it or hate it you have to go through it! Once safely on the bus we’re on our winding way. At Kibuye we buy provisions for the week including a big sack of rice and another sack of Irish potatoes. Mama is waiting for us on the boat down by the shore.

Mama at the front of the boat

Alexis and Jean Baptiste who owns the boat.

This time the boat journey was easy because the lake was calm. We chuntered along for two and half hours and as the ‘home hill’ came into sight I felt my heart rejoice. The boat pulled into the shore and we began the steep climb to the top of the hill. I had with me the big bag of knitting wool which was donated by so many kind friends in England (about 18kg). One of ladies put it on her head  and carried it up the hill.

This is me packing the knitting wool 

The lady in front is carrying the wool 

We were almost at the top of the hill when I came across the first water tap.  I was so excited to see the women drawing water from a tap so close to their homes. It is thanks to our Canadian friends in the group Ottawa 2 Rwanda that the village now has 3 water taps. The other two are strategically placed – one by the church/ school building and one at the guesthouse.Website address: www.Ottawa2Rwanda.org and on facebook. 

When we got to the guesthouse, there was more excitement as I was shown the bathroom now with flush toilet, sink and shower!

The guesthouse now has a flush toilet

and a working sink!

the water tank catches rain from the roof and is also connected to the mains

This is the tap at the guesthouse

I’ve included the photo of the family cow because when a Rwandan man gets married it is the tradition to give a cow to the family of his bride. But after a few years the bride’s family return a cow to the groom. This cow is the child of the original cow that was given when Alexis married his wife. 

Alexis and the family cow

And after a long day and tiring journey it was time for me to re-discover my bed!!

To be continued 

Love to all my friends and family, and strangers who are as yet undiscovered friends! Tricia

Gasundwe Village School

GASUNDWE VILLAGE SCHOOL 

Help me to hold their hand into the future

BACKGROUND

Before I went to Rwanda, the only thing I knew about the country was that there had been a horrific event in 1994 when almost 1,000.000 people were killed and many more injured or displaced. This is what most people will recall if I talk about Rwanda, they do not know about the wonderful community of people who make up the Rwanda of today. People who have survived the unimaginable, who have found human resources that we can only dream of. This is a people and a country which was reduced to nothing. Everything was destroyed – lives, communities, schools, hospitals, water systems, administrative systems, records, desks, chairs, homes, crops etc, etc. The country was almost emptied of people, fleeing either violence or retribution.

The story of Rwanda’s continuing recovery and development is one of the most amazing of our time. However, this recovery has mainly taken place in the capital city of Kigali and in other towns around the country. The fact is that the majority of the population live in the rural areas, some of which are very isolated from lines of communication and therefore have very limited access to essential services such as water, health and education.

Just before I left England in January 2011, for my placement with VSO, my friend, Fidele, who lived in my home town in the UK but who originated from Rwanda discovered that some of his family were still alive and had returned to their village in a remote area of Rwanda. Basically, he jumped on a plane as soon as he could and went to find out if the rumours were true. They were! We can only imagine the joy experienced by the survivors in that family. When Fidele returned to England and discovered that I would be going to Rwanda for two years we were both very excited at the possibilities that could open up. Whilst I prepared to take up my two year placement as Education Leadership Advisor with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas), Fidele planned a further trip so that his wife could meet his family and friends. That was the beginning of an exciting venture. I am creating a new blog to show the origins and development of the project and the story so far. Readers of my VSO blog will know about the exciting journeys and challenges I have faced during my involvement with the village.

THE VILLAGE PROJECT

We have focused our efforts on a small village named Gasundwe which is located on the shores of Lake Kivu (which is one of the largest lakes in East Africa) It is accessible via a 3 hour boat journey from the town of Kibuye or an extensive bus ride over rugged terrain and muddy tracks, both combined with a short rock-strewn hike. The larger project involves the provision of water, health care, education and sustainability. But my concern in this article is the continuance of the Nursery School.

We opened Gasundwe Village School in August 2011 in a basic church building with one room and an earth floor. We aim to promote education and provide health care and nutrition to all the pupils every school day.

Currently a full time teacher is employed who holds two classes of approximately 30 students each day (one in the morning, a second in the afternoon). The children are aged between 3 and 7 years old. Sometimes there are pupils who are older than this. They come to our school because they have never been to school before and we provide a good foundation. There are still families returning from the forest where they fled during genocide. These children have been born in the rain forest and their families were too frightened to return to their villages. The main syllabus is taken from government recommendations and requirements which include: Kinyarwanda, Maths and English in addition to this we also teach Personal, Social and Health Education and incorporate games and singing time into each lesson.

Gabriel (the teacher) is fully committed to his profession and loves working with the kids. He is a highly motivated, innovative and creative individual who strives to give the best possible start to each individual child. He is supported by Esperance (our welfare assistant) who is present in all classes to provide additional help when needed.

The energy and enthusiasm of both Gabriel and Esperance results in a top class education being provided - so much so that in our first year when students began the next step of their education the local teacher wanted to visit the school to learn from Gabriel and take away some practical knowledge and innovative teaching skills which are required for a developing Rwanda with an ever increasing focus on education in early years.

However, we need help in continuing this development and one way is to find sponsors for the school.

There are places for 60 children in our school. My monthly commitment amounts to £250, which pays for a meal for every child every school day, the Welfare assistant’s salary and the teacher’s salary. If I can find 25 people to commit £10 per month or 50 people to commit £5 per month I will be able to continue supporting the village in this way. Many of my friends and family have asked me about the village and have expressed an interest in helping. Please set up a standing order using the following information. A £5 or a £10 regular payment would be wonderful. I will send you a photo and information about the child you are sponsoring and help you to communicate with them and with the teacher, Gabriel.

For bank account details please send me a message or comment. 

Thankyou for reading so far… much love and appreciation.        

Tricia Atherton. (tricia.atherton@gmail.com)