Monday 15 March - Field visit to Kayonza

I feel I’ve neglected the blog this week. I have been very busy but I will try to retrace my steps and tell you about the most interesting things that happened. We had colleagues from Sida in Stockholm visiting and a very full schedule. On Monday we went on a field visit to Kayonza district to look at how some of our civil society partners are working. It was a long day and we made three stops that I will tell you about.

The first project we visited is actually located in Kigali, not far from where I live actually. It is called Village of Hope and is run by the Rwanda Women Network and started out as a refuge for women that were victims of rape but survived the genocide. Many of these women had contracted HIV/AIDS since it was a strategy during the genocide that the men carrying this decease would be the ones raping the women so as to inflict as much damage as possible. A small piece of land was donated by the government and the women could come here with their children. It later developed to a sort of women’s shelter for women who were victims of both gender-based violence and rape. Women and the older children who have dropped out of school are trained in order to develop skills that could generate an income.





This is some of the things the women and children in the village has produced.



They also make money from baking bread that they sell to some of the schools in the area.

The second project we visited is situated in Kayonza district about two hours east from Kigali. First we met with the district authorities who are cooperating with the NGO’s on the projects. It was more of a courtesy visit but it was interesting to see how engaged and helpful these authorities are. It makes a big difference! After this meeting we continued to a village where an organization called AJPRODHO (a youth organization that works for human rights) have started a micron credit project. It’s a way to empower poor people on the country side that does not have access to the financial system so that they can get a chance to improve their lives. They create small groups which have to be made up out of at least 70% women. It is a well known fact that women are much better at paying back their loans then men in poor countries. I’m not going to get in to the discussion about why but this is a pattern that has been observed everywhere where this kind of projects have been organised.

These groups then sit down together and decide on a constitution that will set the rules for their activities. The principle is that they all have to save a certain amount every week that is place in a communal fund and after four weeks a number of the members get to borrow money that they can decide to do whatever they want with. After five weeks they have to pay the loan back with interest as in any bank. This particular group had decided that the minimum contribution per week should be 100 RwF (a little more than 1 SEK) which constitutes one share. One could buy a maximum amount of 4 shares per week and the amount they were allowed to borrow depended on the amount they had contributed every week. All members had small books where their transactions were written down so there would be no confusion. They had a small cash box where they collected all the money which had three locks with three different people in possession of the keys and a fourth who keep the box. A small amount of the savings is also put in a different social security fund which is used to help the people in the village who have more urgent needs.



We had lunch on the shore of Lake Muhazi. Across the lake on the opposite shore President Kagame has built a house. The view was very pretty but we had to wait over an hour for our food which delayed us significantly!







The book where they register their transactions. One stamp represents one share. It is done like this to make sure that everybody understands even if they can't read.

The final project was perhaps the most interesting one. It is run by AJPRODHO and deals with the issue of gender-based violence. It is a sensitization campaign that aims at raising awareness and change people’s opinions on the subject. In Rwanda gender-based violence is the most common crime and it is widely accepted as normal. We attended a village meeting where representatives of the organisation led the discussion and people were able to stand up and share their views. The most striking thing is that the discussion did not look very different from what it does in Sweden for example. A bit frightening since the context is so different. The discussion centred a lot on gender equality and most of the arguments were very familiar. What bothers me is that Sweden, which is supposed to be one of the most equal countries in the world, is still discussing the same issues as they do in a small poor village in Rwanda, a country which is light years away from Sweden on any equality index. It illustrates some disturbing features of the Swedish society I think. Anyway it was a very interesting experience!





When we arrived we were welcomed by women dancing and singing.

Friday 12 March - Field visit

Today I went on a field visit in the south of Rwanda. To be honest I don't remember the name of the place but it is situated about an hours drive straight south out of Kigali towards the border to Burundi. Here the country side is strikingly different from the northern and eastern parts of the country. The terrain is more flat and bushy, almost like semi-savanna and the area is not as densly populated. We were in luck because the weather was very good, sunny and warm.

When we arrived in the village we were shown a very interesting project. One of Sida's civil society partners is bringing cheap electricity to villages by installling solar panels and teaching the inhabitants in these villages how to use and maintain the equipment. Another organisation has built all the 110 houses in the village.




