1km of fabric, 700 pairs of shoes

In the 10 months since we came to Rwanda, the diocese has been building a primary school in Bweyeye. This is funded by the “Telegraph” Christmas Appeal of 2005, where Bweyeye was heavily featured as one of the target communities. It has been part of my work here to supervise the building and in the process of regular visits I have got to know the community and the people there a little. This is not easy : the route involves 1 hour on pot-holed tarmac roads followed by 2 hours on a rough track down through the forest to near the Burundi border. No electricity, running water or phone signal, of course.
The official opening is now approaching and excitement is mounting. A very generous personal sponsor in the UK has offered to buy uniforms for the 700 children there. On our last visit we took 1km of fabric for the tailors of Bweyeye to work with. A quick survey of one class of 45 showed 5 children with shoes and the same number with any semblance of uniform. This is a very poor community. Tomorrow the advance party leaves with 4 huge sacks containing the 700 pairs of plastic shoes. We also have exercise books, pens, pencils and slates for all the kids in the school. We will sleep in Bweyeye, an adventure in itself, at least for me.
The Minister of Education has been invited to the meeting, along with Rwandan TV and about 100 other guests. No-one has any clear idea of how many of these will turn up, but the food budget should be adequate for all eventualities – 60kg of beef, 20 chickens, 50kg of rice, 50kg of potatoes and 10 hands of matoke, washed down by 1000 bottles of Fanta. It’s going to be quite a party! However, the significance for a community like Bweyeye is huge.