Ricky Gervais eat your heart out!

The advert asked for young, fit and athletic white males. But I applied anyway and a few days later I was on board a plane bound for Cyangugu in south west Rwanda. The short flight was amazing as we flew low over Lake Kivu with its’ multitude of small inhabited islands with spectacular views over the mountains of western Congo.


My friends and I were to be extras and play soldiers in a film about Operation Turquoise – the so called humanitarian and highly controversial French mission to Rwanda in July 1994. Controversial in that Operation Turquoise was also intended (but failed) to prevent the anglophile RPF conquering Rwanda and it emerged later that many of those who orchestrated the 1994 genocide escaped into Congo (then Zaire) with the direct assistance of the military officers serving in Operation Turquoise.

On the whole it was a fun experience as we played at being soldiers, saw at first hand how movies are made and incurred the frustration of our temperamental and arrogant director. I’m glad I wasn’t the brunt of his “and who the hell have you worked with” taunt at one of the film crew. I think however he liked my joke: What is the difference between the French and a piece of toast? You can make soldiers out of toast!


It was however often a sobering experience and it was all too easy to imagine how the props, including guns, machetes and clubs studded with huge nails, were used for the most horrendous, bloody and cruel acts.

After 3 days filming – I’m not sure if I’ve actually made the silver screen – I spent a morning exploring Cyangugu including an unofficial visit to the prison. I pretty much just walked in unchallenged and mingled amongst the convicts clad in the pink prison uniforms common in Rwandan jails. It was strange and surreal to stroll amongst so many that may have participated directly in the genocide. After about 10 minutes however, I had my collar felt and was escorted to the governor’s office for a dressing down and a menacing “we will punish you next time you entertain an unsanctioned visit”. It’s not the first time my curiosity’s got the better of me.

Cheers

Andy
Donate at: www.justgiving.com/traininginrwanda

Kigali, Kayonza and … David Healy!

Muraho. It’s fantastic to be back in Rwanda. I’m back for a month to finish the work Viv and I started earlier in the year at Centre Marembo. I received such a warm welcome by the boys and staff - little Emmanuel’s face was a picture when I entered through Marembo’s big green and yellow gate. I don’t think he could quite believe it and his big smile brought a lump to my throat.

My first weekend was spent with the boys watching a cricket match – the British Ambassador’s XI verses a Rwandese select XI – but not before being run ragged by the boys in an impromptu football match. The standard of the football, at least from the youngsters was thankfully much better than the standard of cricket and a fun time was had by all.

My second visit to Rwanda has been marked by two short trips so far. Irish Coffee Man, Paul Stewart, led the first trip deep into the hills of north east Rwanda to a brand new coffee washing station located 2,000m above sea level – ideal coffee growing conditions. Paul works for Technoserve - an NGO which aims to reduce rural poverty through economic development programmes. In the case of the coffee industry, they are helping to reposition Rwanda as a leading producer of speciality coffee providing security and a much needed boost to farmers’ incomes.

The second trip was to Kayonza, a small town 65km east of Kigali to see the magnificent work being done by the Streets Ahead Children’s Centre Association – www.sacca.org. SACCA not only run a residential centre where street boys live and study in return for three daily meals, but also a centre for street girls who are often the victims of rape and prostitution. It was amazing to meet some of the children and both humbling and saddening to hear their awful stories. However there is real optimism here as SACCA help to offer them hope for the future as part of a family and members of the wider community.

I had been invited by the wonderful Tessa who failed to tell me was that I had to work for my keep decorating their volunteer centre. The street children assisted us although at one stage it was hard to tell whether more paint had gone on them and the floor rather than the walls. However many hands made light work and we finished in time to watch the FA Cup final on satellite TV – this in a town with no running water. About one hundred of us packed into a tiny room and the noise was deafening when Chelsea scored their lucky winner. But the best bit about the footie, was meeting a Rwandan wearing a Norn Iron and David Healy t-shirt. We waxed lyrical for hours!

