I was really looking forward to Nyamyumba because I excited
to make the transition from a busy city to a small, rural village and I was
interested in learning about a more traditional Rwandan way of life. And I
definitely got to experience that. In Nyamyumba our guides were Leon (who leads
the NGO we worked with when the founder isn’t there) and Teddy (she also works
for the NGO).
The drive from Kigali to Nyamyumba (with a stop in Buhtari –
the old capital) was a bumpy one…I have never been as car sick as I get here
with all the potholes and uneven roads…all part of the fun! But the trip was
also beautiful. Rwanda is also called “the land of a thousand hills” and damn,
are those hills breathtaking.
Drive from Kigali to Nyamyumba - hills on hills on hills
Coming into the village we were greeted by running children
yelling “ciao-oh” after us. They learned to say “ciao” to any white person, but
pronounce an extra syllable at the end, so cute. You could see from the streets
that people didn’t have much. The houses were small and simple with a fenced
yard and small garden. But you could also see that they didn’t need much to be
happy either. I witnessed the biggest smiles and best laughter from both
children and adults in Nyamyumba and I will never forget that.
We were there to teach English to primary school students
(ages ranging from 8 to 15) through an organization called
Mabawa. Mabawa basically built Nyamyumba from the ground up after the
genocide and provides stability for all of its residents. Homes, schools, and
terraces were built, running water and electricity were installed, and cows
were purchased for each family. The village is still growing, but Mabawa is a
truly amazing organization and you can see the appreciation in the people of
Nyamyumba when they talk about Mabawa or Katrine (the founder).
We quickly adjusted to the slower pace of the village, which
included teaching class in the morning, lounging in the sun until the
afternoon, working on the terraces until teatime, and playing cards and/or
watching a movie after dinner. We had a
lot of free time, but it was really nice to have time to relax and think –
after seeing such a different world there was certainly lots to think about.
Teaching the students was an absolutely incredible
experience. They put in so much effort to learn English (we taught them nouns,
verbs, conversational expressions, and worked on sentences through games,
songs, and writing) and they were able to teach us some Kinyarwanda!
Izuba – sun
Ibyatsi – grass
Umuneke – banana
Mushiki – sister
Umuvandimwe – brother
Inshuti – friend
…my Kinyarwanda vocabulary is quickly expanding.
These kids have some of the greatest personalities and I
miss them dearly already. It’s amazing how quickly you can bond with kids who
don’t even speak the same language as you. After class everyday they would walk
us all the way home, carrying our bags, teaching us more Kinyarwanda, and using
our phones to play music and take pictures. And they really loved to take
pictures. Even during their recess they would ask for our cameras and phones to
take pictures of each other, the scenery, anything they could think of. Some of
them were pretty good too. I let them take my phone for the whole walk home and
would get it back at the gate to our house and I always found the most amazing photographs.
Not only do I have pictures of beautiful Nyamyumba, but I have Nyamyumba
captured through the eyes of its children.
Students in the classroom
Selfies with my girl, Clementine
In the afternoons we would normally go to work on the
terraces. We met the lady whose terraces we were planting – she was en elderly
woman who had no husband or children and in order for her to get a cow she
needed to be able to grow food for the animal. We planted many rows of French Cameroon (feed for
the cows) in order to help her. She was so thankful. However, I, being the
stubborn girl that I am, refused to wear gloves because none of the villagers
wore gloves when they worked and so I had to deal with blisters on top of
blisters for a few weeks, but it wasn’t too bad.
We also worked on building a house one day. One group was in
Nyamyumba the weeks we were in Kigali and they had already started the house.
We carried bags of sand from a pile up to the house that would be used to make
concrete. It was hard work, but for fun we tried to carry the bags on our head
like the women in Rwanda do. We failed horribly, but it was worth a try – I
don’t understand how they can make balancing huge things on their head look so
easy! The women laughed at us as we walked and we were laughing at ourselves
too.
One day we went on a hike, which passed by one source of the
Nile. The part we saw was barely more than a stream of water, but I thought
that was one of the coolest things we saw. The Nile River literally gives life
to millions of people and I got to feel that energy. The views from the top
were incredible also. We looked out onto the terraces we worked on and what
seemed like all of Rwanda laid below. We got back just as the sun was setting –
definitely one of the best hikes I’ve ever been on.
Beautiful view from the hike
A source of the Nile River
The food in the village was amazing. It was all so fresh,
much of which came from the garden outside our house or from markets within the
village. Leon cooked and let me tell you, he is an excellent cook. We ate and
drank (Leon always made sure we had red wine to go with dinner) well. I’m
especially going to miss the fresh mangoes, avocadoes, and pineapples the most.
Once we bought 6 avocadoes for 200 Rwandan Francs, which is equivalent to about
20 for $1. On Thanksgiving, we prepared turkey, potatoes, and green beans. Leon
had never tasted turkey let alone cooked one, so it was an
interesting/hilarious experience for all of us. The turkey ended up being very
chewy (turkeys in Rwanda aren’t fattened up like they are in the States) and
Leon had a very creative way of carving the turkey (basically ripping it apart
down the middle with his hands). Not exactly a home-style Thanksgiving, but we
sure had so many things to be thankful for.
Leon and Taylor with our turkey
The last day of class (which also happened to be on
Thanksgiving, what a lovely coincidence) the students put on a traditional
Rwandan dance for us and made speeches (which had to be translated, but were
still heartwarming) about saying goodbye. We all ended up crying, which caused
the students to cry to. It was so sad, but I’m so happy we got the opportunity
to meet them and learn from them. I hope in a few years I’ll have a way of
getting updates on them through Mabawa. I know they’re going to grow up to do
great things.
Last day treat of Mandazi (tea cakes) and soda
Traditional Rwandan dance
Leaving the village was very hard and it was also weird to
transition back to the chaos of Kigali. However, we were only there for a few
nights to meet up with the other group before heading off on our excursion for the
last week.
