Today is our last day in Gashora and at the Covaga center. Yesterday's work by the team had almost completed everything for the project (with the exception of the floor finishing that could only be done by the local workers) so the decision was made to have a later start and use the later part of the morning for visits with the women of Covaga and the construction workers. We spent about 1.5 hours with them at the site and there were many exchanges of gifts and tears shed at the goodbyes. We then had lunch at our regular spot in Gashora and got back on the bus for our trip back to Kigali.
For our last night in Rwanda we went to a wonderful restaurant called "Heaven". I would recommend it to anyone who wants a very good quality meal while in Kigali.
And so ends our journey to Rwanda. Many friends and lasting memories were made.
Rick Henery
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
October 24: Additional Jobs
It was back to a normal workday on Thursday. However we are getting to the end of our project and we have fewer and fewer jobs and the same number of DWC volunteers. So rather than trip over each other Doug arranged for a couple of additional jobs that would keep some of us occupied. One of those was the digging of a waste hole that measured 5'x5' by 5' deep. Due to the hard clay base it took 6 people all morning working shifts to dig the hole. Others in the group were either assisting the local tradesmen with the finishing rock work or helping to bring trays of cement for the finish around the remaining doors and windows or for the specialists that were laying the top finish on the floor of the large room.
They ended up completing around 75% of that floor by quitting time however we did not see that as we left the job site at around 2:00 so that we could do cultural tours of typical Gashoran homes. We split the DWC workers into three or four groups with each having the opportunity to go to two or three different homes. When comparing notes afterward the stories were all the same. The poorest homes were usually no more than two rooms without electricity or water and very little on the way of windows or kitchen facilities. They usually have either dirt or cement floors and the beds are tatami reed mats. Cooking (when there is actually something to cook) is done outside over a small fire. There are usually very little personal things around the rooms. It brought home to all of us how. very, very lucky we are in the developed world. Also it reaffirmed the importance of the type of projects we do for DWC. What we are doing at Covaga will allow for more persons in this community to earn money and be able to assist in providing for increased living standards.
Rick Henery
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
They ended up completing around 75% of that floor by quitting time however we did not see that as we left the job site at around 2:00 so that we could do cultural tours of typical Gashoran homes. We split the DWC workers into three or four groups with each having the opportunity to go to two or three different homes. When comparing notes afterward the stories were all the same. The poorest homes were usually no more than two rooms without electricity or water and very little on the way of windows or kitchen facilities. They usually have either dirt or cement floors and the beds are tatami reed mats. Cooking (when there is actually something to cook) is done outside over a small fire. There are usually very little personal things around the rooms. It brought home to all of us how. very, very lucky we are in the developed world. Also it reaffirmed the importance of the type of projects we do for DWC. What we are doing at Covaga will allow for more persons in this community to earn money and be able to assist in providing for increased living standards.
Rick Henery
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
October 22: The GGAST School
The GGAST is a school that was brought into concept about 6 years ago by the owner of Costco and his daughter. The story we heard was that this family is really into philanthropy and had a vision of helping to advance the educational needs of girls in third world countries. We were told that their search for a worthy location was throughout the world and they ended picking Rwanda with the current site of the GGAST in Gashora.
The school has a yearly intake of 90 girls for the final three years of high school. A total of 270 students for grades 10, 11 and 12. It draws students from all over Africa and is considered after only three years of existence as one of the best preparatory schools on the continent. Last year one of their students was ranked number one in Africa and two others were in the top ten. This include boys and girls from all over Africa. So it is a very well respected institution in both Rwanda and Africa. That is amazing for such a new school. The campus is amazing to see considering the state of construction in the rest of Gashora (including the Covaga Center). There are classrooms, dormitories, lunch rooms and vegetable gardens that are first class. All students live on campus as do most of the teachers.
We were treated to lunch at the Academy which was very good. The students we talked to all had great things to say about their school. After lunch we returned to work at the Covaga site until around 3:00pm when we held an baseball clinic for the young children that have been hanging out around the work site. None of them had ever seen baseball before so it was fun teaching them to hold a bat and hit a ball. They had surprisingly good hand-eye coordination. We played for about 1/2 hour until our prearranged
visit to the Gashora Genocide Memorial.
The District of Bugesera, in which Gashora is located was severely affected by the Genocide. Having a population of only 20,000 at the start of the Genocide, their were 5,180 reported deaths during the Genocide. The loss of over 1/4 of the population of the region was initially devastating but the government has put appropriate building blocks in place that over time will assist the people of Bugesera to experience better socioeconomic conditions than they had previous to the genocide. The Memorial is very somber as one might expect. There are mass Burial sites which hold the majority of the bones of the victims found in Bugesera. The most memorable items at the Memorial, however, were the piles of old clothes that were placed on benches in the entrance way. They were some if the clothes that the dead victims were found wearing. Seeing the brown crusted clothing was emotionally numbing as it brought home the gravity of the situation faced by the victims at that time.
