The roof is done! Today we secured the last few metal roof sheets and the Covaga kitchen looks fantastic! Nothing is more satisfying than completing something so very tedious.
This past weekend was so amazing! We worked half a day on Friday alongside the members of a local bicycle taxi cooperative. In addition to working on the roof we spent the morning moving rocks from the field behind Covaga to the work site, where the smallest ones were used to level the ground for the patio of the future restaurant.
Afterwards the bicycle taxis took us to the Gashora Girl's Academy. After having visited and had lunch at this amazing school we all agreed that we wished we could have gone to school there, and many of us are dreaming of how amazing it would be to teach there. The academy is especially important because it is a girls-only school, providing young girls with the opportunity to get a high school education and become their country's future leaders. As a science and technology school, many girls go on to become doctors, engineers, and so much more. The girls we met were all so mature and had big dreams to go on in university and bring their skills back to Rwanda. They were truly inspiring.
After our visit we showered, packed, and headed to Kigali for the weekend. On our way into the city we stopped at ABC, a bagel cooperative, which is newly owned by a Canadian from my own province of Ontario. It was so weird recognizing her accent half way across the world! The bagels were AMAZING. We bought them for the next morning too, and treated ourselves to fresh bagel chips and tortilla chips!
Friday evening we went to an amazing Indian restaurant and followed that with a night of dancing. Kigali has an awesome night life.
Saturday we went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre and Hôtel des Mille Collines (the real-life hotel from the movie "Hotel Rwanda".)
On Saturday evening we went out to a Mexican restaurant and ate burritos for dinner - they were sooooo good!! Dinner was followed by a bonfire and more dancing. On Sunday we stopped at a market on our way out of the city and got some more shopping in. The fabric and jewelry here is just stunning!
Tomorrow we will start the construction of kitchen gardens for some local Gashora families. Stay tuned!
Sarah May
DWC Student Team Participant
Rwanda, May 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
May 24: One week to go ...
Today marked yet another milestone on the worksite: we finished roofing the main room of the building! It took more than a week of us rotating working on the roof's frame and hammering in hooks from below, but now the main room which will make up the innovation centre's kitchen is fully covered.
After work, we went on a walk. We visited a farming cooperative that was founded sixteen months ago by a guy who is only twenty six years old! Already, the cooperative of young farmers and landscapers is turning a profit. One of my favourite characteristics of Gashora is the large amount of cooperatives that are run in the town. It really builds a strong community, and keeps its inhabitants invested in improving the town. I can't help but think that Canadian cities could benefit from some sort of system similar to the one in Gashora.
On a much sadder note, today also marks one week until our last day in Gashora. We leave Rwanda next Saturday, but will be spending our last night in Kigali. I cannot believe how fast this amazing month has gone by. It really does feel like we just arrived, but at the same time, every single minute was filled with warm memories and huge accomplishments. With that in mind, it feels like we have in fact been together in Gashora for much longer than just three weeks. I feel like I have known the group members and our friends that we have met in Rwanda for years, and I will truly miss being around them all the time when we need to part ways at the airport.
The relationships I have built with Rwanda and the people I met here have deeply changed me. Though it is devastatingly depressing to think of leaving in just over a week, I know that I will find a way to return to this amazing country as soon as possible to see the progress that has been made at Covaga and the country as a whole.
After work, we went on a walk. We visited a farming cooperative that was founded sixteen months ago by a guy who is only twenty six years old! Already, the cooperative of young farmers and landscapers is turning a profit. One of my favourite characteristics of Gashora is the large amount of cooperatives that are run in the town. It really builds a strong community, and keeps its inhabitants invested in improving the town. I can't help but think that Canadian cities could benefit from some sort of system similar to the one in Gashora.
On a much sadder note, today also marks one week until our last day in Gashora. We leave Rwanda next Saturday, but will be spending our last night in Kigali. I cannot believe how fast this amazing month has gone by. It really does feel like we just arrived, but at the same time, every single minute was filled with warm memories and huge accomplishments. With that in mind, it feels like we have in fact been together in Gashora for much longer than just three weeks. I feel like I have known the group members and our friends that we have met in Rwanda for years, and I will truly miss being around them all the time when we need to part ways at the airport.
