Iherezo

Muraho mwese! About three years ago today, I completed my application for the U.S. Peace Corps and began a process that would take me to the tiny East African country of Rwanda for two years that would affect the rest of my life. In this, my last post, I’ll look back on my time in Rwanda and how it will help shape me.

The great thing about doing the Peace Corps is that you really get a chance to know a country. You aren’t just a visitor who comes and experiences it for a short time, either falling hopelessly in love or hating everything about it. Instead, the Peace Corps gives you a chance to both love and hate a country, something that most people only get to do with their native country. Rwanda gave a lot of things to love and hate.

First, I’ll share with you the things I loved. The first thing most people notice about Rwanda is its physical beauty. There are beautiful verdant hills everywhere and stunning vistas, but for me the most beautiful things were the sunrises and sunsets (of which I saw both nearly every day) and the clear night skies filled with so many stars you felt enveloped in a bath of them.

The second thing I appreciated was how people would run around with you to help you find something without expecting anything in return. I was especially grateful for this in my role as the materials manager for the youth camps we conducted. I remember going to look for chocolate bars to make s’mores for one of the camps. I went to a fairly large market, expecting to find them there. I asked for them at one small shop, only to be told they didn’t have them. A man outside the shop heard what I wanted and led me from store to store. We ran out of places to look in the market and eventually made our way through downtown Kigali to another area where I found the chocolate bars. The whole process took a good 30 minutes, but he was happy to help and just went on his way after I found the chocolate.

Finally, I love the way that mothers care for their babies. I mentioned in the post on family that the love a mother shows for her child seems to be the greatest when it is a baby. I like the way that women wrap blankets around their babies to strap them on their back, and I think this constant proximity of mother and child is one of the reasons why mothers dote on their babies so much. In a culture where outward signs of emotion are not often seen, seeing a mother coo at her baby is a great sight.

Now I’ll cover the things I didn’t like about Rwanda. First, I hated always being observed. Never in my life had I been a minority, but I was the only white person in my village and one of only a handful anywhere I went. No matter what I was doing, people were always watching. I remember one instance when I stepped out of our bathhouse wearing only a towel. Looking up I noticed a small group of women who were walking past stop and stare.

Secondly, I didn’t appreciate how I was seen primarily as a source of money. There were numerous people I would meet who, after finishing the greeting formalities, would ask me for money. This was discouraging, especially when I felt like I was making real inroads into solid relationships and understanding of Americans.

Finally, the one thing to which I never fully adapted was the elasticity of time. Things never happened when they were scheduled to do so, and I couldn’t adjust. There would be a meeting scheduled for 11 and it would invariably be 1 or 2 before it started, but I was always ready at 11.

This list of likes and dislikes about Rwanda would be different for any Volunteer, but the point is that there is good and bad to everywhere in the world. In the U.S., for example, I love the diversity and variety of things to do and foods to eat, but I don’t like the increasing obsession with technology. After my experience in the Peace Corps, I think I’m better able to pick out what I like and mitigate what I don’t so that I can live a healthy, happier life.

I could write pages and pages about Rwanda, the Peace Corps, and how I think I’ve changed, but I don’t want to bore anybody. If anyone has any questions at all about Rwanda, the Peace Corps and whether I would recommend it, or anything at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me at mattbmw@gmail.com. I would be more than happy to share my thoughts with you. Murabeho!

Ikoranabuhanga

Muraho buri wese! Here, exclusively for you, is the last blog post from inside the Land of a Thousand Hills. Part of the draw of the Peace Corps for me was to get away from pervasive technology, especially cell phones that seem to have become an extension of many people’s hand. So, you can imagine my surprise when I arrived in Rwanda and found that cell phones are all over the place here too. The ubiquitous cell phone is the inspiration for this post about technology in Rwanda and its effect on society. I’ll look at what types of technology can be found here, how they’re used, and what they mean for Rwandans.

The world, of course, is becoming ever smaller, and technology can be found everywhere. Really, any technology that can be found in the U.S. or Europe can be found here in Rwanda. I have seen everything from the simple radio to the latest smart phones and tablet computers. (The only thing I haven’t seen much of outside the Peace Corps community is Kindles or other e-readers.) More advanced technology is limited to the cities and the wealthiest Rwandans, but things like radios and cell phones can be found everywhere, and even Internet access is fairly common.

