This is a strange and not very pleasant time, as we reach the point where we only have 1 month left in Cyangugu. It’s too early to start saying goodbye to people here in town, but it’s too late to start any major new projects. There are some loose ends we can tie up now, but it is even a bit premature for most of that.
I’m not ready to leave right now, but I am ready to start the process and this state of pending good-byes wil, I hope, pass quickly.
Not a miss-spelling, but the usual call which goes up from the guards’ house when I go running. It also applies to our walks : the idea of walking for pleasure or exercise is quite foreign and incomprehensible.
It’s not easy to run here, I tell myself as an excuse for only having started 3 months ago. The paths are rough, muddy when it rains, it is very hilly and people will stare. However, the decision to take part in the 20km Great Scottish Run in September provided the necessary incentive, as it has in previous years. I’m now running every 4-5 days, usually accompanied by Boss, the dog from next door. She is good company and at least solves one problem – people pay more attention to her than me, especially children. Most of them are petrified, although a more docile dog you could not find.
Meanwhile, I also tell myself that a 25-minute hill run, first thing in the morning with low blood sugar and at an altitude of 1700m above sea level, must be worth at least an hour in Scotland. We shall see.
Rangers may have had difficulty in getting the ball during their failed attempt to win the UEFA Cup, but not as much trouble as we had in trying to see the match on TV here.
We arrived at the Peace Guest House 10 minutes before kick-off, only to find the diocesan AIDS conference still under way. As speeches were being given, we assumed that it could continue for an indefinite period.
Off to Hotel du Lac (10 minutes’ drive), where they could not get the appropriate satellite channel, only a game from the premier league in Ghana.
Hotel des Chutes is nearby, but there the antenna was giving problems and they had no channels at all.
In the centre of town, “Planete Foot”, a “cinema” was showing the game, with an entrance fee of 10p, but our Rwandan friend was not at all keen on the clientele (having later seen pictures of the crowds of shirtless Russians at the match in Manchester, I could only think it was as well that he was not in the stadium).
The neighbouring “10-to-10” had the match on TV, with no-one watching and much encouraged, we settled down to watch. The English commentator was complaining about the lack of excitement in the first 30 minutes, so we did not feel we had missed much. 10 minutes later the screen went blank. The hotel staff were able to get a different channel with French commentary, but when that failed just at half time we were left with Bukavu TV and some exotic and badly-acted adverts.
As a last resort, we returned to where we had started and sure enough the AIDS Conference had gone, allowing us to enjoy an excellent picture and sound. The only subsequent disappointment was the result, of course!
In a country obsessed by football, it was intriguing to see how little interest this final attracted. Our Rwandan friend put it down to the lack of a team from the English Premier League taking part.
All the advice you can read about Africa says not to drive at night in the countryside. It is wise – I would say the same myself and avoid it wherever possible. Sometimes, however, given the approach to time (i.e. mostly ignoring it) and the insistent hospitality, it is just impossible to get away early enough to arrive home before dark. A double difficulty then arises : taxis seem to drive faster at night and early evening is the busiest time for pedestrians at the side of the road as people return home. In most parts of Rwanda you will find pedestrians at the side of the road for the whole duration of your journey. It is much easier to drive around 9pm, by which time things are a lot quieter.
There is the occasional reward, however. On our recent drive from Gisenyi back to Ruhengeri, we left as darkness fell, but had a wonderful view of the volcano Nyiragongo as the road climbed away from the lake. This is situated in the DRC, close to Goma and caused a lot of damage and several deaths when it last erupted in 2002. There is still a very noticeable red glow from the top, which is only visible at night. It’s an emphatic reminder of the beauty and power of nature.
I’ve just finished visiting 5 of the 9 dioceses in the Anglican Church in Rwanda (EAR), along with the administrator from our own diocese. We’ve been looking for things we could learn from, or more accurately which could inspire or educate our diocesan staff on our planned study tour / retreat. Unfortunately, it now looks as if this will take place after we return to Scotland, but we have had a good time in the last few days.
There is a huge variety of work going on, some “successful”, some struggling, some with the poor and disadvantaged, some which brings contact with some of the most the privileged families in Rwanda. Perhaps like our farewell to Banda, it has been a microcosm of our time in Rwanda – fascinating, frustrating, depressing, inspiring, always with surprises just around the corner. I’ll describe some of the high and low points over the next few days.
We travelled to Banda today, really to say “goodbye” to our friends there. It will be 8 weeks until we leave Cyangugu, but we decided that we needed to be organised and to start early if we are to see everyone that we want to. There is still a lot to do! The day captured so much of what we will treasure as lasting memories of rural Rwanda :
1. An early start : we had to set the alarm for 0600 on a Sunday morning and leave 40 minutes later.
2. Car problems : the power steering belt broke after 30 minutes, not a major problem, but I felt as if I had done some physical work!
3. Unexpected travellers : our friend Chantal decided to bring her 2-year old with her.
4. Terrible roads : the potholes on the main road become ever worse, the rains have caused several minor landslides in Nyungwe Forest and the side road down to Banda is not difficult, but just bumpy all the way.
5. Broken-down lorries : we only passed 2 today, quite a low tally.
6. The beautiful Nyungwe Forest.
7. The unimportance of punctuality : church had started at 0900, we arrived about 40 minutes late, but by the time we were given breakfast it was 1020 before we all went in, with no sense of rush or stress.
8. Warm welcomes : everyone is so glad to see us, we are hugged by hundreds of people before and after church and there are words of appreciation and prayers for our protection several times during the day.
9. Enthusiastic faith : the congregation was about 1000 strong, with several daughter churches being represented by people who had walked for >2 hours to get there.
10. Long church : with many choirs singing, including the children’s’ choir about 120 strong, it was 1330 when we finished. We had only spoken for about 40 minutes : we are definitely taking longer!
11. Friendship across culture, race and language barriers. There is a mystery here, but unity and fellowship in Christ is also strong reality.
12. The unexpected : we left the pastor’s house after lunch later than we had hoped, but called in to see his daughter with new husband and baby. There we were served our second meal.
13. A late return : we minimised our stay in the second home, but it was getting dark just as we got out of the forest and 1900 by the time we got home.
In the space of 2 weeks it seems that the dry season has arrived, much more suddenly than last year. We hope and pray that it this does not mean the complete end of the rain, because it is too early and there are still some very young plants around, but the dust on the roads is a sure sign that the dry season is here.
Coming from a very wet country like Scotland and having to do a lot of driving here, I definitely prefer the dust.
“Just because your voice can reach half way round the world does not mean that you are any wiser than when it could only reach the other end of the bar”
Attributed in the film “Good Night and Good Luck” to a journalist called Murrow, a staunch opponent of Senator McCarthy in 1950s America. A cautionary note for all of us who blog and perhaps even more true today when it is easy for any voice to reach almost any part of the world (just look at the Clustermap!)