The relationships I have built with Rwanda and the people I met here have deeply changed me. Though it is devastatingly depressing to think of leaving in just over a week, I know that I will find a way to return to this amazing country as soon as possible to see the progress that has been made at Covaga and the country as a whole.
Natasha John
DWC Student Team Leader
Rwanda, May 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
May 20: Akagera National Park
I'm writing this post by the lake as the sun sets, after a laid back day of work at Covaga.
This weekend was incredible! We woke up at 4am on Saturday, packed sandwiches, and waited for our safari jeep to arrive so that we could go to Akagera National Park. We went to the park with Cedric (who is one of the university students that has been helping and guiding us on the construction site and off), and one of the Covaga ladies, Anastasia. The drive to the park was long and bumpy, but the view as the sun peaked out of the hills was absolutely gorgeous.
Akagera is very different from the rest of what we have seen in Rwanda. Instead of lush, green hills and mountains Akagera boasts the plains and grasses that Africa is so well-known for. We spent the day driving through Akagera on small rough-cut roads. Our jeep opened at the top, making the ride both totally fun and perfect for picture-taking. We saw so many animals! They included antelope in several different parts of the park, topi (a kind of antelope), hippos, two giraffes, water bucks, zebra, monkeys, a crocodile, water buffalo, a fish eagle, and warthogs. At the end of the day we stopped at the park hotel to have a bite to eat and were super excited when a family of baboons walked right by us. Little did we know how smart these particular baboons are, however, and as we were taking out our cameras to get some great shots of them they ran forward and stole away our food! The ironic thing was that the main thing they took were bananas! Over-all it was an amazing day.
On Sunday we took a bus to a town about 45 minutes away from Gashora, where our construction "boss" Peter lives. Peter, Cedric, and the other university students were all there and hosted a lunch for us, with cassava bread taking centre stage. It was delicious!
After lunch we walked to the town's Genocide Memorial, which at the time had been a church that thousands of Tutsis hid in and around. During the Genocide the church became a site of mass massacre, so today it is a memorial that is filled with the clothes and bones of those who died. This visit was emotionally difficult for us all, but it was so important that we went so that we can truly be part of an international community that works in solidarity with Rwanda today while also never allowing ourselves to forget what occurred 19 years ago.
Sunday evening we went to Mayor's house and he hosted a dinner for us. Mayor oversaw last year's construction team the way that Peter does for this team. Dinner was followed by live music and dancing!
This week at Covaga we are slowly starting to put up the metal roof panels of the building. It's a slow process but it looks like it will be completed by Friday!
Sarah May
DWC Student Team Participant
Rwanda, May 2013
This weekend was incredible! We woke up at 4am on Saturday, packed sandwiches, and waited for our safari jeep to arrive so that we could go to Akagera National Park. We went to the park with Cedric (who is one of the university students that has been helping and guiding us on the construction site and off), and one of the Covaga ladies, Anastasia. The drive to the park was long and bumpy, but the view as the sun peaked out of the hills was absolutely gorgeous.
Akagera is very different from the rest of what we have seen in Rwanda. Instead of lush, green hills and mountains Akagera boasts the plains and grasses that Africa is so well-known for. We spent the day driving through Akagera on small rough-cut roads. Our jeep opened at the top, making the ride both totally fun and perfect for picture-taking. We saw so many animals! They included antelope in several different parts of the park, topi (a kind of antelope), hippos, two giraffes, water bucks, zebra, monkeys, a crocodile, water buffalo, a fish eagle, and warthogs. At the end of the day we stopped at the park hotel to have a bite to eat and were super excited when a family of baboons walked right by us. Little did we know how smart these particular baboons are, however, and as we were taking out our cameras to get some great shots of them they ran forward and stole away our food! The ironic thing was that the main thing they took were bananas! Over-all it was an amazing day.
On Sunday we took a bus to a town about 45 minutes away from Gashora, where our construction "boss" Peter lives. Peter, Cedric, and the other university students were all there and hosted a lunch for us, with cassava bread taking centre stage. It was delicious!