After viewing the Memorial we returned to the worksite as we had arranged for a basketball game between a group of local youth players and some members of the DWC group. Needless to say the Gashora youth led by Steven (one the assistants working with Lama of Building Bridges Rwanda - "BBR", and a former player with the Rwandan junior national basketball team) defeated us old white people 11 - 7 in a game of half court.
We calculated that the average age of our team was was more than double the average age of the Gashoran team. It was a very good opportunity for us to reach out to another sector of the community with which we would not otherwise have had any contact.
After such a busy day there were not many people who stay up late after dinner.
Today was likely the most diverse day that we have experienced in all the trips that we have been on with DWC. The morning started like most with Dougie organizing our work detail. We were finalizing the install of the windows and doors and continuing with the exterior parging. We worked extremely hard that morning and stopped at 11 am in order for us to take a side trip to the Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST). The trip to the school was an adventure in itself. We were all transported the 2 km by bicycles that had been outfitted with an extra padded seat over the rear tire.
Rick Henery
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
The school has a yearly intake of 90 girls for the final three years of high school. A total of 270 students for grades 10, 11 and 12. It draws students from all over Africa and is considered after only three years of existence as one of the best preparatory schools on the continent. Last year one of their students was ranked number one in Africa and two others were in the top ten. This include boys and girls from all over Africa. So it is a very well respected institution in both Rwanda and Africa. That is amazing for such a new school. The campus is amazing to see considering the state of construction in the rest of Gashora (including the Covaga Center). There are classrooms, dormitories, lunch rooms and vegetable gardens that are first class. All students live on campus as do most of the teachers.
We were treated to lunch at the Academy which was very good. The students we talked to all had great things to say about their school. After lunch we returned to work at the Covaga site until around 3:00pm when we held an baseball clinic for the young children that have been hanging out around the work site. None of them had ever seen baseball before so it was fun teaching them to hold a bat and hit a ball. They had surprisingly good hand-eye coordination. We played for about 1/2 hour until our prearranged
visit to the Gashora Genocide Memorial.
The District of Bugesera, in which Gashora is located was severely affected by the Genocide. Having a population of only 20,000 at the start of the Genocide, their were 5,180 reported deaths during the Genocide. The loss of over 1/4 of the population of the region was initially devastating but the government has put appropriate building blocks in place that over time will assist the people of Bugesera to experience better socioeconomic conditions than they had previous to the genocide. The Memorial is very somber as one might expect. There are mass Burial sites which hold the majority of the bones of the victims found in Bugesera. The most memorable items at the Memorial, however, were the piles of old clothes that were placed on benches in the entrance way. They were some if the clothes that the dead victims were found wearing. Seeing the brown crusted clothing was emotionally numbing as it brought home the gravity of the situation faced by the victims at that time.
After viewing the Memorial we returned to the worksite as we had arranged for a basketball game between a group of local youth players and some members of the DWC group. Needless to say the Gashora youth led by Steven (one the assistants working with Lama of Building Bridges Rwanda - "BBR", and a former player with the Rwandan junior national basketball team) defeated us old white people 11 - 7 in a game of half court.
We calculated that the average age of our team was was more than double the average age of the Gashoran team. It was a very good opportunity for us to reach out to another sector of the community with which we would not otherwise have had any contact.
After such a busy day there were not many people who stay up late after dinner.
Today was likely the most diverse day that we have experienced in all the trips that we have been on with DWC. The morning started like most with Dougie organizing our work detail. We were finalizing the install of the windows and doors and continuing with the exterior parging. We worked extremely hard that morning and stopped at 11 am in order for us to take a side trip to the Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST). The trip to the school was an adventure in itself. We were all transported the 2 km by bicycles that had been outfitted with an extra padded seat over the rear tire.
Rick Henery
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
October 21: Goodbye to Maryanne
Hi, this is Rick Heney from Kamloops filling in for our good friend Maryanne who had to return to the real world and her job in Canada a week earlier than the remainder of our DWC group. Maryanne, we wish you a safe and quick return home and I will do my best to continue the blog reports to the standards you have set. Even though I will not come close to matching you I will try.
We woke this morning on the shore of Lake Kivu in north west Rwanda which is close to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The border between the two countries runs through the lake. It is a beautiful setting with rolling hills and cultivated fields as far as the eye can see along the shore of the lake. We were all able to breakfast with Maryanne and say our goodbyes before she left for the airport at 8:30 that morning. (At around 1:00 we received a text that she had arrived at the airport in time for her 3:00 flight.
