Blogs from Rwanda, Africa - page 10

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

Lake Bunyonyi was as beautiful as promised! We spent a day exploring the area using a dugout canoe for transport. We stumbled on and into an extremely vibrant and lively village church service and enjoyed the enthusiastic singing, clapping and dancing. There was definitely a lot of spirit and joy in the room. We also visited a traditional healer who showed us a selection of plants and herbs used for various "medicinal" purposes, including treating colds, stomach upsets and malaria. However, not sure Celina will be prescribing any of his treatments to her patients when she's back home..! The last stop of the day was to learn some basket making skills from a family of craftmakers. We chose the simplest option of making bracelets, which was a lot tougher than it looked. Although we won't be ... read more

After 10 whirlwind days in Rwanda (meetings and excursions sometimes beginning 5AM until 9PM+), it was time to come home. The trip was all I wanted and much, much, much more. Among the highlights: We were hosted by an incredible woman (Rose Kabuye) who was a lieutenant colonel for the guerrillas fighting against the genocide, wife and mother, mayor of the capital, Kigali, member of parliament and the cabinet, and just a beautiful person. We were in a posh hotel (uniformed doorman) and had access to leaders and shakers that could never have happened individually. Our visits were to elite sites (several hundred dollars admission for biggies, plus transportation and lodging) so I had an experience I could not have had otherwise. We visited the memorial for the nearly 1 million people who died in the ... read more

July 7th I am on my way to Rwanda in Central Africa (see map for travel route). This 10 day trip is sponsored by the SEVEN Fund: Social Equity VENture Fund, which was founded to seek solutions to poverty. As ambitious as that may seem, this organization is really in the vanguard to help reach this. As part of the preparation for travel we were sent articles, books, and had several conference calls. My participation is the result of a competition to select 5 teachers to look at efforts-- and major successes-- of Rwanda. While the genocide of 1994 comes to mind quickly for the country, its achievements since then really explain what it is about. To get ready I did considerable reading and internet surfing. Sources present a consistent picture, tracing the roots of ethnic ... read more

Yesterday, I did the most amazing thing: I went tracking the wild mountain gorillas at the Volcanoes National Park. It was unbelievable. First, I had to get up at 4:00 am for the drive down to the main office. I planned to sleep through the trip but found myself too excited to sleep. Once the sun started rising, the views were gorgeous. This post includes those photos. There will be another post soon.... read more