Starting the day

I was wakened at 0545 this morning by a knock on the door.  Even by Rwandan standards this is early, but I was not surprised to find that it was Kenneth, the head teacher of the local primary and a good friend.  Yesterday he got back from Kigali with 2 pupils who had taken part in a national language competition.  At 0200 this morning(!) he had a phone call to say that they had won and that they needed to be back in Kigali (by 1200) for the ceremony.

My part was to supply a loan of £30, because the school had no petty cash and a lift to the bus station for the 3 of them to catch the 0630 taxi.  The children were immaculately dressed and of course were quite excited about all this.  

In return, I get a day away from the office, because he also told me that it had been announced on the radio the night before that today is a public holiday because of a Muslim celebration.  It’s still beyond me that there can be a national plan for the year 2020 but a competition for children and a public holiday cannot be organised 24 hours in advance.  I suppose it shows that culture goes much deeper than we sometimes think.