The rest of us spent the time soaking in the sun or going for walks or boat rides. A few were even brave enough to try their hands at paddling a kind of dug out canoe over to the island that was about 800 meters offshore in front of the hotel.
Rick Henery
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
We woke this morning on the shore of Lake Kivu in north west Rwanda which is close to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The border between the two countries runs through the lake. It is a beautiful setting with rolling hills and cultivated fields as far as the eye can see along the shore of the lake. We were all able to breakfast with Maryanne and say our goodbyes before she left for the airport at 8:30 that morning. (At around 1:00 we received a text that she had arrived at the airport in time for her 3:00 flight.
The rest of us spent the time soaking in the sun or going for walks or boat rides. A few were even brave enough to try their hands at paddling a kind of dug out canoe over to the island that was about 800 meters offshore in front of the hotel.
Rick Henery
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Saturday, October 19, 2013
October 19: Day 6 Gorilla Trekking
We have just checked into our hotel in Malahide Rwanda. We are 7km from the Congo border.
We had the most exciting day! It was amazing to have the opportunity to trek for the Gorillas in the Volcano Mountains of Mahahura Rwanda. We left our hotel at 6am and made our way to base camp check in. Our climb began around 9am. The broke us into 3 groups with low, med and high elevation climbs. We all trekked for over 2 hours until we saw the Gorilla 's. Our group reached 3010m in elevation.
The gorilla experience surpassed of our expectations. Many of us got with inches of them. They were so calm yet playful. They allowed us in their environment and did not see us as a threat except Kenny! One of the Gorillas while passing them literally punched him in the stomach. Wow! Lucky Kenny stayed on his feet and he was the only one in his group for this to happen too. We all joked the Gorilla was asked him to come along with the family as perhaps they thought he would fit right in.
We each saw different families and only one group a day get to observe that family for one hour. As they say time flies when you are having fun. The hour was up in no time. Their is a hierarchy in the family. Their is one older silver back male who is the head of the family and has a few partners which he fathers until he can no longer lead the pack. Once that happens another male takes over and the elder gorilla still stays with the family until his passing. They life span is 35 to 45 years of age. Their gestational period is the same as humans. 9 months.
Most of the pics we have uploaded to the blog we have not zoom into them which will give you a great perspective on how close we got to them.
We enjoyed a night of rest and relaxation at a "resort " called Paradis. Today for the team is some more "r and r" before the 6 hour trek back to Gashora village to start week 2 of the build. I am unfortunately heading back to Canada as duty calls. Rick H. has graciously volunteered to continue the blog in my absence to keep us all up to date on their progress of the build.
Best of luck team! I will miss you all! I know you guys will hand over an amazing project completed at the end of the week to Covaga and their members of the Gashora village.
Cheers,
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
We had the most exciting day! It was amazing to have the opportunity to trek for the Gorillas in the Volcano Mountains of Mahahura Rwanda. We left our hotel at 6am and made our way to base camp check in. Our climb began around 9am. The broke us into 3 groups with low, med and high elevation climbs. We all trekked for over 2 hours until we saw the Gorilla 's. Our group reached 3010m in elevation.
 |
| Team climbing up to 3010m |
The gorilla experience surpassed of our expectations. Many of us got with inches of them. They were so calm yet playful. They allowed us in their environment and did not see us as a threat except Kenny! One of the Gorillas while passing them literally punched him in the stomach. Wow! Lucky Kenny stayed on his feet and he was the only one in his group for this to happen too. We all joked the Gorilla was asked him to come along with the family as perhaps they thought he would fit right in.
We each saw different families and only one group a day get to observe that family for one hour. As they say time flies when you are having fun. The hour was up in no time. Their is a hierarchy in the family. Their is one older silver back male who is the head of the family and has a few partners which he fathers until he can no longer lead the pack. Once that happens another male takes over and the elder gorilla still stays with the family until his passing. They life span is 35 to 45 years of age. Their gestational period is the same as humans. 9 months.
 |
| Big Boy Silverback! |
Most of the pics we have uploaded to the blog we have not zoom into them which will give you a great perspective on how close we got to them.
We enjoyed a night of rest and relaxation at a "resort " called Paradis. Today for the team is some more "r and r" before the 6 hour trek back to Gashora village to start week 2 of the build. I am unfortunately heading back to Canada as duty calls. Rick H. has graciously volunteered to continue the blog in my absence to keep us all up to date on their progress of the build.
Best of luck team! I will miss you all! I know you guys will hand over an amazing project completed at the end of the week to Covaga and their members of the Gashora village.
