Africa forever

I have spent two and a half months here, getting to know people, trying to collect information for my magazine. It has been a very learning experience, with lots of ups and downs and many frustrating moments. Not sure whether I can say I’m in love with this country, it certainly doesn’t give me the same feeling as South-Africa did, but nevertheless it’s a beautiful country with lots of potential. Not all the people are corrupt and bad, I met so many heartwarming children, men and women. I’ve seen extreme poverty and misery, happiness and joy. I’ve touched history during Genocide Memorial week and witnessed hope in the young generation.

People here work hard, very hard, and they have a very tough life. At home we often say ‘oh, things are not so bad, think about those poor people in Africa’. We do, for about two seconds and then we go back to feeling miserable. Overhere, you’re confronted with this misery every second of the day, putting things back into perspective. I’m scared to go home, to head back to that narrowminded mentality, that moaning and complaining about the most unimportant things. I’ve always been a bit frustrating in our small town country, but I know for a fact that this experience will make me even more upset with the general attitude of people back home. I always hope my stories and pictures are an eyeopener for many, and an inspiration to others who are tempted to explore themselves.


Before I forget, here are a couple of misunderstandings about Rwanda;

1. There is a war in Rwanda > It ended in 1994 and there has been peace for 17 years now.
2. Rwanda is the most criminal country on the whole continent > there is zero tolerance towards violence and it’s probably the safest African country you can visit.
3. Africans are lazy > the majority works extremely hard under very rough conditions, even children are supposed to help out to get all the work done and they work from sunrise to sunset.
4. People have no food and tourists lose weight > Most tourists gain weight as there is a lot of food, especially starchy foods such as fries, ries, potatoes, plantains (bananas), beans, peas and cassava.
5. Water is limited and precious > Rwanda is extremely green due to the amount of rains falling down. Children love playing around with water and they can even maintain a garden or rinse their washing three times because there’s plenty of water available.
6. Kagame is a dicatator > Well, he’s probably not a saint, but not more of a criminal than our own ministers. He has realized a lot in a fairly short time, making Rwanda a stable, safe, clean and developing country, creating environmental, health and educational awareness, while trying to move forward and rejoining Rwandans as one people after the tragic events of 1994.
7. People live in huts > Huts and shacks have all been replaced by either brick or mud houses, having a steel or tiled roof instead of grass thatched ones. That’s been determined in the Vision2020 plan and the UN Millenium Development Goals for Africa.
8. People wear skirts made of dried banana leaves > People are actually very proud and well dressed. Farmers obviously don’t wear a suit, but most people dress up to go to work or walk around.
9. Africans are slow > not in traffic they are! Always in a rush, doing their own thing, not respecting any rules or any other driver or pedestrian. And don’t make them wait for too long, they’re impatient and will honk until you move out of the way.
10. Africans discriminate whites now > Apart from the eventually annoying ‘muzungu’ now and then, black people are much more tolerant towards whites than the other way around. I would expect a deceiving attitude towards whites after our quite dominant history on this continent, but if things had been the other way around, blacks would never have put whites into slavery.

No matter how you twist and turn it, Africa is one of the most – if not the most - interesting continents on earth. With a variety on cultures, history, traditions, languages, people and beautiful, breathtaking nature, no wonder Mother Earth chose this spot as the birthplace of mankind. Once you visited this magnificent place, it captures you, takes you in and never ever lets you go again…

February 26th - May 12th, Rwanda