Thursday 27 October 2016

Muharo (hello) from Huye



Muraho, (hello!) from the Huye team.

Green fields, open spaces, and blue skies and weather perfect for a selfie are words that I would use to describe the beauty of Rwanda. Also known as “The Land of a Thousand Hills”, due to its incredibly flat land. Only joking - it's very hilly. 

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee what’s that? Sorry I couldn’t hear you over the sound of mosquitos in my ear. That’s right, Rwanda loves a good mosquito, but apart from the bites and itchy skin, so far it’s been a mixed experience.

In Kigali, it was strange seeing UK volunteers spend so much time huddled together, usually Rwandans are friendly and open with meeting other people, however the UK volunteers  were far more reserved. The thought of sharing a room with a UK counterpart (what we call 'muzungu' aka Traveller) was strange but I was looking forward to it nonetheless. Also, it was weird to seeing everyone arriving to different meetings, on time, because usually everyone is late. But despite awkward first meetings, and pronouncing names correctly, we quickly became friends.  

As a UK volunteer, meeting the Rwandan volunteers was very exciting. However, for some the thought of sharing a room, sharing personal space, with possible conflicts and the language barriers was scary. However, as time went on the UK and Rwandan volunteers got on really well. 

After a few days in Kigali attending training and meeting our counterparts we headed South to begin working with our partner project AMU. Upon arriving into the greenest village your eyes have ever seen, we were welcomed at the AMU center where a majority of our projects would be planned, developed and delivered.  

“To be or not to be, welcomed in our new homes” was the question on everyone’s mind as we made our way to meet our host families. Calamity struck on arrival to the charity where we were to collect our bedding and mosquito nets - there wasn’t enough for everyone. However, we worked together to overcome the shortage and we all safely slept under mosquito nets from the get go – although some of us were happy to have brought sleeping bags…

Bags in hand we arrived at the host homes hungry, tired, and curious. The grand tours of the homes boosted our spirits as the majority of us found actual toilets and showers – who cares if the toilet doesn’t flush and the shower only dispenses freezing cold water?

The general consensus is that the host families are lovely; however, there are mixed experiences considering language barriers, unfamiliarity with routines, culture shock and general confusion. A number of the host families don’t speak English at all so the UK volunteers are relying heavily on the Rwandan counterparts – something that had to be explained after a couple of nights sitting in silence!

Stay tuned for week 2...

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