After lunch we walked to the town's Genocide Memorial, which at the time had been a church that thousands of Tutsis hid in and around. During the Genocide the church became a site of mass massacre, so today it is a memorial that is filled with the clothes and bones of those who died. This visit was emotionally difficult for us all, but it was so important that we went so that we can truly be part of an international community that works in solidarity with Rwanda today while also never allowing ourselves to forget what occurred 19 years ago.
Sunday evening we went to Mayor's house and he hosted a dinner for us. Mayor oversaw last year's construction team the way that Peter does for this team. Dinner was followed by live music and dancing!
This week at Covaga we are slowly starting to put up the metal roof panels of the building. It's a slow process but it looks like it will be completed by Friday!
Sarah May
DWC Student Team Participant
Rwanda, May 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
May 17: Birthday Celebrations and Rwandan Healthcare
Today was a huge day. First of all, it is Jenna's birthday. They day started off with the exchange of handmade birthday cards -- written with pen on ruled paper -- and the usual vats of delicious Rwandan coffee.
Then, at work we finished plastering the walls of the entire innovation centre. We've been plastering pretty much every day since starting to work at Covaga, so it is a huge accomplishment. We also finished making the "portable scaffolding" that we started on yesterday. These will allow us to paint the welded seams between the poles that are now serving as the roof's skeleton.
Also, a big group of bird watchers came through Gashora today, so the women of Covaga brought out all their wares onto the lawn. It was an amazing sight to see, the dozens of women decked out in colourful clothes among the hundreds of woven baskets.
After work, the group went to see Gashora's health centre. Rwanda has made very impressive leaps in the past two decades with regards to social services. We learned earlier that eighty-five percent of Rwandans have health insurance, and that the least wealthy of the population do not pay for any health services. What stood out the most for me while visiting the health centre was the importance placed on family planning and maternal health. Almost half of the main building is dedicated to those services, and couples are encouraged to visit the family planning counsellor where they have access to free contraception.
As our time in Rwanda goes on, my admiration for this country grows. The dedication that it shows towards caring for its people is outstanding, and should serve as an example for other countries not only in Africa, but further abroad as well
Natasha John
DWC Student Team Leader
Rwanda, May 2013
Then, at work we finished plastering the walls of the entire innovation centre. We've been plastering pretty much every day since starting to work at Covaga, so it is a huge accomplishment. We also finished making the "portable scaffolding" that we started on yesterday. These will allow us to paint the welded seams between the poles that are now serving as the roof's skeleton.
Also, a big group of bird watchers came through Gashora today, so the women of Covaga brought out all their wares onto the lawn. It was an amazing sight to see, the dozens of women decked out in colourful clothes among the hundreds of woven baskets.
After work, the group went to see Gashora's health centre. Rwanda has made very impressive leaps in the past two decades with regards to social services. We learned earlier that eighty-five percent of Rwandans have health insurance, and that the least wealthy of the population do not pay for any health services. What stood out the most for me while visiting the health centre was the importance placed on family planning and maternal health. Almost half of the main building is dedicated to those services, and couples are encouraged to visit the family planning counsellor where they have access to free contraception.
As our time in Rwanda goes on, my admiration for this country grows. The dedication that it shows towards caring for its people is outstanding, and should serve as an example for other countries not only in Africa, but further abroad as well
Natasha John
DWC Student Team Leader
Rwanda, May 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
May 15: 'Muzungos' Hard at Work
Today was our 8th day working on the Covaga Kitchen and things are moving along great! We start and end every working day in the most amazing way possible: the kids in Gashora absolutely love us "muzungos" (Kinyarwanden for "white person") and will run in huge groups when they see us coming down the road so that they can walk us to our destination. There is nothing cuter than seeing a dozen young children running at you with open arms yelling and screaming for others to come and join them.
We are still finishing up some last plastering of the higher parts of the walls in the building. We also have a frame for the roof well on its way - thanks to the skilled labour of some hired welders. It is totally fascinating to see the many ways that they make do with the limited tools that they have. They are very innovative and do not waste anything in the construction process.
We are all fully enjoying our weekly purchases of the Covaga products. Their baskets are absolutely stunning and they also make beautiful bags, bracelets, earrings, coasters and other items. We are spreading out our purchases between the women in the cooperative and throughout the duration of the trip so that they have money each week to spend on more materials.