Four of the women were sent to India for 6 months to learn how to operate and maintain the equipment. These women have the responsibility of training women from other villages so that the knowledge can spread throughout Rwanda. These women also manage a fund where all the families in the village have to contribute 1000 RwF every month to pay for the maintenance of the equipment.



This woman showed us how it all works and what they do. The solar panels are on the roof of the houses and are connected to batteries which are charged with the electricity that is generated. Every house get two lamps to ligth up the house and one mobile lantern that can be brought along when going to the citchen or the outside lavatories. If charged for 12 hours the lantern will last for a whole week.



On this black-board were written down a guide for the work they do. I don't really know what the purpose is since none of the women could read or write... It is also a great achievement that they managed to learn all this is a foreign country without understanding the language!



The woman also really wanted to show us her house. This is in the bedroom where she now has electricity and can charge her mobile phone or listen to the radio. The houses are small but the standard is not bad. She also had a mosquito net which is a luxury for many people in this country.



This is the yard behind the house. The small house to the left is the citchen. It seems like the citchen is always situated in a separate building here. In the middle is the shelter for the cow. This woman is obviously quite well off.

After the visit in the village we went to two genocide memorial sites that were on the way back to Kigali. During the killings a lot of people sought refuge in the churches where they thought they would be protected either by the priests or by God himself maybe. Both of these memorials are churches where people had gathered but couldn't be protected. They were all slaughtered and these memorials serve as reminders of the atrocities mankind is capable of and to send the message: never again!

Church 1




In this church about 10 000 people gathered and hid for a whole week before the interahamwe attacked it with grenades and broke in. It's unbelievable to think that that many people managed to fit in this small space and I can only imagine how many people were already dead from starvation and diseases when the killers entrered the building. Layed out on the benches are the clothes from all these people that lost their lives here. Only five persons survived this massaker.



In the crypt of the church are some of the remains layed out together with personal belongings and the notorious identity cards people were forces to use. The first thing written on them underneath the picture is the racial belonging, either hutu, tutsi, twa or other. There is also a coffin containing the reamins of a woman that was brutally raped and then impaled in front of the terrified crowd of people next in line to die.



Outside the church are the mass graves where most of the people are burried. Here lies the reamins of more than 40 000 people from the surrounding area and the number increases every year as more remains are found. Every year on genocide memorial day (7 April) the remains found during the year are layed to rest here during a traditional ceremony. The color purple represents sorrow and white stands for hope.

Church 2




The second church is much smaller than the first. About 5000 people gathered here in this little space and only 10 persons survived. Here also the clothes of the people who died here have been hung in the ceiling and on the walls.



Unlike in the other church all the bones have been layed out on display inside the church and have not been burried in mass graves. It was not until 2007 that the clothes were separated from the remains and ordered in this manner. Most of the sculls have big wholes in them and the evidence of violence is present on most of the bones you see.



The walls are littered with wholes like this from grenade explosions. As well as in the other church this is how the killers managed to get into the church.





People brought food, cooking utensils and all they owned to the church showing that they had planned to hide out there for a longer period of time.




This banner reads: If you knew yourself and if you knew me, you would never have killed me.

Wednesday 10 March – furniture

For the last three weeks I’ve been living in a room with only a bed and nothing else in it. I’m not the one to complain about such things but it’s starting to get old now. Last weekend I was out furniture hunting with a colleague from the office and my new house mate but we didn’t find anything. For me who is used to IKEA and minimalistic design the furniture here is a big disappointment. I have a small room so I need quite small furniture and everything here is so big and tasteless. I did not find anything that even fit in my room in any of the places we visited. I guess I will have to live without furniture for some time before I find something that works but it’s not too much fun having all my stuff on the floor. I do have a closet for my clothes but everything else is in a pile on the floor. Frustrating but I’ve heard patience is a virtue so I guess it might do me some good…

Sunday 7 march – Genocide memorial

Today I visited Kigali Memorial Centre which is a genocide museum in Kigali. It is also a memorial with mass graves of more than 200 000 people which has been brought there from all around Kigali for their final resting place. Inside the museum you get the whole story of the genocide including the history leading up to it, the actual event as well as the aftermath. It is all very tastefully done and comprehensive. You can also watch short video where genocide survivors tell their stories. In addition there are also the remains of some of the victims on display as well as the belonging found at the killing sites such as clothes and personal belongings. The reason why they show this is not only to make your stomach turn but also as evidence so that nobody can come and say that this never happened. There are also hundreds and hundreds of photographs of people who fell victim to the genocide so as to give a more personal picture of these gruesome events.

