Return home and final thoughts

In movies, final scenes are sometimes set up by occurrences earlier in the film to make things come full circle.

On Saturday, on the drive from Gisenyi back to Kigali, we passed the small area of grass (to call it a park would be an exaggeration) where, on the way to Gisenyi we saw the boys playing on Thursday. On Saturday, there was a group of boys playing with the soccer ball we dropped off to replace the makeshift one they were trying to play with on Thursday.

As much fun as this trip was (and it was!), we also need to remember that Rwanda is a country of great needs. We hope that we helped a little bit of difference with our trip and will continue to make efforts as we enjoy the luxuries we take for granted here.

Some final thoughts:

1. The trip home was murder! It took us 43 hours (two more than expected due to missing our connection in Detroit due to a delay in the flight from D.C.). Seven airports. No leg room. Lousy movies (sorry, Kevin, that film stunk!). But it was worth it.

2. Great group of people to travel with!

3. People-to-People does an outstanding job making plans and then changing them on the run. Gaby and Melissa were wonderful.

4. What an interesting country! Physically beautiful, it is very small with few natural resources and in a pretty dangerous part of the world. It has a troubled past. But, we were thrilled with the efforts being made to put those troubles behind them and move forward. The genocide museums were moving, the people incredibly friendly and the many people, from the orphanage, to the law schools, to the Millennium project and more are truly inspiring.

What a great trip!

Kigali University and Kanembwe villate

Today was one of the most remarkable days any of us ever had - traveling or otherwise.

It started with a visit to the Gisenyi Campus of Kigali Independant University and a meeting with its law students. On a spartan campus (we did not see a single student carrying either a textbook or a laptop), the enthusiasm of the students was infectious. They were very curious about the American legal system and asked a lot of excellent, incisive questions.

The second part of the day was even more amazing. We switched from a bus to all terrain vehicles. We quickly found out why as we left paved roads for - well, dirt roads, then mud roads with pot holes big enough to swallow a car. We ended up at a building where we were welcomed by a dance troupe from the village.

This special community, Kanembwe, was founded about two years ago. About 300 families were relocated to the area from a mountain, forested region due to frequent landslides and heavy floods. The soil is volcanic rock and there is no electricity, running water or sanitation. To call the living primitive is to vastly understate the matter. While we were glad that we provided some soccer balls and school supplies (and People-to-People will contribute some money) we left with a commitment to try to find a way to help more when get back home.

Speaking of which, we live Gisenyi early tomorrow for Kigali, then we fly back to Washington via Uganda, Ehiopia and Rome.

Gisenyi

We left Kilgali this morning for Gisenyi - a resort town on Lake Kivu on the Congo border.

On the way, we did one of the most fun things of the entire trip - we saw a group of boys playing with a makeshift soccer "ball" made out of plastic bags, held together with tape. We stopped the bus, took one of the new soccer balls we brought with us and gave them to the boys - see above. You would have thought they just won the lottery!

It took several hours to get here as we stopped to buy coffee, tea, lunch and several times for pictures. But, it is a lovely town and hotel, so it's worth it.

After a short rest, we went to take a look at the border with Congo, which is about a mile from the hotel. We would have liked to have crossed it, but the guards did not look friend - nor did their guns.

Gashora, Rwanda and the Millennium Villages Project

Our day started with a visit to another genocide memorial - this time, a church where nearly 2,000 Tutsis were slaughtered while seeking refuge.

The main topic for the day, however, was a positive one. This is a very poor country with many people living on just $1 per day. The government has designated certain villages a models to show what can be achieved by an intensive program. One of those villages is Gashora, and we visited it today.


In Geshora, we visited a farm where they are trying to become self-sufficient in food (and even make a profit), a school for girls and a health clinic. It is an amazing effort which so far, seems to be quite successful. To the left is part of our delegation hearing from one of the residents.






Tomorrow, we head for Gisenyi and Lake Kivu.

Professional meetings in Kigali

This morning, we met with the Rwandan Legal Aid Forum. The top picture is their Program manager, Mr. Frank Mugisha, addressing us. Not surprisingly, they have many of the same issues and problems as we have in the U.S., particularly, funding.The best part of the meeting, however, was the "five minute" break, which turned into a half hour as engaged individual discussions with the members of the Forum present. That led to the joint picture above.
Next was the most exciting part of the trip so far - a private meeting with Mr. Tharcisse Karugarama, the Rwanda Minister of Justice. He explained the history of the Rwandan justice system and particularly the choices made on how to deal with the perpetrators of the genocide. The eventual decision was to employ "Gacacas," which were essentially community courts, which were designed to promote "truth, justice and reconciliation."

So that no one thinks this trip is all work and no fun, on the way back to the hotel, we made a stop at a crafts mall for some shopping.