Cheers

Andy

Donate at : www.justgiving.com/traininginrwanda

Kigali to Belfast … and back again

We’re now back in the UK… but not for long! Andy is returning to Rwanda (via Uganda) this Sunday for a month to finish off our work at Centre Marembo. Viv is being sent, not exactly to Coventry but to Bristol, to get a proper job!

We’ve had three weeks in the UK but not before Andy spent 3 nights in the salubrious King Faisal Hospital in Kigali. A kidney stone was the problem. That little b*gger caused a great deal of agony but he’s back to normal now – or as normal as he ever can be!

The weather has been glorious and if we may say so, somewhat African. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed catching up with family and friends, enjoyed the lush green Irish and Cheshire countryside and have spent the last few days basking on the banks of the Thames.


The highlight was undoubtedly the long awaited wedding of our dear friends Stephen and Pamela. (Stephen not before time!). It was a perfect day on the shores of Lough Erne in Enniskillen and the occasion was a right ol’ Irish hooley. Andy was best man and it has to be said, let Stephen off very lightly in his speech.

We’ll be keeping the blog going for about another two months, so tune in for the latest developments from Bristol and Kigali and …..feel free at any time to donate to Centre Marembo - www.justgiving.com/traininginrwanda



Love

Viv and Andy

Cool in the Congo….

Confession time again. We went to the Congo last weekend despite FCO advice and a friendly chat from the Vice Ambassador friend who said if we got stuck there, he wasn’t coming to rescue us! We know we promised we wouldn’t – given the rebel activities n’all that, but we figured, if the UN were there, it would be fine….what we didn’t bank on were that the guys in the UN mission in DRC were demon dancers and loved their whiskey. And so we found ourselves, once again, on the dance floor, shaking our stuff with the Congolese until the small hours when good sense eventually told us that we’d be up at the crack of dawn to make our way up the magnificent Nyiragongo volcano.


Seeing the bullet holes through the entrance sign of the National Park didn’t put us off. So, up we went – our merry band of 7, including 2 Irish (it was St Paddy’s day after all) and 3 Belgians, accompanied by an armed guard / guide and several porters. Shortly after we started the 6 hour climb, the heavens opened and it was a matter of sheer will power and determination that got us to the top without any dry clothing. Unfortunately, Laura, who had had a close encounter with an NHS butcher for a ripped Achilles, was forced to turn around as the climb was tough going and the merry band was reduced to 6….but she had her own adventure with a waragi (Ugandan gin) swilling gun toting rebel before negotiating a lift back to Goma.


The stunning views back over the border to Rwanda were a good excuse to stop on the way up the steep slopes of volcanic scree. Arriving at the summit, 3,300 or so meters up high in the clouds, we discovered that it was well worth the effort. It was like a scene from Lord of the Rings. We camped next to snow and red hot bubbling lava. It was hard to believe we were looking straight down at middle earth and seeing mini volcanic eruptions. The last major eruption in 2002, destroyed half of Goma town and the effects of that is still very much in evidence with the buried houses and vehicles.

The porters were legendary. We barely made it to the top carrying nothing but a small day pack of essentials – whiskey and chocolate. They carried our heavy packs of tents and food. We had sturdy walking boots and warm albeit wet socks. They had Welly boots with holes in the toes and no socks. No sleeping bags or water for them and they ate the food we offered. All this and their only reward was $6 a day. Makes me think a cosy office job isn’t all that bad….ah but then again…..

Our initial work at Centre Marembo is now coming to end. However much needed funds are still needed. Thank you to everyone who generously given to our cause. To those who haven’t, there’s still plenty of opportunity!

Love

Andy & Viv x

Centre Marembo News

Our work at the Centre is going well and we are working on their strategic planning, accounting systems and communication plans. Whilst this work is interesting and important to the smooth running of the Centre, the most rewarding and fun work is with the boys and the volunteers.