On the second floor of the museum they take on the subject of genocide in more general terms and tell the story of several other genocides that has occurred during the twentieth century. Here you can learn more about the killings in Cambodia, the holocaust, Bosnia, Namibia and the genocide on Armenians in Turkey. It is an experience that is quite hard to digest and there is so much information to take in that it is overwhelming. It does make you wonder how people can treat each other this way. In certain situations human life seem to be worth very little. Outside the museum they have planted a beautiful rose garden in memory of all the people that are laid to rest here. The spot of the museum is truly beautiful as well and you have a nice view of Kigali from there. You do need to have lots of time when you go there since there is a lot to take in and it feels almost respect less to the victims not to read and look at everything carefully.




Från ett ämne till ett annat är det en sak jag tänkt skriva om ganska länge men som aldrig blivit av. Det gäller det här med att pruta. Vi befinner oss ju i Afrika så att pruta hör ju till men det verkar inte direkt vara satt i system här. Det är lite svårt att förklara, man förväntas pruta på de flesta ställena men ibland verkar folk inte riktigt förstå vad det handlar om. Ibland när man åker taxi eller moto så drar de till med ett riktigt överpris när man frågar hur mycket det kostar att åka någonstans. Andra gånger ger de det ”rätta” priset direkt. Det händer även ibland när man börjar pruta att de ger ett lite högre pris och när man sedan kontrar med att erbjuda hälften så tar de det bara utan att ens försöka få en bättre deal. Man blir lite förvånad för om man varit i t.ex. Asien är man ju van vid att det kan vara en ganska lång process och att man hamnar någonstans mitt emellan i slutändan. Jag har även varit med om att de prutat ner sitt eget pris, t.ex. när man erbjuder dem ett pris så kommer de själva en lägre summa. Ja, det är inte lätt att förstå sig på alla gånger. Det finns ingen direkt förutsägbarhet i processen och ibland vill de inte pruta över huvud taget. Man lär sig ju efter ett tag vad saker och ting kostar men det är inte alltid de själva vet det vad det verkar. En rätt kul egenhet tycker jag. Det verkar nästan bero mer på vilken personlighet man stöter på än att det är en kulturell grej. Vissa orkar helt enkelt inte med att hålla på och pruta och ger dig sitt pris direkt.

Friday 5 mars – life in Kigali

I’m now starting to feel like this is home. I am settled in my house, am starting to actually know what I’m doing at work and know my way around Kigali pretty well by now. The routines are also starting to be established. I work-out a couple of times a week, study some French when I get the time and go to quiz night on Mondays. It’s not much different from my life in Sweden since I don’t have any money and it rains quite often. Well maybe a little different. I think to myself sometimes when I walk through the tall grass by the lake that if I get bitten by a snake I will probably not survive, even though there’s a hospital 300m away. If it’s a mamba or a cobra it doesn’t matter. Luckily there doesn’t seem to be a lot of snakes in Kigali and they mostly come out at night. And well I wouldn’t like to get sick in this country at all actually. Not sick enough that I have to go to the hospital anyway. I’ve heard some horror stories so I better stay healthy and not getter sicker than my little home pharmacy can handle. Apart from that I guess there’s also the water situation. Water can be quite scarce here in the dry season, that’s normal but we are having water problems now, during the wet season, as well. Some days the pressure is not high enough to take a shower and when that happens you can only hope that you’re not just back from a jogging tour.