Cheers,
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
October 18: Bitter Sweet...Bon Voyage...Off to See the Gorilla's
Our day started today a little earlier than most to allow us to get as much work time in as possible before we began our journey this afternoon to the Gorilla trekking excursion area. We continued our concrete mixing and Congo lines for transporting the concrete into the back room. We are so close to having all of the concrete floors completed! What a roller coaster of emotional the team has gone through this week during the build. Day 1 we were excited and ready to concur. Day 2 was a very difficult day. There was a lot of heavy slugging and the reality of the extensive labour required to complete the concrete floors deflated us. We thought it was going to be an entire two week job. A good night's rest brought us to day 3 which was our toughest yet most productive day. We got into a rhythm and we rock and rolled on the floor. Walking away at the end of day 3 we were all rejuvenated knowing we would complete the main kitchen area floor morning of day 4.
For me (Marianne), it was a better sweet day 5 as it was my last day on the job site as duty calls and I am only able to complete one week of the build. I had the opportunity of saying goodbye to the local trades we worked along side with and the members of Covaga weaver's. They opened their arms to us, showed us their craft and allowed us to get to know them and their families. They will hold a special place in my heart and I will think of them often. I hope their weaving coop sustain and provide income for them and their families.
We are travelling this afternoon from Gashora and stopping in Kigali for lunch before continuing our travels to Muhabura. Our lunch was a highlight of the day. We had Burritos and taco from a restaurant called Maze Fresh. It was so delicious and the closest we have had to North American food in over one week.
Next stop was changing buses at the bus terminal. We pulled in and it was like we were steaks in a pack of lions (Awesome analogy Shawn!). OMG Our bus was surrounded by locals and hands we coming into our Windows to either beg or sell us things. We were able to pull out and change buses in a secure area. Thanks for saving us Lama!
Our final stop was at Muhabura Hotel in Muhabura, Rwanda. During our drive the highest elevation we reach going up and down the mountains was 7012 m. Muhabura is 4127M. See the separate images posts from along our travels today.
12 hours and counting down to the beginning of our Gorilla trek! We feel so excited to be able to have this one in a life time bucket list opportunity….keep you posted as long as we escape the Gorilla’s…
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
 |
| We taught the workers how to play teeter taughter during break time! Good laughs! |
For me (Marianne), it was a better sweet day 5 as it was my last day on the job site as duty calls and I am only able to complete one week of the build. I had the opportunity of saying goodbye to the local trades we worked along side with and the members of Covaga weaver's. They opened their arms to us, showed us their craft and allowed us to get to know them and their families. They will hold a special place in my heart and I will think of them often. I hope their weaving coop sustain and provide income for them and their families.
We are travelling this afternoon from Gashora and stopping in Kigali for lunch before continuing our travels to Muhabura. Our lunch was a highlight of the day. We had Burritos and taco from a restaurant called Maze Fresh. It was so delicious and the closest we have had to North American food in over one week.
Next stop was changing buses at the bus terminal. We pulled in and it was like we were steaks in a pack of lions (Awesome analogy Shawn!). OMG Our bus was surrounded by locals and hands we coming into our Windows to either beg or sell us things. We were able to pull out and change buses in a secure area. Thanks for saving us Lama!
Our final stop was at Muhabura Hotel in Muhabura, Rwanda. During our drive the highest elevation we reach going up and down the mountains was 7012 m. Muhabura is 4127M. See the separate images posts from along our travels today.
 |
| I guess you call that free riding?! |
12 hours and counting down to the beginning of our Gorilla trek! We feel so excited to be able to have this one in a life time bucket list opportunity….keep you posted as long as we escape the Gorilla’s…
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
October 17: Day 4: Man Down!
Where did the day go? This was our feeling after the day was over! We continued our concrete mixing and our Congo lines to complete the main kitchen room floor. We knocked it off before lunch. A task a couple of days ago we believed it would take us two weeks.
Some of our team members did struggle today with handling the tray of concrete mix. I am told it was Kenny who dropped the most but I also saw trays being dropped by Sean, Rickie and Doug. Boys will be boys! They were trying to throw them down the line! Lol Who's buying the beers?
Unfortunately we had a man down today (DJ) due to a sinus cold. However we had his daughter Jodie arrive late last night and is a great addition to the team. Did we even miss DJ? Of course we did! The jobsite was a bit quieter! Lol Al kidding aside, we hope he is able to join us for our dinner and fire under the stars.
After work today we had an incredible experience of visiting the elementary school. The school houses 1070 students and 18 teacher's. They divide the students into 1/2 day sessions. School is provided for the children. However the parents must provide the uniform. The school has 12 computers and a satellite dish that was originally donated by Soft Choice and since the government has donated 400 laptops to the school. We proudly donated school supplies which was a collection amongst our team members! As we walked through the school yard the children came running to welcome us with open arms. We lost count how many hugs we all gave. This village has really welcomed us with open arms. This are special moments on this trip we will not forget.
