An incredible day in Gatsibo District

We were up and checked out of the Lemigo Hotel in Kigali early on Tuesday for our drive out to the Gatsibo District in the Eastern Province of Rwanda.  After an hour's drive, we arrived at the Dereva Hotel where we'll be staying for the next few nights.  The accommodations are a bit more rustic than at the Lemigo, but the grounds are beautiful and the staff friendly.  Beautiful yellow weaver birds fill one tree at the hotel; across the street is a large tree that is a favorite of large cranes.  Rwanda is amazing!

Once we had checked in and dropped off our bags, we piled back in the bus to drive out to Ndama Cell, the site of the new school that Hobsons has funded.  It was an amazing hour-long drive that took us far into the countryside.  Gatsibo District borders the Akagera National Park.  In fact, much of the district was national parkland prior to the 1994 civil war.  The government used much of the national park to resettle refugees displaced by the civil war and genocide.  One of the biggest challenges for this area of Rwanda is lack of infrastructure, since much of it was not occupied prior to 1994.

The "road" out to Rwamagana

It was almost overwhelming to finally arrive at the construction site.  This is a community and a place that I have only been able to imagine prior to today.  We worked for a year at Hobsons to raise the money to fund the school, and it was a place that I imagined often.  It was amazing and far exceeded even my wildest imagination.

Concrete blocks at the site of the new school

Foundation work and amazing scenery.  I would not do well as a student at this school - I would always be looking out the window!

We were greeted by what I imagine was the entire community.  There were over 150 children and probably as many adults.  We had to wait for the mayor of the Gatsibo District to arrive, so we took a tour of the construction site where workers were busy working on the foundation and making concrete blocks.  The concrete and steel has to be trucked in (over those roads!) but everything else for the project is sourced locally.

Some of the crowd that greeted us at the Ndama school site

After I made a concrete block, I wrote Hobsons on the side.  It was an absolute thrill to actually create a part of the school.

Kal chipped in as well, creating another block for the school.

The Hobsons staff at the school site.  Left to right: Stacy, Matt, Kal, Emily, James, Erin, and Tim.

Once the mayor had arrived, a group of local children sang and performed a traditional dance for us.  It was beautiful and I think we were all completely swept up in the moment.  A few of us even joined in!

The mayor and head school official for the district spoke to all of us, expressing much gratitude for what we have done but also highlighting how much still remains.  It was very powerful and humbling to be thanked so profusely when it seemed like one drop when we need to fill an ocean.  The optimism, grace, and sheer determination of the people of Rwanda cannot be overstated.  They have come through such tragedy and, in spite of a very long way yet to go, have their hopes and goals firmly set on a brighter future.

We presented gifts to the community for the school – classroom supplies, toys, and sports equipment that we had collected at home and packed in our luggage.  The head of the school pointedly told the children that they could all use the gifts – at school.  Wise man!

Media, the Plan Program Unit Manager for Gatsibo and our guide for our three days in the field, informed us that we had been invited to another school nearby for a soccer match with the schoolchildren.

Students sang and performed a beautiful dance for us.

Tim and Erin get in on the dancing action after being invited by two of the youngest dancers!

We arrived at the next school to a swarm of yelling and smiling children.  The school is K-12 and had 2,800 children enrolled.  I think most – if not all – were there.  It was a stunning site.  Kids were everywhere!  They pressed in around our bus, reaching up to the windows to touch us and say hello.  When James held up a soccer ball, the place went nuts.  It was very cool.

We were greeted by the head of school and several teachers (in addition to the thousands of students).  The teachers cleared the large soccer field – the kids surrounded it on three sides, and folks from surrounding houses appeared in trees and through the hedges on the fourth side.  Their players came out and we knew this wouldn’t be much of a match.  They must have been the school’s team, as they were all secondary school age and, for the most part, extremely fit.  We gave it a good go, and everyone had some good plays – James, Jeff, and Kal in particular.  Kal played keeper (“But I’ve never even played football!”) and made an amazing diving save.  We couldn’t hold a candle, though, to the Rwandese kids.  They were terrific.  I was consistently beaten on skill and speed by girls on the team.  Not remarkable because they were girls, but more so because they were barefoot and wearing skirts!

All in all it was a very fun time with much laughter between gasping for air.  The students were very gracious and seemed to appreciate that we at least attempted to keep up with them!

The Rwandan team

The Hobsons team

Action on the field

We made our way back to the hotel and thoroughly enjoyed dinner together and reliving our day.  The day was made complete by the arrival of our last Hobsons staff member – Witek arrived from the UK after some trouble securing a visa.  All in all, another amazing day in Rwanda!