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Lon Zomer and Hazel O'Dea - their life abroad
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Gisenyi
This visit with Mum and Bill we didn't go so far afield. Back to Lake Kivu, this time to Gisenyi via a road in progress Gisenyi is near the border with Congo, where we spent a night on the lake - the sound of the fishermen going out and coming in with their catches of tiny fish was magical. We returned via the high tea hills of Ruhengeri and back to Kigali again.
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bonsoir
I'm standing in the kitchen with my back to the window, and talking to Dobby say "hello dob flob"
only to hear the response "bonsoir" as one of the night guards walks by......
only to hear the response "bonsoir" as one of the night guards walks by......
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
The russian..
I'd heard about the Russian - a lady with a garden centre - given that the term 'mall' is used rather liberally for a very small shopping centre I was expecting a few plant seedlings in plastic bags or rather elderly plants in cracked pots as is the norm here.
I was pleasantly surprised at the oasis of green and calm hidden behind an unassuming gate in a Kigali suburb.
She has a range of unusual tropical plants which she imports and then cultivates here and sells at almost European prices. I bought the below stunning shrub - which I unfortunately don't kwow the name of. Any suggestions welcome.
I was pleasantly surprised at the oasis of green and calm hidden behind an unassuming gate in a Kigali suburb.
She has a range of unusual tropical plants which she imports and then cultivates here and sells at almost European prices. I bought the below stunning shrub - which I unfortunately don't kwow the name of. Any suggestions welcome.
Daily at the pool in Kigali
Below is the pool at the Novotel
on weekdays I drop Lon at work and swim at 8.00 - its not always so sunny. I've increased my range to 50 lengths in +/- 50 mins including a couple of rests - which means I swim 1 km most days.
The pool is currently closed as part of the mourning /memorial week, and I have to admit
I am looking forward to diving back in
on weekdays I drop Lon at work and swim at 8.00 - its not always so sunny. I've increased my range to 50 lengths in +/- 50 mins including a couple of rests - which means I swim 1 km most days.
The pool is currently closed as part of the mourning /memorial week, and I have to admit
I am looking forward to diving back in
Quinquillerie
aka hardware store.
We have several favourites depending on what it is we need to buy ( they specialise in plumbing / electrical / ...other) ..this is an other with a huge range of stuff and a range of huge stuff - bolts and drills of dimensions usally used on oil rigs I think..
this store has friendly staff so I asked to take some photos of the displays, luckily they speak English here, otherwise the display boards are very useful - comme ca mais plus grande... and pointing
bucket 'o' bolts
We have several favourites depending on what it is we need to buy ( they specialise in plumbing / electrical / ...other) ..this is an other with a huge range of stuff and a range of huge stuff - bolts and drills of dimensions usally used on oil rigs I think..
this store has friendly staff so I asked to take some photos of the displays, luckily they speak English here, otherwise the display boards are very useful - comme ca mais plus grande... and pointing
bucket 'o' bolts
Free time
One of the things that I am doing in my free time is to take up sketching /painting again. Thanks to the supplies that mum brought for me, I'm able to do this from the comfort of my own terrace which is illustrated below.
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Aid can work
Specially for those who a sceptical about aid.
This week I had a look at a programme financed by the Netherlands and I was rather impressed. Welt Hunger Hilfe (Agro Action Alemande in french, German Agro Action in english) made some swamps and hills into useable land for agriculture. In stead of just running in with bulldozers they have a more constructive approach. The people of the area work there and there are structures in place for deciding who the land will belong to at the end. The reason they let as much as possible be done by hand are multiple: cheap, involvement of the local people, ensure future maintenance. The wages are held low, so only people who have nothing would apply for this work, those are the people that need it most. Wages were 1 USD per day, yes that's right 1 USD per day, not hour. 1 HA of land or 1 km of road costs around 2700 days of work.
To visualise this there were some before and after pictures added. At the end the swamp had channels and dykes, the hills had terraces and channels for access rain water. Also were the roads improved for access and even bridges were build. The bridges were built roman style, not for beauty, but it is very practical, an asphalt bridge will erode quickly due to heavy rains and low quality material, a stone bridge will hold forever, it just needs some mud every now and then for the holes.