Tomorrow...1/2 day ahead and then we will commute to our Gorilla trekking site accommodations so we are ready first thing Saturday morning to trek to find them. We are all so excited for this opportunity!
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Some of our team members did struggle today with handling the tray of concrete mix. I am told it was Kenny who dropped the most but I also saw trays being dropped by Sean, Rickie and Doug. Boys will be boys! They were trying to throw them down the line! Lol Who's buying the beers?
Unfortunately we had a man down today (DJ) due to a sinus cold. However we had his daughter Jodie arrive late last night and is a great addition to the team. Did we even miss DJ? Of course we did! The jobsite was a bit quieter! Lol Al kidding aside, we hope he is able to join us for our dinner and fire under the stars.
After work today we had an incredible experience of visiting the elementary school. The school houses 1070 students and 18 teacher's. They divide the students into 1/2 day sessions. School is provided for the children. However the parents must provide the uniform. The school has 12 computers and a satellite dish that was originally donated by Soft Choice and since the government has donated 400 laptops to the school. We proudly donated school supplies which was a collection amongst our team members! As we walked through the school yard the children came running to welcome us with open arms. We lost count how many hugs we all gave. This village has really welcomed us with open arms. This are special moments on this trip we will not forget.
Tomorrow...1/2 day ahead and then we will commute to our Gorilla trekking site accommodations so we are ready first thing Saturday morning to trek to find them. We are all so excited for this opportunity!
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
October 16: Day 3 - Mission Possible
Walking to the jobsite this morning we were all feeling great. A good night’s sleep, no hangovers and a couple of more climate adjusting days. We knew we had a tough day ahead with all of the concrete mixing and carrying work. Our day turned our great! It was our toughest day yet, most productive and the funniest day! Boy the day goes by fast when you’re laughing and having lots of fun in the sun! We are 17 people from all across Canada and one lonely American who have come together on this mission and we are a cohesive awesome team!!
Today we struggled slightly with supplies at the beginning. Running out of our key ingredient cement mix. We bought all we could from the Gashora village and then our local lead hand had to travel 35mins to the next village to be able to buy 8 bags there. How did the bags get from the other village to Gashora…well on bicycle taxi’s. You will see pictures below of the bicycles that carried our order for a couple of dollars for delivery. It would be an hour plus round trip for the bicycle taxis. Wow!
Water was the other key ingredient we ran out off. Not a lot of rain fall in Africa and we drained the tank. We quickly had a local hired to bring water out of the local river take and forth to us for the rest of the day. See how he carried the containers in the below pictures. Wow! Imagine his calf muscles!
Our conga lines worked great today getting the concrete from the mixing location into the building as well we had the local helpers on the mixing. We saved a lot of sore backs today! In the pictures below you will see our progress on completely the kitchen area floor. What we thought would be a two week task at the get go, we know believe it is possible to be able to complete it tomorrow. We will them move onto the two small rooms off the kitchen as well as starting to parge (Thin concrete mix that is flicked onto the wall with a trowel and smoothed over) the interior walls of the kitchen.
After we completed today, we went to the local pub for a “pop” and we were accompanied by one of our local lead hands who is a closet rapper. We convinced him to rap a couple of songs for us! He did a great job! Concrete mixer by day and rapper by night! LOL And to top it off, the beer was less expensive than our “resort”. 850 franc’s for a large pint. (672 franc = 1 USD) Yep beer is pretty cheap here!
Walking back to our home away from home, we felt good after our day! Knowing this mission is possible! We are already excited to see the end result…
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
 | |
| Our local trades standing on the start of our concrete floor at the start of the day! |
Today we struggled slightly with supplies at the beginning. Running out of our key ingredient cement mix. We bought all we could from the Gashora village and then our local lead hand had to travel 35mins to the next village to be able to buy 8 bags there. How did the bags get from the other village to Gashora…well on bicycle taxi’s. You will see pictures below of the bicycles that carried our order for a couple of dollars for delivery. It would be an hour plus round trip for the bicycle taxis. Wow!
 |
| Dona and Hulio sitting on the job! |
Water was the other key ingredient we ran out off. Not a lot of rain fall in Africa and we drained the tank. We quickly had a local hired to bring water out of the local river take and forth to us for the rest of the day. See how he carried the containers in the below pictures. Wow! Imagine his calf muscles!
Our conga lines worked great today getting the concrete from the mixing location into the building as well we had the local helpers on the mixing. We saved a lot of sore backs today! In the pictures below you will see our progress on completely the kitchen area floor. What we thought would be a two week task at the get go, we know believe it is possible to be able to complete it tomorrow. We will them move onto the two small rooms off the kitchen as well as starting to parge (Thin concrete mix that is flicked onto the wall with a trowel and smoothed over) the interior walls of the kitchen.
 |
| Mark and Shawn loading up the dirt |
After we completed today, we went to the local pub for a “pop” and we were accompanied by one of our local lead hands who is a closet rapper. We convinced him to rap a couple of songs for us! He did a great job! Concrete mixer by day and rapper by night! LOL And to top it off, the beer was less expensive than our “resort”. 850 franc’s for a large pint. (672 franc = 1 USD) Yep beer is pretty cheap here!