Now that I’ve talked some about the negative things about living here I guess I should mention some of the positive ones. First of all there’s the wonderful weather which is not too warm and never cold. It rains a lot this time of year but that just cools the temperature a bit and that is a good thing. Then there’s the food. You can find an amazing supply of fruits and vegetables! There never seems to be the wrong season for anything and they can actually get three harvests a year here. If you by locally produced foods there’s not at all as much chemicals and preservatives in them as there is at home and they taste much better. It feels so much healthier than the food at home even though there’s more sugar and fat in it. You just don’t eat as much since you get everything you need through a smaller quantity. Another positive thing is the stunning beauty of this country. Calling it “the land of a thousand hills” is really not an over statement! There are terrace fields all along the slopes of the hills where they grow all kind of crops like coffee, tea, bananas, corn, potatoes and cassava. There are so many nice things about this country it would take forever to list them here. I think I'll stop here for now...

pictures from field visit to Musanze

I just managed to get a hold of the pictures from the fieldvisit I went on last week and thought I'd share them with you.


When we arrived we were met by the whole village and the women danced and singed to welcome us! Very nice and typically African.




This woman lost 12 of her 13 children in the genocide and barely survived herself. You can actually see the pain and hardship she has been through in her face. She now lives in the reconciliation village with her only surviving child.




Some boys were playing football. This goes to show that children are the same everywhere, no matter under which conditions they live. Playing is what they live for! These kids are too poor to have a football but they make due with a ball made out of... eh what is that exactly? (Normally it's made out of banana leaves)


You are met by this stare almost everywhere you go and it's a very illustrative example of what is lacking in the Rwandan society, trust - interperonal trust. To me this look expresses distrust and suspicion. However, as soon as you start interacting with people it disappears.


This is what all the houses in the village looked like. The government have decided on a common standard that all the houses have to meet, with the result that they all now look basically the same. ALL the 137 houses in the village looked the same and were the same size. Notice also the color of the soil. It's all black vulcanic rock in this area. The soil is very fertile and this part of the country is the most productive but at the same time also the most densly populated, more than 1000 people per square km!!!



Inside the newly built and not yet completed trauma centre. Here we had to listen yet again to the compulsary and neverending speeches. And after that, we had to stand in a circle and pray of course. That's just a normal day in Rwanda...


The local police really wanted to show us the weapons they'd confiscated. A hand grenade anyone? This is not exactly what I call safe storage. They could easily expload for any number of reasons because of the rust and bad shape their in.

Sunday 28 feb – skön helg

Efter en ganska tråkig vecka med dåligt väder kom helgen och lyste upp tillvaron. Vädret har varit stabilare och trots att det regnat dagligen har tiden mellan skurarna varit solig och varm. Fredagar har blivit min favoritdag följt av söndagar som är väldigt lugna och sköna. På fredagar slutar vi kl 14 på kontoret och det känns som att man tjänar en hel extra dag varje vecka. Oftast brukar jag gå direkt från jobbet till gymmet som ligger på andra sidan gatan och få mig en ordentlig genomkörare. Sedan har men resten av dagen fri att göra lite vad man vill. Det händer ofta att vi har bjudit in vänner på middag, vilket vi också gjort i fredags. Vi hade en jättetrevlig kväll och det blev senare än vanligt. Här slutar kvällarna tidigare än i Sverige eftersom dygnsrytmen är annorlunda. Folk går upp så tidigt på morgnarna att de helt enkelt inte orkar vara uppe så länge på kvällarna.