Rugby training has started, and although somewhat influenced by Andy, everyone here was delighted when Ireland thrashed England last Saturday!

And now a special note about the Rwandan volunteers who work at the Centre. They are such a dedicated group of people who work long hours for very little financial reward. We hope some of the funds we have raised can be paid to this hardworking group who, whilst caring diligently for the street boys, face their own personal hardships in the post genocide era of Rwanda.


The big news from the Centre is that an additional 10 street boys have been accommodated and all the boys have moved into a new accommodation block.

The downside is the extra cost and so we have increased our funding raising target – everybody loves a stretch target – don’t they?? So we now have some way to go. The extra money raised will contribute to the following much needed items:

• Food - £300 per month
• Accommodation – £130 per month
• Electricity bills - £30 per month
• Charcoal for cooking - £30 per month
• Additional beds and mattresses - £20 per item
• Clothing - £20 per child
• First Aid supplies - £20 per month
• Basic medical insurance - £11 per child
• Boys’ haircuts (so they don’t get sent home from school!) - £8 per month


A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far and a plea from us for anyone else to make a contribution – even a very small amount can make big a difference here.


Love and thanks

Andy & Viv

Meeting the family

Our first visit out of Kigali took us westwards to Lake Kivu and the lakeside towns of Kibuye and Gisenyi – both suffered terribly during the 1994 genocide. Lake Kivu, situated between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), sits comfortably amongst mountain peaks at an altitude of 1370m. The lake is sixty miles long and is amongst the most picturesque scenery in all of Africa.

The road between our two ports of call tested both ourselves and the suspension of our borrowed Landcruiser as we bounced and rolled though 5 hours of heavily potholed roads. The high misty mountains were covered in endless patchwork of farmed small holdings and we travelled though tea plantations built into the steep slopes – much like the terracing of rice paddies in Asia.



The highlight of the trip was definitely visiting the gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park in the far north-west near Ruhengeri. There are about 300 of these socialable creatures in the Virungas having been made infamous by the late Dian Fossey and the film ‘Gorillas in the Mist’.



We trekked for three hours through mud, 45 degree slopes and head high nettles and briars - fortunately the rain held off which made it considerably easier. The hardship of the trek was more than worth it and there is no doubt that words are inadequate to explain the experience of the hour we spent with them. We were lucky to see the ‘Suza’ group – the largest and most remote group of gorillas. They often cross back and forth between Rwanda and Congo – without a passport may we add! The main acts were the two year old twins, a small baby still suckling on Mum, and the main man – the Silverback weighing in at an impressive 200kg. In total around 25 or so who came to see us.

The gorillas definitely knew what was going on. They played with each other, posed for the cameras, showed off and ate an intoxicating concoction of bamboo and leaves – no wonder they looked so chilled. Their mannerisms were uncannily like any you’d see a human make and looking into their eyes revealed they had us sussed. Unfortunately, the down side of this wonderful experience is the ever present threat of poachers….and the armed guards outnumbered our merry band of six tourists.

A few well earned beers were consumed on our return and we waxed lyrical about our wonderful cousins well into the night.

Working again ;-)

Hello from Kigali. We’ve been here for just over two weeks and our dream of living and working in Rwanda has come true….and we’re not disappointed.

Kigali, a compact garden city where eagles soar overhead, is characterised by steep hills and red earth roads - except for the immaculately tended dual carriageways which form the main arterial routes through the city. Its hills and valleys are often shrouded in cloud and smoke from the charcoal fires – not to mention the diesel fumes pumping from the numerous NGO 4x4s. It makes trudging up those steep hills slightly unpleasant and usually completely knackering!

We have begun our work for Centre Marembo - the main Rwandan arm of rYico our chosen charity. The Centre is an information resource for the young of Kigali and 26 (ex) street children live in accommodation nearby. The Centre runs courses in English, computers, mechanics and karate amongst others. It also offers a drop-in facility for other street kids who are fed, can wash their clothes, gain information on urgent health issues such as AIDS and HIV as well as gaining companionship from all those who visit the Centre. The enthusiasm of its directors, unpaid volunteers and street kids is both amazing and infectious and they are a joy to work with.

