Earthquake 7 : update

As I write this on Tuesday morning, we have had 3 minor tremors today already : worrying signs that the seismic activity is not yet over. They were nothing like the first ones, but enough to wake us up during the night and to noticeably shake the building this morning.

Meanwhile, there have been a few developments :
> A group of government ministers came down last week to inspect the damage. They refused to use the conference hall at our guest house because of signs of damage, although it has been used for weddings. The first lady also visited on Monday, so we have not been forgotten by Kigali, at least.
> Our bishop has returned and was told by local government leaders that the distribution of tarpaulins and blankets was complete. When you visit families affected, you find that this is not true - there seems to be a blockage somewhere. In particular, where the house has not completely fallen down, it appears to be difficult to get help.
> As a diocese, we have decided to focus on things within our capability. We have developed some expertise in building simple houses (wood, mud and wattle) for less than £1000 and we will be concentrating on that alongside repairing our own property.
> We have managed to find a temporary project manager who will come to manage the repairs. This is great news, because it will take a lot of time and could easily have meant us choosing between our "normal" work and earthquake relief. With 4 months to go before we leave Cyangugu, our programme is more clearly defined than at any time since we arrived here.
> There are appeals operating in both the US (via the AMIA website) and in the UK via Rwanda Aid (see link on the sidebar). Once the money gets transferred, we can start, subject of course to also finding the much-needed wisdom! (see the last earthquake report).