The week after Easter was a bit calm but hectic at the same time. On Monday we all left Musanze together to go back to Gisenyi, where I had planned a third attempt to visit the Bralirwa brewery and a coffee tour on one of the nearby islands. The tours were organised by New Dawn Associates, but at that time I hadn’t heard from them yet. Before we got on the bus, I took Charlotte, Sue and Brittany to the Ubushobozi girls, whom I’d met the week before. Again, we had the most warming welcome, the girls were over the moon to see us all and were very proud to show off their bags and dancing skills. “Oh this would be lovely for little Margaret,” Charlotte said. It would mean the start of a whole different adventure.
We took the bus back to Gisenyi where Brittany cooked us a lovely homemade dinner. I think she hated me for the fact I bought too many mushrooms and celery – LOL – but the food was excellent. It was the end of a very moving day, but the beginning of another delightful week together.
New Dawn needs to wake up
On Wednesday I was supposed to be picked up by the New Dawn Associates guide who’d take a small group to a nearby coffee picking island. The tour ‘from crop to cup’ shows you the entire coffee making process. With coffee being one of the foremost export products, I thought this would be rather interesting for my magazine. The guide was one hour late when I got a phonecall from the NDA office in Kigali that they’d forgotten about me and it was too late to turn back. Honestly, I wasn’t very unhappy with this because hadn’t I called up the day before I wouldn’t have been informed about the tour at all, and then secondly we make all arrangements to be forgotten in the end. What a crap service!
You’ll never believe it, but on Thursday morning, NDA phoned me back saying the brewery tour had also been cancelled. Brewery vs Val: 3-0! Apparently ‘all of a sudden’ they had a group of military guys visiting the brewery so other visitors had to stay out. Yeah right, as if they didn’t know that a few days in advance. So in the end I was very disappointed in the NDA’s service. With two tours cancelled in two days, I wasn’t very keen on getting involved with them again. That evening I received another phonecall, saying they coincidentally had another tour on Friday, but I wasn’t going to take the risk of being set up again and decided to let the offer go. Thanks, but no thanks!
Amy and the beads
On Tuesday, our little family welcomed a fifth member: Amy from the UK. About a year ago, Amy came to Rwanda as a volunteer but during her stay she met a couple of inspiring women that warmed her heart and thus she decided to do something for them. Instead of founding a charity, she started her own fairtrade webbased company which sells handmade bags, pens, beads and jewerelly, made by various women cooperatives in Rwanda. Profits will go back to these women so they can invest in more professional materials and gain a sustainable income.
Whilst my brewery tour was cancelled, I decided to join her to Murara clinic to visit the Isangano Association. It’s the same clinic I visited many weeks ago to hand out the orphanage goodies and met some of these women. The group consists out of 30 women who are all HIV-positive or already suffering from aids. The association was founded by Christine, who met the other women during her many checkups at the clinic and decided to do something together. They started by making soap but soon turned towards making beads from paper.
Amy donated a couple of professional bead making sets to the women to deliver higher-quality jewellery. The beads are made from paper cuttings, then glued together and varnished. It sounds so silly and easy, but it’s very creative and literally handmade. Meanwhile they’ve got thousands of beads in every colour imaginable that turn out in the most beautiful necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The women sell these products to volunteers or people like Amy.
Profits are shared amongst all the women or serve to purchase healthcards or medicine they might need. Through the project, the women also become more self-concious, while making a living. Amy hopes to sell these products through her website on a regular base so she can continue to keep on supporting these women on a long term basis. Her business officially launched in April 2011 and if she succeeds, she will be able to support at least 75 families. For more information, please visit www.kigali-crafts.co.uk and have a look for yourself.
Uboshobozi’s newest member
On Friday Amy and I headed back to Kigali, but we weren’t alone. Jane from the Faith Victory Association (who place the many foreign volunteers around Rwanda) and Margaret with baby Eric joined us towards Musanze. During our short but overwhelming and wonderful meeting with the Ubushobozi girls on Monday, Charlotte and Sue discussed Margaret’s situation with Laura. You remember Margaret from a few weeks ago when I visited the Murara Clinic for the first time and met a fifteen year old who’s leg was amputated. Being all vulnerable, Magaret was then raped and inpregnated by some asshole. About five months ago, she gave birth to little Eric whom she loves very much, despite the horrible event that created him. Living on the streets, begging for money, there wasn’t much future for Margaret and Eric.
Laura and the girls were very anxious on meeting her and thus Charlotte, Susan and Brittany took Margaret to Musanze earlier that week. They also met up with two Italian guys who had founded a shelterhome for homeless streetchildren. Them too were very keen on meeting Margaret and taking her in. In the end, the women returned with some very good news: Margaret was accepted to Ubushobozi as ninth member, where she’ll be taught English, ICT class, sewing lessons and dance class. All other Ubushobozi girls were very happy to take her in and teach her all they know. Even little Eric has a new friend, Jeanine’s baby Tresor has the same age. Next to some tutoring, Margaret will also get two hot meals per day, one in Ubushobozi, the other one in the shelterhome. I think all five of us were very touched and a bit emotional after all this good news. For the first time in my life, I felt as if I really made a difference for someone. Margaret and Eric were given a second chance in life.
Saying our goodbyes
Later that evening, all five of us checked in with the sisters, which was obviously good fun. We went out for dinner to a nice Indian place and of course we couldn’t stop talking all that had happened in the past few weeks, especially the news about Margaret having found a new home. It was our final night together as Amy was flying back to the UK and my moms Charlotte and Sue were heading to Kenya for another two weeks. We had such an incredible time together, shared so many stories and moments which none of us will ever forget. It’s strange how you often relate so much more to total strangers than to friends you’ve known all your life. I think overhere, we’re all on the same line, having the same mindset and goals in life.
On Saturday morning we spoiled ourselves with a European-priced breakfast buffet at Serena hotel around the corner. Honestly, we didn’t have any other option as it was Umuganda again, the monthly holiday on which everyone has to participate in community work. So with everything being closed and no traffic racing down the streets we were forced to go to Serena. I never had a bigger breakfast in my entire life, but it was definitely worth it. After breakfast, it was really time to say goodbye. But the fact we were staying at the sisters’place amused these women so much that they kept on singing the Sound of Music tune. So in the end, they forced us to join in, do a little dance and it was all recorded. I hope that video will be deleted somehow someday. Charlotte and Sue left for the airport, Amy and Brittany went to the market and I took a stroll to downtown where I met up with Mr.K. again.
Swimmingpool & Spa
Later that afternoon, Amy, Brittany and I met up again and went back to Serena to enjoy the rest of the day at the swimmingpool. Only ten minutes after we got there, rain started pouring down and we hadn’t even got to proper swimming yet. Brittany used all her charm to ask the poolguy if we could go to the Spa instead and five minutes later, we found ourselves down at the spa center, with access to jacuzzi, sauna, hot showers with shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and everything else you can imagine. We felt cleaned and steamed after a few hours in there and it had only cost us 10USD. It’s worth considering doing this again before flying back home. After our little treat we went for dinner and said our goodbyes to Amy who was bound to fly back to the UK that night. Brittany and I, we slept like roses…
Monday April 25th - Saturday April 30th, Musanze/Gisenyi/Kigali
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