Blogs from Ville de Kigali, Rwanda, Africa
Eighteen Years since the Rwandan Genocide
Published: April 13th 2012Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali
April 10th 2012
Yvonne and Mugisha were sister and brother. In 1994 they had been aged five and three respectively. Their photo showed them smiling without a care in the world. Both had been hacked to death inside their grandmother’s home because they were from the wrong tribe. Another child had been smashed against a wall. He had been two at the time of his murder. When the death squads arrived at Umutoni’s home, they stabbed the four-year-old little girl in the eyes and head, and when they reached another Tutsi household, the final words of twelve-year-old Mami were, Mum? Where can I run? She was shot dead a few seconds later. The Genocide Memorial Museum was all so unbelievably depressing, especially that final room full of children’s ghosts. But what got me most was that it ... read more
April 5th 2012
"Lord I have seen your goodness and I know the way you are. Give me eyes to see you in the dark." This morning I was meditating on Matthew 20:29-34. Jesus is on his way out of Jericho with a crowd following him. And he is passing by two blind men who are begging him to have mercy on them. Jesus stops and asks them what they want him to do for them. They respond....Lord, we want to see. I often wonder what I would say to Jesus if he asked me what I wanted him to do for me. I honestly don't know how I would answer. However, I am pretty sure my first thought wouldn't be that I want to see. I mean "I can already see....right?" Maybe.......I can literally....but can I REALLy see ... read more
April 4th 2012
Rwanda is the most beautiful country I have ever visited. I wish I could upload a picture for you. All I saw out the airplane window was lush green rolling hills with red dirt roads winding around the many green hills. We stepped off the plane into a postcard, and the smell of fresh cut grass filled my nose. It was so peacefully quiet and calm. The county is SO clean. No trash laying around anywhere. The people are gentle, and beautiful. It is extremely overwhelming to think the genocide of 1994 took place here. I am in awe of this country and the beauty that has come from the ashes. I was told Rwanda looks just like Uganda, except for the culture of course. I can now fully understand what Katie Davis is talking about ... read more
January 9th 2012
We arrived in Kigali, the capital, on Friday, from Nairobi. You instantly feel a different vibe here, younger and more vibrant. You seem to get to "see" more of the city from the taxi, because there are so many hills in Kigali (and, it turns out, all over the country). The effect is that there is always a great "view". Our driver, arranged through our modest hotel, was having trouble getting his older model Toyota up some of the steepest hills. Then he turned onto the dirt road where our hotel was located, and I really started worrying whether we were going to make it at all! The main roads are well paved, but the lesser roads are still dirt, which means that after a big rain they are terribly rutted, and there is just no ... read more
‘I didn’t make myself an orphan’
Published: November 13th 2011Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali » Kigali
November 13th 2011
Kigali, like the whole of Rwanda has been known as a dangerous place and not many tourists have made to this small county in East Africa. In fact the recent and tragic history has been washed out and everyone is struggling to forget the consequences of the 94 genocide. Unfortunately this incident has left deep wounds and anxiety not just in Rwandans but in the rest of the world as well. When you are in the place where it all happened just few years ago, you are facing this history in absolute different way and you’ll be touched deeply. Kigali streets are overcrowded and people passing by you, and then you realize that all the adults would have witnessed the genocide and everyone has been scared more or less by this horrible tragedy. You never know, ... read more
An unexpected beach break and the horrifying reality of the genocide
Published: November 19th 2011Africa » Rwanda » Ville de Kigali » Kigali
November 13th 2011
After a slightly extended stay in Musanze, due to an upset belly, we traveled to Gisenyi to visit Lake Kivu. We had heard that staying by the lake was very pictouresque, but after spending one night in a rather basic guest house with no windows, a funny smell and no toilet seat, Celina wanted to give up and move on. However, we decided to give it one last try and check out another Lonely Planet recommendation. When we arrived at Paradis Malahide it really was like finding a little bit of paradise, with pretty stone bungalows, by the lake complete with it's own private beach. Unfortunately, there was no room at the inn but we had fallen in love with the place, so when the owners offered to put us up in a tent we quickly ... read more
August 1st 2011
As usually our day started early since the volume of African tunes reached us at 7 o'clock. We got up and went to get some breakfast. This time we had some awesome (extremely dry) waffles... Nellie asked Jerome if she could get some plain bread. He said yes, but didn't put too much effort into actually getting her some. Well, I guess he just doesn't lover her. Poor Nellie had to go out on the street and get her breakfast herself. Since Anita was running late again, Nellie and I played some rounds of our favorite game and then went to go pick her up at the bus stop. We again took motos to the project and this time were making mud bricks. My "fiancé" was there again, but unfortunately he was working in a different ... read more
July 31st 2011
Today Nellie and I again got to enjoy a wonderful bucket shower in the morning. We had some tea and dry bread for breakfast and played some Skip-Bo until noon. Then we left to go to the bus station to get our bus to Kigali. There was a little kid staring at us (we got used to be stared at), but suddenly she came up to us and touched me. Just to make sure I was real. Whenever that happened it made me laugh, so I hope Africans don't think touching a Mzungu always makes them laugh. We got on the bus and once again I was amazed by the beauty of this country. Usually I hate buses, but I didn't mind the 1 hour bus rides between Kigali and Muhanga. One of the passengers started ... read more
July 27th 2011
We said goodbye to all the people at the farm, hugged each other and took some pictures. Then we left to go to Masaka where Nellie and I would be picked up by the bus from Kampala and go to Kigali. While waiting at the gas station I spotted a banner advertising a bus company. It said: "Kampala Coach: Kampala- South Africa- A once in a lifetime experience." Oh yeah, I believe that. I mean who is stupid enough to that trip twice? When we got on the bus we tried to reach Anita in Kigali to tell her what time we would arrive. Unfortunately it seemed like she wasn't understanding what we were saying and we couldn't reach the other guy, Yves. So we called Peter asking him to talk to someone telling them we ... read more
July 18th 2011
Eg spasserte over den trafikkerte vegen, myste litt mot sola og rusla vidare på fortauet. Ein mann kom op til meg haldt meg roleg rundt handleddet, og peikte på skoen. Eg kjende så ei hand på brystlomma mi, og instinktivt slo eg den hardt vekk. Eg sett auga i dei begge, dei så olmt på meg og trakk seg unna. Ikkje brått, ikkje som om dei flykta, men sakte medand dei såg på meg. Eg kokte. Eg raste. Eg freste. Eg prøvde å ta dei av dage med blikket mitt. Rundt gjekk folk forbi som vanleg. Dei to mennen forsvann utanfor synsrekkjevidda mi. Eg såg føre meg fleire scenarier, ein der eg kaldkvelde mannen, ein annan der eg spende han ned og ein tredje der eg vrei armen hans og haldt han i ro. Men eg ... read more