Most of our work to date has been with the directors and volunteers. We seem very much to be working as management consultants advising on the Centre’s strategic direction and analysing their business processes as well as looking at strategies to raise much needed funds. It’s amazing how much corporate crap… I mean essential business methods learned at both BAA and IDX, has flowed back. And it’s been refreshing to work with an organisation so open to new ideas.

However we have also spent time with “our boys” as they are affectionately referred to by the Centre. It is often simply a smile or a joyful expression from these rehabilitated boys that makes this experience so rewarding. Trying to remember all their names is a nightmare!

On the last Saturday of every month in Rwanda “umaganda” happens – a practice where the “umudugudu” (local groups of about 150 families) come together for community work and a social get-together. Last Saturday, the Centre’s boys enthusiastically joined in, helping to cut communal grass areas with blunt machetes and entertaining the crowd after the manual work was complete. These ex street boys are now viewed as a real asset and part of the community, rather than a potential menace – testament to the success of Centre Marembo.

Hopefully we’re off to see the mountain gorillas in the west of the country at the end of the week. We should get some great piccies as we’re travelling with professional photographers. (Mowbray – we’re being kind!).

Bye for now,
Andy & Viv x

Muraho Kigali!

First impressions of Kigali are all good although this was possibly influenced by a number of the local beers (Primus) imbibed with a couple of Kenyans at the hotel bar. We’re both very excited to finally be here.

Slip sliding away….

Now that we have arrived in one piece, we can finally admit how we came to be here despite our solemn promises to give Burundi a wide berth. There were very few options open to us at Kigoma: 1) via cargo ship (illegally) up to Bujumbura – and Andy would have had to drug me to get me on another boat after our Liemba experience; 2) Chance our luck with los Banditos and skirt around Tanzania; or 3) hoon up and chance our luck with the roads & the stray bullets on a direct route up to Bujumbura. We had thought we could get a flight out of Kigoma but no joy. Straight answers from locals were difficult to get. The Hotel Manager in Kigoma assured us that option 3 was perfectly safe as the Tanzanian roads are monumentally crap but there were “no problems at all in Burundi…..none….well, maybe just a few….ermmm, possibly the odd stray bullet…..but not for a long time”. Fortunately, we met Maggie from the United Nations who reassured us that the UN only took option 2 in an armed convey with military backup in a 4WD and radio contact all the way because of the bandits and that the option 3 would be best - the UN were about to down grade security on that road. So, off we went with a recommended taxi driver and slipped and slid our way through appalling roads out of Tanzania. It was like driving through porridge and after our second breakdown, it’s a real shame we didn’t get the picture of the entire village trying to push our car up one of the numerous hills. After 10 hours, and not that many kilometres, we reached the Burundian border and gave a huge sigh of relief at the sight of the tarred road. The drive up to Bujumbura itself was stunning. Very lush green steep hills with roads and hairpin bends even the Swiss would be proud of. The route took us along the shores of Lake Tanganika, where we saw hippos basking in the sunset and then we finally arrived after 14 hours and 500km in Bujumbura.

Tanzania Ahoy!