Also did people get training in what to grow and how to grow it, so the land will not go to waste and is used optimally. Remember that this is the most densely populated country in Africa and in the top 5 of the world.
Results of this project: people had income, people have land to grow food.
This week I had a look at a programme financed by the Netherlands and I was rather impressed. Welt Hunger Hilfe (Agro Action Alemande in french, German Agro Action in english) made some swamps and hills into useable land for agriculture. In stead of just running in with bulldozers they have a more constructive approach. The people of the area work there and there are structures in place for deciding who the land will belong to at the end. The reason they let as much as possible be done by hand are multiple: cheap, involvement of the local people, ensure future maintenance. The wages are held low, so only people who have nothing would apply for this work, those are the people that need it most. Wages were 1 USD per day, yes that's right 1 USD per day, not hour. 1 HA of land or 1 km of road costs around 2700 days of work.
To visualise this there were some before and after pictures added. At the end the swamp had channels and dykes, the hills had terraces and channels for access rain water. Also were the roads improved for access and even bridges were build. The bridges were built roman style, not for beauty, but it is very practical, an asphalt bridge will erode quickly due to heavy rains and low quality material, a stone bridge will hold forever, it just needs some mud every now and then for the holes.
Also did people get training in what to grow and how to grow it, so the land will not go to waste and is used optimally. Remember that this is the most densely populated country in Africa and in the top 5 of the world.
Results of this project: people had income, people have land to grow food.
Never again
Sunday it is 14 years ago that a plane with the Burundese and Rwandan presidents on board was shot down, the start of the 100 days lasting genocide.
Monday is the remembrance and the rest of the week most things are limited, for example the swimming pool will be closed.
Apparently this will be the worst week to be in Rwanda, people are sad, sometimes zombie-like. In a way it is good that we are here to experience this. However I can not blame people who take their holidays now. See how we feel next year.
In short, we are not looking forward to this week, I have a feeling we will spend a lot of time at home next week.
Poor Maria and Bill will arrive during this week, I hope they will be alright if we tell them not to leave the house.
Just 1 example.
Our guard was on holiday for three months. I asked him how it was. 'Bad' he said. He was able to visit his family in Bujumbura for 15 days, he didn't feel save and went quickly back to Kigali. His parents were murdered in 1962, when he was still a baby. (A fact little known in the west is that the genocide in 1994 was not the first one, and even worse killings are still taking place in eastern Congo and in Burundi, but this is less sexy for the media then Darfur.) In 1994 Emanuel (our guard) was attacked, he showed me the scar. He fled to Rwanda and lived here ever since. As I understood, he is torn between being Burundese and Rwandan. It is much safer here, but all his family is in Burundi.The remaining part of his holidays he probably couldn't enjoy either, because with a salary of less than 1 euro a day it is hard enough to stay alive and healthy. I am sure he is glad to be back, because he has something to do and we give him something extra every month.
Monday is the remembrance and the rest of the week most things are limited, for example the swimming pool will be closed.
Apparently this will be the worst week to be in Rwanda, people are sad, sometimes zombie-like. In a way it is good that we are here to experience this. However I can not blame people who take their holidays now. See how we feel next year.
In short, we are not looking forward to this week, I have a feeling we will spend a lot of time at home next week.
Poor Maria and Bill will arrive during this week, I hope they will be alright if we tell them not to leave the house.
Just 1 example.
Our guard was on holiday for three months. I asked him how it was. 'Bad' he said. He was able to visit his family in Bujumbura for 15 days, he didn't feel save and went quickly back to Kigali. His parents were murdered in 1962, when he was still a baby. (A fact little known in the west is that the genocide in 1994 was not the first one, and even worse killings are still taking place in eastern Congo and in Burundi, but this is less sexy for the media then Darfur.) In 1994 Emanuel (our guard) was attacked, he showed me the scar. He fled to Rwanda and lived here ever since. As I understood, he is torn between being Burundese and Rwandan. It is much safer here, but all his family is in Burundi.The remaining part of his holidays he probably couldn't enjoy either, because with a salary of less than 1 euro a day it is hard enough to stay alive and healthy. I am sure he is glad to be back, because he has something to do and we give him something extra every month.
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