Walking back to our home away from home, we felt good after our day! Knowing this mission is possible! We are already excited to see the end result…
 |
| Wow! The progress we made today! |
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
October 15: Day 2
Today we wished we had access to a concrete truck! Wait…I think we will wish this the next many days of the build. This is the reality of building in a third world country. Today we mixed by shovel cement mix, stone (1 ½”) and sand. We lost count of the bags used and as you will see in the photo’s we have a large floor surface to cover. It’s going to be a long process. Backs are sore, arms are sore, it was a hot one and many walked back from the jobsite wearing concrete as well. Even though we have come accustom to the building processes and advanced tools back home, we keep our patience intact and enjoy the experience of working along side the local craftsmen and allow them to teach us how they build.As we discussed the day at our daily after work “pop” session, there was still laughter and fun left in the team.
It was a hard day and yet another great day working with the Covaga group and the locals of the Gashora village. Many of the lady weavers jumped in to help us today. Whether it was in the congo line so we could get the rocks from one side of the site into the new building or helping carrying the wet concrete mix into the building (Did I mention with babies on their back! They were our inspiration to keep going when we got tired!). As we worked along side, we had many conversations getting to know them and their families. They were quite eager to help us translate as well. Many can speak some English as well as French.
During our breaks when we should be resting, you would witness the team members talking with the young children, playing soccer with them, teaching them cart wheels or holding the very young babies. These are precious moments we experience during the day!
Night’s agenda will be sorting through all of the donations we all have brought to donate to the village. We have brought soccer uniforms, soccer balls, footballs, sports equipment and school supplies. It’s important to give to the village the right way so we do not cause a frenzy as well ensuring the most needy receive first. We also want to ensure the school supplies reach the school.
In the upcoming days, we will have the opportunity of visiting the local school as well a few of the locals have invited us into their homes proudly. Some exciting days to come….also 4 days until our Gorilla Trekking Excursion!
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
 |
| Kenny working hard! |
It was a hard day and yet another great day working with the Covaga group and the locals of the Gashora village. Many of the lady weavers jumped in to help us today. Whether it was in the congo line so we could get the rocks from one side of the site into the new building or helping carrying the wet concrete mix into the building (Did I mention with babies on their back! They were our inspiration to keep going when we got tired!). As we worked along side, we had many conversations getting to know them and their families. They were quite eager to help us translate as well. Many can speak some English as well as French.
During our breaks when we should be resting, you would witness the team members talking with the young children, playing soccer with them, teaching them cart wheels or holding the very young babies. These are precious moments we experience during the day!
Night’s agenda will be sorting through all of the donations we all have brought to donate to the village. We have brought soccer uniforms, soccer balls, footballs, sports equipment and school supplies. It’s important to give to the village the right way so we do not cause a frenzy as well ensuring the most needy receive first. We also want to ensure the school supplies reach the school.
In the upcoming days, we will have the opportunity of visiting the local school as well a few of the locals have invited us into their homes proudly. Some exciting days to come….also 4 days until our Gorilla Trekking Excursion!
 | |||
| Our beautiful ston slugging work from yesterday. Today we began to add a cement layer on top. |
 |
| Team hard at work mixing concrete by hand. |
Marianne Thompson
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
October 14: Day One on the Job Site
What an incredible day! Our day began with a 20 min. walk to the job site while our fearless leader took a motorcycle taxi with our head lead Dougie to get the job site prepared.
We arrived and inspected the site. Wow, we had 3 floors that needed to be leveled and stones applied over top before we can apply to complete the concrete floor. We knew it was going to be a tough slugging day.
We formed conga lines to move the stones faster from the rock pile to the building floor. We quickly realized how embracing the locals where of our presence and they joined into our conga line to help. Even the mother with babies strapped to their back. This village opened up to us with open arms. We had a very special day working along side them. At times we were singing together or learning each others languages by teaching words. Very special moments along the day.
Our lunch took us to a local restaurant in town called Lakeside. Far from being beside a lake. However, we enjoyed another very good African lunch of beans, rice, chips, pasta, spinach and pineapples for dessert.