Lördagen var en dag som bjöd på riktigt fint väder! Jag var tvungen att ta mig in till centrum och ta ut pengar. Det är lättast att åka till banken en gång i månaden och ta ut en stor summa så att man klarar sig till nästa månad. Vi har nyligen fått bankomater här i Kigali men dessa tar bara visakort och jag har självklart mastercard. Det betyder att jag behöver gå in på banken för att kunna ta ut pengar. Det här var inget jag såg fram emot och det hela förlöpte inte heller helt smärtfritt. Jag hade fått en bank rekommenderad, så jag åkte dit först. Otur som jag har så var den banken stängd på grund av tekniska problem. Jag frågade om det fanns en annan bank där jag kunde ta ut pengar. Jodå, det fanns det bara här runt hörnet så det var inga problem. Ok, jag gick dit och tog en kölapp. Var för övrig mycket imponerad av att de hade ett kösystem men det var hela 30 nummer före mig. Jag satt och väntade en stund och bestämde mig sen för att göra lite andra ärenden medans jag väntade och sedan komma tillbaka, förhoppningsvis innan mitt nummer kom upp. När jag kom tillbaka var det bara typ fem nummer kvar tills det var min tur. Jag träffade en kompis som hade försökt ta ut pengar i bankomaten men det hade blivit något fel så hon försökte utan framgång få tag på någon som kunde hjälpa henne. Kände mig rätt glad att jag inte har något visakort ändå! Hon upplyste mig om att på den här banken kan man inte ta ut pengar om man inte har ett konto där. Det har jag ju självklart inte så nu hade jag vänta i en timme förgäves. Ok, då var det bara att gå till nästa bank. Där var det inga problem att ta ut pengar men man behövde tydligen ha med sig sitt pass för att få göra det. Eftersom jag har lämnat in en ansökan om visum har jag lämnat ifrån mig mitt pass så det var ett problem. Jag bestämde mig ändå för att göra ett försök. Alltså på bank nummer 3 i ordningen verkade det vara lite mer ordning och reda. Jag satte mig i en ganska kort kö och svettades, det var väldigt varmt ute. När det till sist blev min tur frågade jag om det gick att ta ut pengar med mitt körkort istället för passet. Det gick det men inte så mycket som jag hade behövt. Det kändes ändå som en seger för jag hade helt slut på pengar och jag fick ta ut ungefär hälften av vad jag skulle behövt den här månaden så det var ändå ok. Man ska inte förvänta sig att en till synes enkel sak ska gå lätt och smidigt i det här landet.

Denna lördag var det även vad de kallar Umuganda här i Rwanda. Umuganda infaller sista lördagen varje månad och innebär att det mesta är stängt mellan 8-12 för att ”alla” ska delta i en form av samhällstjänst. När jag säger alla så innebär det inte vad det verkar de rika människorna, men de flesta andra måste delta, annars får de böta. Det råder delade meningar om detta fenomen. Ofta innebär det att man städar i sitt område eller planerar träd och helt enkelt sköter om sin omgivning. Samtidigt fungerar det också som ett lokalt rådslag där man diskuterar gemensamma angelägenheter. Vissa är av den åsikten att eftersom man tvingas att arbeta utan ersättning från staten är detta lika med tvångsarbete och inte förenligt med ett modernt samhälle. Andra säger att man ju sköter om sitt eget grannskap och att man därför egentligen jobbar för sin egen vinnings skull och att det är en ganska hedervärd företeelse. Jag har nog inte riktigt bestämt mig för vad jag tycker än. En positiv sak det för med sig är att det är väldigt rent och välstädat överallt.

På kvällen gick vi på grillfest hos ett gäng britter som jag inte träffat förut. Det var en s.k. Bournebeque. Bourne som i Jason Bourne och Bourne-filmerna. Vi var inte där från början men de började tidigt och visade alla tre filmerna ute i trädgården på en projektor. Vi kom lagom till film nr 2 och det var en ganska trevlig kväll. Träffade två sydafrikanska killar som håller på med ett ganska roligt projekt. De cyklar från Skottland till Sydafrika! De började tydligen i augusti och har ju kommit en rätt bra bit på vägen får man säga. Annars var kvällen ganska händelselös…

Söndagar är ju min andra favoritdag och denna har inte varit undantagen den regeln. Vädret var strålande hela dagen och jag tog lite sovmorgon. Gick ut på en liten träningsrunda på förmiddagen, skönt men väldigt varmt! Gick till Bourbon coffee och tog en fika med en kompis på eftermiddagen och sen har jag bara tagit det lugnt resten av dagen. Läst i min bok och pluggat lite franska. I skrivande stund har det dock blivit riktigt oväder med åska och hällregn så nu är det inte så trevligt längre. Bästa att stänga av datorn kanske… Är ju som sagt lite rädd för åskan så kvällen blir kanske inte så jätterolig.