May 2012: Student team gets a warm welcome to Gashora

Everything is going great, we've been warmly welcomed into Gashora by Covaga and the community. So far we have participated in some planting on the farm, worked on installing steel roofing for the center and have been working on a fence around the farmland (including making holes, cutting and painting metal beams, and implanting them in the ground with concrete). We are working with two Rwandan agricultural students; both of them are lots of fun. The work isn't always consistent; sometimes we are rained out and we occasionally have to wait for direction or materials (we're operating on so-called "Africa time").

The team dynamic has been good so far, everyone seems to get along well. A few people have been sick, but nothing serious, just stomach issues no doubt due to different food, environment etc. Everyone has been enjoying the local cuisine, which is about 95% carbs with a little bit of protein. It's interesting having a meal of potatoes, yams, rice, bananas and beans.

Last weekend we visited Kigali where we went out to a local club with our agro student friends, checked out the big market at Kimirongo and went to a reggae show. This week was back to work, but tomorrow we will be taking a day trip to Akagera National Park to see some animals. The prospect of seeing wild elephants and giraffes has everyone excited.

We've all started picking up local habits and customs, and have been working on our Kinyarwandan. Our conversations go something like this:

"Maramutse!" (Good morning!)

"Miriwe, amokoro?" (hello, how are you?)

"Nimesa!" (Well!)

At this point we run out of things to say, but the communication is a riot regardless.

Jim Boyle
DWC Team Leader
Rwanda, May 2012