Radios are (it is safe to say) the most common form of technology found in Rwanda. They can be found in most homes, even in rural villages, with the most popular brand being Sonitec. The radio is how most Rwandans get their news. On the national station, teachers find out about school closures (for holidays, for instance), parents learn about vaccination campaigns for their children, and everyone enjoys the wide range of music available on the many stations, especially the Rwandan pop. Radios, because of their pervasiveness, tend to be thought of as a right more often than a privilege, so they are often played at high volume, without much regard for others that might be in hearing distance. At the market, in the center of town, or at home, radios can often be heard, playing a mix of gospel music, Kinyarwanda news, and the latest American pop hits that quickly become the soundtrack to life here. Several times, I have woken up in the middle of the night at home to the radio blasting in my roommate’s room, and I struggle to get back to sleep as lyrics to songs I know (or more often don’t) rattle around in my brain. The radio has truly become an indispensable part of Rwanda, bringing joy to many and noise to all, and it is perhaps for this reason that the music industry is so big here, with an annual competition to determine the biggest superstar.

After radios, cell phones are the most common type of technology. You can buy a used phone for as little as 2000 RWF ($3.33) at the market, and a new one will only set you back about 10,000 RWF ($16.67) for the cheapest one. With those types of prices, they can be found in the pockets of a good number of Rwandans. I remember reading a National Geographic about Africa before coming and about how cell phones are becoming more prevalent in Africa and other developing countries. The reason for this is that it is far cheaper to build cell towers than it is to lay landlines for traditional telephones. This access to cell phones has certainly changed life for many. In Rwanda, farmers can call customers to settle on a price and a meeting place, bus tickets can be reserved hours before you want to leave, and any social event can be planned to the minutest detail.

Of course, with cell phones come problems of etiquette. We deal with them in the US, people answering their cell phones during a movie, or at a meeting, or while on a date, but the problem seems to be especially trenchant here since most Rwandans, with no landlines prior to cell phones, simply have not been brought up with any rules as to when to answer the phone. There is never a meeting that ends without someone taking a phone call, and I have seen teachers step out of class to take a phone call. There is a realization among some that more care needs to be taken when answering a phone, but it is a process, and it may take a while.

The one thing that cell phones have brought is Internet access. Many phones that are sold allow the user to access the Internet, and small USB modems can be purchased that run off the cell network. This access to Internet is especially noticeable with one site: Facebook. I remember the first time someone here asked me if I was on Facebook. I looked at him in astonishment, asking if he was on Facebook. Of course he was; everyone is! I’ve had fellow teachers, students, villagers, you name it, either ask me to set up a Facebook account for them or “friend” them on the social network. Facebook’s prevalence can be attributed to the fact that every radio station and advertisement mentions Facebook and MTN, the most popular cell phone network, offers free access to the site (though without pictures), meaning anyone with a phone has unlimited access, or at least until their battery dies. For a country that is as socially-oriented as Rwanda, Facebook is perfect.

So, with these three main types of technology that are available in Rwanda, what does it mean for the country? First, information is more widely available than ever. People can get news through the radio and Internet and find out what’s happening down the street or across the continent on their cell phone. Secondly, people are more connected than ever. Rwanda is a country where visiting and connecting socially is important, and there are more ways than ever to do that, which only enhances feelings of connectedness for people. Finally, there are more opportunities. Farmers can more easily sell their goods, friends can more easily meet up, and government officials can more easily plan country-wide events.

Technology, no matter where it is presents both challenges and opportunities. There’s loud music, but also helpful information, convenient communication and interruptions in meetings, access information about the greater world and distractions. Hopefully, Rwanda will find its way through the challenges and greater technology will be a boon and not a bane for the country.

Until next month, when I’m back in the States, murabeho! 

Happy birthday this month: Micah, Grandpa, Grandma, Niamh

Next month’s post: a reflection on 25 months in Rwanda

Ikidukikije

Muraho buri wese! Several months ago, I received an email from an old roommate and friend, Abby, asking me about “green” awareness in Rwanda. How does the country manage waste? What kind of energy and transportation are available? Is there a species that is the poster child for awareness about environmental destruction? I've finally gotten around to tackling those hard-hitting questions, so this one's for you, Abby.

First, I should say that the “green” movement and environmental awareness do not exist like they do in the United States or Europe. There remain enough problems just meeting basic needs for many people that most don't give much thought to the environment and what long-term effect their life may be having on it. Also, there is a marked difference between environmental awareness in Kigali and outside of it. The one thing that is a constant all over the country is a respect and desire for cleanliness: you will rarely see waste and uncleanliness, and you'll have to look pretty hard to find it.

Waste is, of course, present. This is a modern world we're living in, with modern food packaging and modern electronics (that die far too quickly). The problem, especially in the rural areas of Rwanda, is that there are no modern methods for dealing with this waste. Organic waste presents no problem, as it is thrown on the ground wherever one happens to be at the moment. If it's not snatched up and eaten by a goat or a pig, it's swept away into the nearest brush and left to peacefully decompose in a reasonably short period of time. Paper, cardboard boxes, and paper bags fall into the category of waste that is most often burned. These materials are quite useful for starting fires for cooking. The problem materials are the metals (tomato cans, bottle caps), big plastics (thermoses, jerry cans), and electronics (batteries, cell phones, radios). Some of these can be reused in some capacity, like old cell phone and radio parts being used to repair broken ones, but most of them end up being thrown out into some corner of each home's yard to sit and slowly leach into the soil. At my house, they are strewn about haphazardly, and one can look out from the back door onto a landscape littered with old tomato paste cans and batteries. It's not a pretty sight.

