We are starting to get into a routine, but it is a much slower pace and takes a long time for anything to get done. However, we are finding that to be very refreshing. The biggest benefit so far has been the amount of recreational reading we all been able to do. I am ashamed to say I have not read recreationally for years, but I am thoroughly enjoying reading the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes… Who knew! Nathan is on his third book in three weeks and started Moby Dick yesterday. Jonathan is also on his third book and reading the Chronicles of Narnia. Angie is on her fifth book and not sure which book she’s reading right now. Even though the pace of life is significantly slower there is still a lot to do here, but there seems to be less pressure to get it done instantly or right away. It is just common and accepted that things take a long time to get done and no one really worries about it. The stress to always be hustling to get to the next place or next thing – even though there is always the next thing to get to – seems to be less. Interestingly, we are just now starting to appreciate that. The first three weeks we found the slower pace and what we perceived as a lack of the sense of urgency to be very annoying, but now it is becoming nice.
Yesterday, I volunteered some time to go with a man named Ngago (pronounced En-ya-go) from the non-governmental organization (NGO) World Relief to one of the countryside villages to meet with several of the community leaders. I’ve been invited to teach leadership and critical thinking/decision-making as well as help with the development of curriculum on these topics for the rural leaders. While they do not speak an ounce of English, after meeting them, I think I’m going to enjoy the challenge and opportunity!
When we arrived they were extremely pleasant and excited to see a white man (Muzungu). However, As soon as the children – who were in a nearby school – got a glimpse of this white man there was a mass exodus from the classroom, much to the teacher chagrin, the students just left and all of them wanted to touch my skin to see if it was real. I was literally swarmed by about 40 little children, but their smiles were absolutely precious. I was told that for some of them it was their very first time ever seeing a white person. Once the children were corralled back into the classroom – which was no easy task! We went to the community center (which was a church) to meet these community leaders. There were about 40 of them (a mix of males and females) each representing different communities or neighborhoods from the district. They were all gathered in one of the local churches, which was just mortar and homemade mud bricks with a corrugated tin roof laid over top. There was no water, no restrooms, and the electricity consisted of six exposed light bulbs hanging from the ceiling with wire and knob electrical. They all sat on bleacher style benches for about five hours and they were eagerly taking notes (on their laps) and almost writing every word that the presenter was saying. I was pleasantly surprised at their level of engagement and ownership of the training. I don’t know why I was surprised, but they were very intelligent and asked excellent questions. They took their leadership responsibilities and roles very seriously and wanted to be the very best they could be and wanted very much so to be transformational agents for their communities.
It was explained to me that the intention of these trainings was to invite the town leaders who each are asked to selects three individuals from the community who he or she recognize as emerging or up-and-coming leader and they (the main leader in three “assistants”) attend the training as delegates from these different communities. Once they master the content and materials they go back to their communities and model the new behaviors and teach as many people as will listen what they have learned.
After sitting in on this meeting for a little bit we were taken to one of more experienced or seasoned leaders homes to discuss the pros and cons of how the training is completed. It was extremely eye-opening to enter his home. You could see that he was very proud of it, but it was mud walls and a dirt floor. He had a tiny garden outside, which I was told was the bulk of his livelihood, whatever he didn’t eat himself he would sell. He had a bicycle, which was about 50 years old, no pedals, and no brakes, but he was able to ride it and was glad he had it. This also was very eye-opening…
One tragic event, that I have been mulling over in my mind for the past 24 hours, trying to shake it, but can’t was that on our way to this village we saw a man – you couldn’t of been more than 30 years old – on the side of the road riding a bicycle get hit by a truck. Although I don’t know for sure, it was pretty obvious to me that he was dead. It was a hit-and-run – the truck had driven off, but the man was laying motionless on the side of the road with a very fresh and very large pool of blood under his head. There was absolutely nothing anyone could do. I was told that we were too far removed from the city to get any kind of ambulance or transportation to a hospital. There was very little hope from bystanders or my driver that he would get the medical care or attention he needed. Apparently, while not a common site, this happens enough to where it is “just one of those things.” There were several people huddled around him trying to make sense of what had happened and wake him up get them to move, but to no avail. Was extremely sad and I’m still not sure how to deal with it. I talked to a couple of the locals about it last night and this morning and it is apparent that is just one of the standard and understood risks of being on the roads in Rwanda. Regardless, I was surprised at how many people were just able to “move on.” Hmmm….
So that was my day yesterday… Back in the office today prepping for classes (and hoping I don’t have to use the restrooms today, wink wink.)
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