Day 20 (Thursday)

An early start as I am off to Kiramurutzi to visit the school again.  Once again the bus is very busy and the early morning sun is hot.  The bus does not start until it is very full, and then it stops every couple of km on the 30 km journey, to pick up new passengers as well (thankfully) as dropping a few off.

They have some documents ready for me at the school, but they are either in French or Kinyarwandan, so I have to translate them.  I can do the French but the Kinyarwandan is too complicated for me.  After a while, I ask if we can go and look at the school.  Unfortunately it is break time and there are no lessons.  The school is laid out in the shape of a squared off horseshoe.  Each line of classrooms houses two year groups.  As I walk round I am mobbed by the children.  I must have shaken about 400 hands (sometimes five or six at a time they were so eager and sometimes individually) and many more came up either to hug my legs or to touch my skin.  It was a strange and fascinating experience being surrounded by hundreds of children who were pushing each other out of the way so they could, “have a go”.

Rather than stay at the school translating, I ask if I can take some documents home to process them in easier and more comfortable surroundings i.e. with my laptop open.  The school does have electricity but it is not turned on!

Day 21 (Friday)

Our district is preparing for elections, so the schools are closed for the morning.  This is so public servants can help organise what needs to be done.  There are public meetings on common ground; people are being addressed through loud hailers and we see long orderly queues of people, but we do not really know what is going on.

We had managed to get an appointment with the DEO in the afternoon and met him at his office.  He took a real interest in what we had been doing and was very encouraging about our further work, which we were able to discuss with him.

Day 22 (Saturday)

We have planned a journey to Rwamagama, a much larger town about half-way back to Kigali.  We buy a ticket for an express bus and are there in just over an hour.  The town has a much bigger market and many more shops with a wider array of produce.  However, the market has its pitfalls, literally.  Around the edges of the market stalls there are wide, deep drainage channels covered by a metal grating.  I now know that my foot fits neatly between the bars of the grating.  One foot went completely through and I lunged forwards and downwards until the top of my shin smashes into the opposite side of the grating. I am brave and pretend it doesn’t hurt!  When I finally get to sit down and roll up my trouser leg, the damage is worse than I thought.  I have a wedge shaped cut just below the knee, grazes and some significant bruising.  The cut does not stop weeping and bleeding for 24 hours after a second dressing.  The good news is I can walk ok; the bad news is that squattiing to use the latrine is difficult.

We have difficulty getting a bus back to Kabarore in the afternoon.  We end up being crushed into one of the mini-buses for the journey back, which is a disappointing end to an enjoyable day with our VSO friends in Rwamagama.

Day 23 (Sunday)

Our friend Bert has stayed the night with us.  The morning noises mean there is no lie in on Sunday morning.  We have a leisurely breakfast of pineapple, bread, jam, honey etc. with fresh coffee.  Then Bert and I set off on a long walk round Kabarore.  We walk on small paths through the farmed small holdings and eventually find our way to the lake, that we knew was north of the town.  We see all sorts of brightly coloured birds and have a small tribe of children who follow us on our trek.  We walk past people collecting water, doing their laundry, herding cattle and working in the fields.  The sound of a hell-fire preacher haranguing his flock reminds us that it is a Sunday morning. 

After a very creative Sunday lunch it is time to do the crossword.  Is it a good idea for my days in Rwanda to mirror days at home?