Adventure may not well come in neatly sanitised packets but our naval experience of the last few days on MV Liemba is one I would not wish on my worse enemy. The relief of arriving here in Kigoma, Tanzania is indescribable. The luxury of a clean flush toilet is not one to be taken for granted, ever. Mpulungu is a quiet, underdeveloped port at the bottom of lake Tanganika and in the few days we spent there, we’d kept the locals highly entertained with our attempts to speak the local language (there are only 73 in Zambia and the few words we’d learnt in Lusaka weren’t really that useful). Being “Muzungu” – white - most people wanted to shake our hand, perhaps to see if we were really real rather than just a ghostly vision and when we answered in the local dialect, the usual reaction was one of intense amusement. Even the army boys were warm and welcoming and tried to encourage Andy to have enough children to front a football team. And then the rains came and came and didn’t stop. Having already stayed an extra day waiting for the boat to arrive, we were delayed leaving by yet another day while they unloaded the cargo but by that time, we’d seen the boat and the hideously filthy toilets and were already plotting alternative routes. Sadly, none were feasible. How best do I describe the conditions in polite company? Both of us have travelled far & wide and experienced too many unpalatable places but those on the boat took disgusting to a new level. We entered them in full combat gear – complete with lavender scented face mask (we felt a bit like grave robbers during the bubonic plague). Washing was out of the question – we would have ended up dirtier and smellier than before. Our first class cabin was a necessary survival tactic not the luxury you may imagine from the comfort of your armchair….& that were grim enough. Only the thought of clean water and a nice hotel in Kigoma sustained us during the 4 days of floating hell with the constant stench from the toilets mingled with the delightful aroma of rotting fish. Still, we took the opportunity to brush up on our Swahili and bring the game of yahtzee to Central Africa. The best part of the trip? Getting off!

Lusaka

It’s a 7 hour bus ride to the capital, Lusaka from Livingstone in the west. And we paid a whole £1 extra to travel first class. The seats are something the National Express should be envious of and we enjoyed a very comfortable cruise through the many potholes interspersed with the occasional bit of road. Lusaka brought the promise of a bed instead of another night under soggy canvas which was extremely welcome after 4 nights of torrential rain. Then it’s another numb bum as we catch the less luxurious bus for the 13 hour trip up to Mpulungo at the bottom of Lake Tanganika tomorrow.

Botswana weddings, hippos and fireworks….

The groom was attired in what can only be described as a blue boiler suit, bearing a close resemblance to Tom Cruise in Top Gun….Christmas Eve 2006 will go down as one of the most surreal we have ever spent. Joining a group trip, we left Windhoek in the early morning and arrived 700k later in Ghanzi, Botswana, to be told our campsite was the location of a wedding reception. The groom, looking like a rabbit in the headlights, extended an invitation to join in some booty shaking dancing, Botswanan stylie and the guests delighted in showing us some local moves – the chicken, the antelope and snake to name but a few. We responded in kind by dredging up long forgotten do-si-do and other strange folk dancing manoeuvres best resigned to the cupboard. Needless to say, we did not destroy the myth that white folk can’t dance. The Botswanans know how to party. Our campsite turned into a car park and it was one of the worse nights of Charlie’s (our guide) life.

There were too many highlights in the 8 day trip to mention all. The mukoru (canoe made from a tree trunk) trip through the Okavango Delta, an elephant charging our truck in Muhangu - or perhaps he was only joking – hippos playing in Chobe national park, traditional dancing in the Caprivi strip all experienced on the way to Livingstone, Zambia and the great ‘Cloud that Thunders’ otherwise known as the mighty Victoria Falls.

On a serious note, it was fascinating to hear the other side of the Zimbabwean story, according to our fabulous Charlie. Being from there, he had a unique insight denied to us outsiders and unknowingly, he had convinced us that it would be ok (as in, the right thing to do) to cross over the bridge into Zimbabwe, despite the political situation. It was sad to see that compared to my (Viv’s) last visit 9 years previously; the Zim side of Vic Falls was so quiet. The markets were full of beautiful carvings and souvenirs but there was a distinct lack of tourists. The Zimbabweans we met were charming, friendly and welcoming.

New Year’s Eve in Livingstone was mad. The trick to lighting fireworks was apparently to see how close you can get to them after letting them off and to always point them into where the most number of people are standing. So 2007 really did start with a bang!

Special hellos to Charlie, Troy & Angela, Gerhard & Angela, Martha, Tilley, Marcus, Andrew, Judith & Ben.