Goats are everywhere in Rwanda. We see them walking through town on leashes all the time, often easily mistaking them for dogs. On our walk home today we saw an adorable baby goat and its momma by the side of the road munching away on grass. The kids picked up the baby so that we could pet it. Cuteness overload!
This weekend we will be going to Akagera National Park in a safari jeep. We are all super excited!
Sarah May
DWC Student Team Participant
Rwanda, May 2013
We are still finishing up some last plastering of the higher parts of the walls in the building. We also have a frame for the roof well on its way - thanks to the skilled labour of some hired welders. It is totally fascinating to see the many ways that they make do with the limited tools that they have. They are very innovative and do not waste anything in the construction process.
We are all fully enjoying our weekly purchases of the Covaga products. Their baskets are absolutely stunning and they also make beautiful bags, bracelets, earrings, coasters and other items. We are spreading out our purchases between the women in the cooperative and throughout the duration of the trip so that they have money each week to spend on more materials.
Goats are everywhere in Rwanda. We see them walking through town on leashes all the time, often easily mistaking them for dogs. On our walk home today we saw an adorable baby goat and its momma by the side of the road munching away on grass. The kids picked up the baby so that we could pet it. Cuteness overload!
This weekend we will be going to Akagera National Park in a safari jeep. We are all super excited!
Sarah May
DWC Student Team Participant
Rwanda, May 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
May 14: The Country of a Thousand Hills
It's been a few days since a blog post because our team had a wonderful second weekend in Rwanda exploring the many rolling hills of the North West. They certainly call it the country of a thousand hills for a reason! The view during our many bus rides was breathtaking and frequently kept me from napping or reading.
We ended work early on Friday, and that worked out perfectly as it was the first morning we have had so far where we were limited in what we could do by persistent rains. We are still finishing up the plastering of some high walls of the building, but the rain slowed down that process. So instead we finished most of the painting that needed to be done. We are currently painting the metal for the roof with an anti-rusting solution that also happens to be an eye-catching bright red.
The bus ride from Gashora to Munsanze was bumpy and cramped, but it was also quite interesting. People in Rwanda are so friendly that we had many conversations with other bus riders in English, French, and some simple Kinyarwandan. Children waved at us from the side of the road too -- everyone wants to say hello not only because it is a friendly culture but also because Western visitors are still quite rare here.
After a fantastic dinner at our hotel most of the team went out dancing with local university students and stayed out super late - but not by Rwandan standards!
The next morning we went up a winding mountain road to visit a Twa cultural village that reminded me a bit of Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto. The really cool thing is that this village is at the base of the mountain that hikers take to visit some of the last Silverback Mountain Gorillas in the world. Although we couldn't afford the permit cost to visit them ourselves, being so close to their home was super cool.
My favourite part of the cultural village was probably the target practice where several members of our team tried to shoot a target with a traditional bow and wooden arrow. It's harder than it looks! I can only imagine how much harder it would be as a moving target (an animal). The Twa people have since shifted from a hunter gatherer society to an agricultural one, mostly in an effort to protect Rwanda's environment and endangered species - but they also sell beautiful carved wooden items and woven baskets similar to those at Covaga. Shopping this way is simply the best. I also quite enjoyed the dancing and drumming at the end of the visit, which we all participated in.
Saturday evening and Sunday morning were spent by the shores of Lake Kivu - so beautiful! We saw the prettiest sunset followed by a stunning light show of lighting in the distant mountains. Lake Kivu is absolutely huge -- very comparable to our Canadian Great Lakes at least from the biased vantage point of our hotel.
Everyone we speak to asks us to go back to our country as ambassadors for them, sharing with others how beautiful and peaceful it is to travel to Rwanda. And that we will! Many of us are already thinking of ways to come back again in the future. It's so unfortunate that most of the world still views Rwanda as a frozen image of its past when things have changed so very much in the past 19 years. On our bus rides I noticed several different Genocide memorials. They are in many towns and cities, so it is always remembered even as the country moves forward and leads the way in gender equality and environmental stewardship.
