February 9: Exploring Kigali & Settling In

We stayed in Kigali last night and got the chance to meet with the people we will be working with. The rooms in the hotel we large but very few furnishings. There was a tub but no shower. Some of the other rooms had no running water though.

We had boiled eggs, potatoes and coffee for breakfast. We all climbed in a small van to go to the main city so we could get our water we need for the two weeks. We had a chance to walk around and get a taste of what the city is like. The buildings are quite new and the streets are very clean. The city is much larger than I had imagined. Many people travel on motorcycles and the streets are crazy with drivers passing each other at any opportunity they get. One thing that struck me was that almost everyone was dressed so nicely. There were a lot of people who carried cell phones. The people were so eager to say hi or smile as we walked by.

We visited the Genocide Memorial and it was a an extremely emotional experience. So many lives were lost needlessly. The Rwanda's have been able to overcome this atrocity and move ahead with their lives. I'd suggest that if you get a chance, learn as much as you can about the genocide. It's hard to believe it happened only 20 years ago.

Next, we traveled to Gashora where we are working on our project. The resort we are staying at is very pretty and is situated beside a very large lake. We each have our own rooms. It's a 12' x 12' room with only a bed and a resin chair. We had a traditional dinner of rice, potatoes, vegetables and chicken. They grow pineapples in the fields beside our rooms. They were delicious! There bathroom facilities are extremely outdated. Sometimes no water and mostly cold water.

The beer here we found is very good. Primes is the name. They come in large 720ml bottles. Probably had too many last night!

The group enjoying a beer together

The team we are with is a lot of fun. Our Rwandan helpers are so funny and helpful. They all know at least three languages. Their English is very good. 

All of the food we've had so far has been quite bland. Not a lot of spices are used and the meals contain a lot of starch. Most families only eat once per day. Lama, head of Building Bridges with Rwanda, said that cooking is more of a chore for them so there's not a lot of effort put into the cuisine. He compared this to the European countries where they love to cook and eat.

It's about a 2km walk to the place where we are working on the Covaga Innovation Centre project. It has rained both nights, but seems to clear up in the morning.

Well, it's time to head out and get some breakfast before we walk to out to the job site.

Todd Drake
DWC Volunteer Participant
Rwanda, February 2014

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

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