The one place in the country that has a clearly-developed waste management system to prevent these modern art pieces from sprouting up all over the place is Kigali. First of all, there is a real effort to prevent an accumulation of litter in the city, and any visitor there will tell you that it's working. There are trash receptacles located all over the city, including out front of many stores, workers go around collecting trash and sweeping the streets each morning, and littering is punishable by up to six months in jail or a fine of 10,000 RWF (about $17). In addition, plastic bags are illegal, so you won't find them blowing about like tumbleweeds on the set of an old Western. Recently, the city's waster management efforts have increased to include a recycling system. The only place I've actually seen the sorted collection bins is at the Peace Corps office, but you can separate everything from hazardous waste to food scraps and plastics. Who knows if everything is actually recycled or ultimately just thrown into the landfill together, but at the very least the tools are in place and waste does end up in the city's landfill as opposed to being thrown about anywhere and everywhere.

If Kigali, at least, seems to have a handle on solid waste, vehicle emissions are another thing. The paved roads in Kigali and the rest of the country are narrow and with small shoulders. Traffic is dense, especially in the city, so bicycling is reserved only for the bravest of souls, and most people drive, ride minibuses or motorcycles, or walk to get around. There are no emissions standards enforced in Rwanda, so these transportation forms routinely emit plumes of black diesel exhaust as they rumble about the country. If pollution levels are lower in Kigali than in cities of a similar size in the United States or Europe, it's likely due to the fact that there are fewer vehicles on the road and not because anything is being done to promote cleaner transportation. In the rural areas, there are more people who walk and ride bicycles to get where they're going, but this is not necessarily by choice: it's what they have. Given the choice, it's just easier to get places on a motorcycle or in a car, especially given the topography of the country.

While vehicle emissions may be a problem waiting to happen, Rwanda appears to be on the right track when it comes to electricity production. Many places in the country now have electricity, and most of this comes from hydroelectric power (more than 90%), as opposed to coal- or gas-powered plants. For those places still without electricity, government offices, schools, and health centers use solar power to charge their computers and light their offices. Electricity is generally only used for these low-energy needs, however, and other means are used for higher-energy needs like cooking. If you remember my post on food in Rwanda, you'll recall that most people use wood or charcoal to cook, which is leading to problems like deforestation and soil erosion.

These and other environmental issues are often cited as contributing factors to habitat destruction and the endangerment of species, and Rwanda is certainly no stranger to such problems. With such a high population density, there are bound to be some problems with humans encroaching on, and destroying, animal habitat. In fact, visitors to Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda will see first hand the effects humans have had on Rwanda's animal species. There, most of the current animals have been reintroduced from neighboring countries after being wiped out in Rwanda as humans moved into the area. I wrote about the few giraffes who were brought in and which eventually reproduced enough to form a healthy herd in the park (see the post on National Parks), and they are getting ready to reintroduce lions after they were all killed because they would leave the park boundary and eat cattle.

The poster child for Rwanda's conservation efforts, however, is clearly the endangered mountain gorilla. This mammal, which is only found in a small area encompassing parts of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, is threatened by habitat destruction as people cut down the forest for firewood and to make charcoal and by poachers who hunt it for its fur and big, ornamental hands and feet. Just like the polar bear in the West is shown on receding ice to show the effects of increasing temperatures on its habitat, cute baby mountain gorillas are shown with a thinning forest in the background. Fortunately (perhaps because of this type of promotion), the mountain gorilla is not left to fight on its own. Former poachers are hired as porters for those who visit Virunga National Park where the gorillas live (the idea being that it gives them an alternative way to make money), and a portion of the now $750 (for foreigners) permit to see the gorillas goes toward habitat conservation and restoration, research, and education.

Rwanda's efforts to promote environmental conservation where it concerns animals like the mountain gorilla are promising. Combined with the government's dedication to reforestation through tree-planting programs and electricity production through mostly Eco-friendly means, it's clear leaders have some environmental awareness. While there's still room for improvement in areas such as vehicle emissions and waste management, Rwanda has some “green” credentials. What remains to be seen is if it will learn from mistakes made elsewhere and become more fully environmentally conscious sooner or if it will follow the same learning curve as the United States and European countries and, more recently, China.

Happy birthday this month: Aunt Maggie, Joseph

Next month's post: Technology in Rwanda and its effect on society