After lunch we had the opportunity to understanding the Covaga Co-op which is a Weaving Co-op where 61 women and 1 man are members and sell their incredibly beautiful baskets and purses. We had the member present thank us for coming and helping build the kitchen for their site. These members spend countless hours weaving mainly baskets and they receive 90% of the sale price. The remaining 10% goes to the co-op for operations/administrations. One bowl/basket will take 2 days to create and will sell for 7500 francs ($11 CDN). The baskets are sold mainly to the groups who come to help the village, some locals and tourists.
Our day ended with a great dinner outdoors and a camp fire. It was newbie night for the campfire stick. This is where we stand in front of the group and share our thoughts from the day. All of the 7 new people who have not participated in a DWC trip before and most never to a third world country were blown away by the experience of the day to work along side the local residence to help build them a better future.
We are all looking forward to tackling day two...more to come!
Marianne Thompson
DWC Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
We arrived and inspected the site. Wow, we had 3 floors that needed to be leveled and stones applied over top before we can apply to complete the concrete floor. We knew it was going to be a tough slugging day.
We formed conga lines to move the stones faster from the rock pile to the building floor. We quickly realized how embracing the locals where of our presence and they joined into our conga line to help. Even the mother with babies strapped to their back. This village opened up to us with open arms. We had a very special day working along side them. At times we were singing together or learning each others languages by teaching words. Very special moments along the day.
Our lunch took us to a local restaurant in town called Lakeside. Far from being beside a lake. However, we enjoyed another very good African lunch of beans, rice, chips, pasta, spinach and pineapples for dessert.
After lunch we had the opportunity to understanding the Covaga Co-op which is a Weaving Co-op where 61 women and 1 man are members and sell their incredibly beautiful baskets and purses. We had the member present thank us for coming and helping build the kitchen for their site. These members spend countless hours weaving mainly baskets and they receive 90% of the sale price. The remaining 10% goes to the co-op for operations/administrations. One bowl/basket will take 2 days to create and will sell for 7500 francs ($11 CDN). The baskets are sold mainly to the groups who come to help the village, some locals and tourists.
Our day ended with a great dinner outdoors and a camp fire. It was newbie night for the campfire stick. This is where we stand in front of the group and share our thoughts from the day. All of the 7 new people who have not participated in a DWC trip before and most never to a third world country were blown away by the experience of the day to work along side the local residence to help build them a better future.
We are all looking forward to tackling day two...more to come!
Marianne Thompson
DWC Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
October 14: La Palisse, Our African Home
Here are some pics for our home away from home....
The team enjoying a "pop" after our long trek.
Our home away from home rooms...yes we have walls! :)
La Palisse is located right alongside a small lake that has both crocs and hippos. Guess no swimming is allowed!
Marianne Thompson
DWC Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
October 13: Arriving in Gashora
Good evening, we are all tucked in safe and sound at our new home. What we thought would only be an hour trek from Kigali turned into us arriving at Gashora at 3pm.
We had an interesting drive from the city. Many of the locals we walking along the road side in their Sunday best. We believe they must have been returning home from church. Three quarters of the drive was on a two lane paved road. This road was put in 4 years ago. We then turned on a road called "African Message Road" by our guide. It was a dirt road with pot holes. Compared to the dirt roads some of us have travelled on in other African countries it was pretty smooth.
Even though Rwanda is the poorest country in Africa, we had such an encouraging drive. We saw many houses be build. Many of high quality construction with doors, windows, columns out front as well as porches. We saw factories being built in these remote village which will bring jobs to these communities and improve the quality of the locals lives.
Even though we have accommodations with walls and doors, many of us were reminiscing about our accommodations we had in Tanzania. Actually missing the opportunity to sleep with just a mosquitoes net between us and nature. We now have a mosquitoes around our beds in our rooms with 4 walls, electricity and running water.
Our first team dinner! We had a fabulous authenic Africa meal on African time. (Long service! Nothing is fast in Africa.)
Sandy taking a picture of our special guest Raymond and his bride to be Maria! Raymond was our tour guide in previous builds in Tanzania and came to visit us during our short stay in Kigali! It was so great to see them!
Our fearless leader Rick addressing the team of our exciting build!
Lama from Building Bridges with Rwanda and Julio from Calgary
Our guide Steven with me!
We did not get a chance to visit the job site and the locals after we arrived. We are all so excited to get there tomorrow morning to inspect the site, set the plan and get hard at work. We expect tomorrow to be low 30's in temperature and the humidity does not seem as high here as Tanzania. Fingers crossed it's not too hot for our first day!
The Internet is not working where we are staying so we will do our best to keep you updated and have pictures posted.
Wish us luck for our first day....
Marianne Thompson
DWC Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
We had an interesting drive from the city. Many of the locals we walking along the road side in their Sunday best. We believe they must have been returning home from church. Three quarters of the drive was on a two lane paved road. This road was put in 4 years ago. We then turned on a road called "African Message Road" by our guide. It was a dirt road with pot holes. Compared to the dirt roads some of us have travelled on in other African countries it was pretty smooth.