Sarah May
DWC Student Team Participant
Rwanda, May 2013
We ended work early on Friday, and that worked out perfectly as it was the first morning we have had so far where we were limited in what we could do by persistent rains. We are still finishing up the plastering of some high walls of the building, but the rain slowed down that process. So instead we finished most of the painting that needed to be done. We are currently painting the metal for the roof with an anti-rusting solution that also happens to be an eye-catching bright red.
The bus ride from Gashora to Munsanze was bumpy and cramped, but it was also quite interesting. People in Rwanda are so friendly that we had many conversations with other bus riders in English, French, and some simple Kinyarwandan. Children waved at us from the side of the road too -- everyone wants to say hello not only because it is a friendly culture but also because Western visitors are still quite rare here.
After a fantastic dinner at our hotel most of the team went out dancing with local university students and stayed out super late - but not by Rwandan standards!
The next morning we went up a winding mountain road to visit a Twa cultural village that reminded me a bit of Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto. The really cool thing is that this village is at the base of the mountain that hikers take to visit some of the last Silverback Mountain Gorillas in the world. Although we couldn't afford the permit cost to visit them ourselves, being so close to their home was super cool.
My favourite part of the cultural village was probably the target practice where several members of our team tried to shoot a target with a traditional bow and wooden arrow. It's harder than it looks! I can only imagine how much harder it would be as a moving target (an animal). The Twa people have since shifted from a hunter gatherer society to an agricultural one, mostly in an effort to protect Rwanda's environment and endangered species - but they also sell beautiful carved wooden items and woven baskets similar to those at Covaga. Shopping this way is simply the best. I also quite enjoyed the dancing and drumming at the end of the visit, which we all participated in.
Saturday evening and Sunday morning were spent by the shores of Lake Kivu - so beautiful! We saw the prettiest sunset followed by a stunning light show of lighting in the distant mountains. Lake Kivu is absolutely huge -- very comparable to our Canadian Great Lakes at least from the biased vantage point of our hotel.
Everyone we speak to asks us to go back to our country as ambassadors for them, sharing with others how beautiful and peaceful it is to travel to Rwanda. And that we will! Many of us are already thinking of ways to come back again in the future. It's so unfortunate that most of the world still views Rwanda as a frozen image of its past when things have changed so very much in the past 19 years. On our bus rides I noticed several different Genocide memorials. They are in many towns and cities, so it is always remembered even as the country moves forward and leads the way in gender equality and environmental stewardship.
Sarah May
DWC Student Team Participant
Rwanda, May 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
May 8: Teamwork, Hardwork, and a Beer by the Lake
Today was our third day in Gashora but already it feels like home. I would never have imagined that going to work in such a dramatically different country than my own with a bunch of strangers (save for extensive prep emailing) could be so easy. Our group immediately became a tight-knit team, which has really helped us to get down to business at the work site right away.
Today was so far the hardest in terms of heat (the sun blazed without respite all day) and the previous two days' effects on my body that is unaccustomed to manual labour have become apparent. My shoulders are sore, my hands at the risk of blistering, and my hair a tangled mess. Despite these setbacks, today was yet another super-productive day. We went through bags of cement at record speed, and tirelessly climbed all over the scaffolding we helped build yesterday.
At lunch, you could tell that the group was absolutely beat, but lemon Fanta and the group's collective motivation pushed us through the rest of the day. So much so, in fact, that we worked an hour later than usual.
Today was so far the hardest in terms of heat (the sun blazed without respite all day) and the previous two days' effects on my body that is unaccustomed to manual labour have become apparent. My shoulders are sore, my hands at the risk of blistering, and my hair a tangled mess. Despite these setbacks, today was yet another super-productive day. We went through bags of cement at record speed, and tirelessly climbed all over the scaffolding we helped build yesterday.
At lunch, you could tell that the group was absolutely beat, but lemon Fanta and the group's collective motivation pushed us through the rest of the day. So much so, in fact, that we worked an hour later than usual.
Tonight will most definitely be one spent doing laundry and stretching out the day's work with some yoga. We'll probably squeeze in a pre-dinner beer by the lake as well. Life is good.
Natasha John
DWC Student Team Leader
Rwanda, May 2013
Natasha John
DWC Student Team Leader
Rwanda, May 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
May 6: Welcome to Gashora!
We've arrived in Rwanda! Our team is ten students from across Canada and we are having a blast already, just five days into this great adventure! Rwanda is a beautiful and lush country and as it is the end of their rainy season we're experiencing some great weather: humid and sunny for most of the day with showers and brief heavy rains to cool us down while we work. The people we have met so far both in Kigali (the capital) and in Gashora are so incredibly welcoming - and funny! Even through the language barrier we're sharing jokes, singing, dancing and cracking up throughout the day as we work.
We arrived Saturday night and stayed in La Palisse in Kigali, where we were paired up into adorable little cottages in a secluded and tropical area. The next morning we got our first taste of Rwandan buffet-style food and so far we're loving it! Their dishes have LOTS of carbs (potatoes, plantain, rice, beans and pasta) but they also have a wide selection of fresh fruits and veggies that are grown locally. The avocados here are the biggest I've ever seen!
Sunday we explored Kigali a little bit and did some shopping. Then we all got on the bus and travelled an hour and a half to rural Gashora, which is our home base and work site for the duration of the trip. Our La Palisse hotel here is on a stunning property overlooking a beautiful lake. There are so many birds here! They do a great job of waking us up at 6am each day! In fact, on Monday morning we saw a GIANT eagle of some kind right by our outdoor breakfast buffet - flying away with an even more giant tree branch. Sadly the photo I got is only a blur, but I hope to see another eagle like that soon - perhaps at Akagera National Park mid-month.
After breakfast on Monday we walked down the road 20 minutes to the worksite at the Covaga Innovation Centre. The women of the weaver's cooperative welcomed us with open arms and sang and danced for us, and we got to work! We are currently working on a building that will serve us a restaurant for Gashora visitors and as a kitchen to hold cooking and nutrition classes for the community. Monday was spent plastering the inside walls of the building, and today we finished most of the plastering and began building scaffolding for the roof. We are working with some hired locals and have been making great progress!
It's lots of hard work each day but it is so fun and we take awesome breaks by playing with the children when they are off from school. They all love to be photographed and to take photos while wearing our terribly muddy sunglasses - they are such a joy! They follow us in large groups as we walk down the road back to the hotel, and many of them speak fantastic English. I wish I could say the same about my Kinyarwanden!
We will be working five days a week and spending weekends exploring other parts of Rwanda. This weekend we will be going north to Lake Kivu and a cultural centre in Musanze. Can't wait!
Sarah May
DWC Student Participant
May 2013, Rwanda
We arrived Saturday night and stayed in La Palisse in Kigali, where we were paired up into adorable little cottages in a secluded and tropical area. The next morning we got our first taste of Rwandan buffet-style food and so far we're loving it! Their dishes have LOTS of carbs (potatoes, plantain, rice, beans and pasta) but they also have a wide selection of fresh fruits and veggies that are grown locally. The avocados here are the biggest I've ever seen!
Sunday we explored Kigali a little bit and did some shopping. Then we all got on the bus and travelled an hour and a half to rural Gashora, which is our home base and work site for the duration of the trip. Our La Palisse hotel here is on a stunning property overlooking a beautiful lake. There are so many birds here! They do a great job of waking us up at 6am each day! In fact, on Monday morning we saw a GIANT eagle of some kind right by our outdoor breakfast buffet - flying away with an even more giant tree branch. Sadly the photo I got is only a blur, but I hope to see another eagle like that soon - perhaps at Akagera National Park mid-month.
After breakfast on Monday we walked down the road 20 minutes to the worksite at the Covaga Innovation Centre. The women of the weaver's cooperative welcomed us with open arms and sang and danced for us, and we got to work! We are currently working on a building that will serve us a restaurant for Gashora visitors and as a kitchen to hold cooking and nutrition classes for the community. Monday was spent plastering the inside walls of the building, and today we finished most of the plastering and began building scaffolding for the roof. We are working with some hired locals and have been making great progress!
We will be working five days a week and spending weekends exploring other parts of Rwanda. This weekend we will be going north to Lake Kivu and a cultural centre in Musanze. Can't wait!
Sarah May
DWC Student Participant
May 2013, Rwanda
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