Even though Rwanda is the poorest country in Africa, we had such an encouraging drive. We saw many houses be build. Many of high quality construction with doors, windows, columns out front as well as porches. We saw factories being built in these remote village which will bring jobs to these communities and improve the quality of the locals lives.
Even though we have accommodations with walls and doors, many of us were reminiscing about our accommodations we had in Tanzania. Actually missing the opportunity to sleep with just a mosquitoes net between us and nature. We now have a mosquitoes around our beds in our rooms with 4 walls, electricity and running water.
Our first team dinner! We had a fabulous authenic Africa meal on African time. (Long service! Nothing is fast in Africa.)
Sandy taking a picture of our special guest Raymond and his bride to be Maria! Raymond was our tour guide in previous builds in Tanzania and came to visit us during our short stay in Kigali! It was so great to see them!
Our fearless leader Rick addressing the team of our exciting build!
Lama from Building Bridges with Rwanda and Julio from Calgary
Our guide Steven with me!
We did not get a chance to visit the job site and the locals after we arrived. We are all so excited to get there tomorrow morning to inspect the site, set the plan and get hard at work. We expect tomorrow to be low 30's in temperature and the humidity does not seem as high here as Tanzania. Fingers crossed it's not too hot for our first day!
The Internet is not working where we are staying so we will do our best to keep you updated and have pictures posted.
Wish us luck for our first day....
Marianne Thompson
DWC Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
October 12: Cultural Tour Day
Good afternoon friends,
For some of our group it is our first full day in Kigali, Rwanda. A day for sight seeing and a cultural tour before we head to our build site tomorrow. Our team members that were here already visited the Genocide Memorial yesterday and highly recommended it to us.
Visiting the Genocide Memorial was very humbling as well very emotional. Learning that women and children were targeted first was very heard to hear. The images we viewed were heart breaking. Many stories of how the women were raped, infected with HIV, beaten before being killed as their young children watched before they were killed. Our hearts went out to the deceased as well as the survivors. We cannot imagine the trauma the survivors must be living with.
The Mass Grave sites
The Garden of Reconcillation
Wall of Victims Names
We all sat quiet and still after the 1 1/2 visit to sit and digest what we had just heard and saw during the visit. The memorial gardens are beautiful and an amazing tribe to those who lost their lives. So glad we had the opportunity to visit it and truly understand what caused the Genocide and how they have overcome those tragic days.
One of my favourite cultural experiences is have the opportunity of visiting a local market where artists sell their crafts. We found the Caplaki market this afternoon.
Visiting the local artist's market. Yes I still wearing the same clothes as my luggage still had not arrived. My luggage arrived 24 hrs after I arrived!
With team mate Julio and local women
The market was made up of little shops where each local sold their goods. Many spoke English and French.
Tonight is our first team dinner where we will discuss the week ahead of our build in Gashora, Rwanda. We will head there tomorrow and have the first look at our job site! We are all anxious to see the village, meet the local people and get to work.
Will update you tomorrow once we arrive in Gashora tomorrow...
Marianne Thompson
DWC Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
For some of our group it is our first full day in Kigali, Rwanda. A day for sight seeing and a cultural tour before we head to our build site tomorrow. Our team members that were here already visited the Genocide Memorial yesterday and highly recommended it to us.
Visiting the Genocide Memorial was very humbling as well very emotional. Learning that women and children were targeted first was very heard to hear. The images we viewed were heart breaking. Many stories of how the women were raped, infected with HIV, beaten before being killed as their young children watched before they were killed. Our hearts went out to the deceased as well as the survivors. We cannot imagine the trauma the survivors must be living with.
The Mass Grave sites
The Garden of Reconcillation
Wall of Victims Names
We all sat quiet and still after the 1 1/2 visit to sit and digest what we had just heard and saw during the visit. The memorial gardens are beautiful and an amazing tribe to those who lost their lives. So glad we had the opportunity to visit it and truly understand what caused the Genocide and how they have overcome those tragic days.
One of my favourite cultural experiences is have the opportunity of visiting a local market where artists sell their crafts. We found the Caplaki market this afternoon.
Visiting the local artist's market. Yes I still wearing the same clothes as my luggage still had not arrived. My luggage arrived 24 hrs after I arrived!
With team mate Julio and local women
The market was made up of little shops where each local sold their goods. Many spoke English and French.
Tonight is our first team dinner where we will discuss the week ahead of our build in Gashora, Rwanda. We will head there tomorrow and have the first look at our job site! We are all anxious to see the village, meet the local people and get to work.
Will update you tomorrow once we arrive in Gashora tomorrow...
Marianne Thompson
DWC Participant
Rwanda, October 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)