One more quick trip to Africa
Trip Start
Aug 05, 2009
1
20
Trip End
May 29, 2010
Rwanda, Uganda, Rwanda
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
That rash departure may sound questionable to some, but to me it was God sent!
During my 24hour preparation before I departed, the name of my destination was often echoed back with a sense of alarm. “Rwanda?? You’re going to Rwanda?” For most the reception seemed much more palatable by making the sweeping generalization that I’m going to Africa- a destination filled with natural wonder, mystery and intrigue. Better yet, to marry that notion with the moral satisfaction of volunteering in Africa makes the idea down right delicious. But reality is often different than our romantic notions and the reputation of Rwanda is still smeared by its horrific past. Admittedly I didn’t have a lot of time to research exactly what I was getting into. But the opportunity was there. I just knew I needed an open mind, and open heart, and the willingness to look deeper than reputation alone.
“A Better World” graciously took me under their wing as I tagged along to their trip to Rwanda and Uganda, with a remarkable one day’s notice. Dave, the project manager, had all the arrangements made and welcomed me with a smile. The organization had been in Rwanda for about four years, so our task was to revisit the project sites, evaluate, and source out other areas of need where A Better World might be able to make a lasting impact. One this was for sure - there is no shortage of need.
The ride, the journey, the adventure, the vacation, whatever you want to call it, came in a myriad of forms. Notwithstanding was the emotional roller-coaster that often would sweep you off your feet, leaving you breathless, stunned and gasping at the relentless torment and consequence of humanity’s deplorable behavior. It was the second world genocide site I had visited in 3 months. This one was even harder than the first.
1994 marked the end of one of the most swiftly violent ethnic massacres in history. In 100 days, over 800,000 people were hacked to death, primarily with machetes. A militant faction of the ethnic majority Hutus eliminated 85% of the minority Tutsis, who were once favored by the European colonialists. Unspeakable acts of torture, rape, mutilation and murder swept through the countryside and its ghastly wake still haunts the country today. Of the 250,000 rape victims who lived to tell, many of them are infected with HIV/AIDS. Families now share communities with their former rapists and those responsible for killing their loved ones, and over 95,000 children are left orphaned. Although Rwanda now stands as a model for social reform and change, one can only imagine how long true reform and forgiveness could really take.
He introduced himself as Charles. He was our tour guide at the former church, now turned memorial site outside Kigali. He was 8 years old when his family took him to this church for safety and refuge. He and 7000 others. He recounted the details and events of the day the killers arrived with a brave face. He showed us where he hid under the bloody corpses and prayed the killers would pass him by. He pointed to the corner where his father was decapitated, where the babies were killed, where the grenades went off, where his mother died, and he held his sister. The pews are now piled with the victims ripped and stained clothing which cast a deep musky odor in this dark and haunting place. I wondered how it would feel to be Charles. He worked here, recounting the most traumatic event one could dare to dream - his story - everyday.
This was Charles story. There are thousands more.
Rwanda is known as Pays des mille collines - the country of a thousand hills. The countryside was like a green tapestry, interwoven with banana groves, coffee plantations, and tea fields, speckled with the colorful garbs of the locals as they tended to their crops. Always villagers would greet us with big smiles, and children frantically waved with shouts of Muzungu! (translation= white people) as they ran after the vehicle on the dusty red dirt roads.
There were five of us in the crew, plus Amon and Amos, the local voices and coordinators for our journey. It seemed Amon knew everyone in the country. He had our journey well planned and our vehicle was always stacked with plenty of water and good conversation. By my side was Chris, my former caretaker, nurse and confidant after my accident in Nepal. Albeit unaware that he would play that role for me again, we were embracing the adventure and taking in the spectacular scenery as we drove through the countryside.
Among our destinations were a school for about 90 deaf children; another school of about 250 mentally and physically disabled kids; other orphanages; and remote communities and care facilities. Many of the people in Rwanda live in extremely substandard conditions, and the those with the greatest need, of course, suffer the most. From lack of access to clean water and sanitation to a complete lack of infrastructure or medical care, and no financial support, the conditions for many people remain dire. Baron dirt floors, ram-shackled walls, ceilings specked with holes from grenade blasts from the genocide, are called home or school. The need is staggering, yet the hope and optimism and acts of outright courage from the people is a wonderful testament to the human spirit.
(For a detailed outline of the projects please visit A Better World’s website blog at: http://www.a-better-world.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=87:dave-in-rwanda&Itemid=132&layout=default )
It’s hard to imagine the inability to leave. It’s one thing to witness these sort of living conditions, and entirely another to call it home. I was brought back to intense memories of Nepal. After my accident I was struck with an oppressive, enduring sadness, realizing that my fellow brothers and sisters who were in a similar situation as I, and way worse, would never have access to the same care I received. I knew if nothing else - I could go home. For all too many - this was home. It broke my heart.
But I have to wonder if life as a weird sense of humor. Perhaps I was harboring these thoughts too much - so life presented an opportunity to, once again, be on the wrong side of a substandard medical facility in the developing world! The experience was assaulting. Although it was probably pretty good considering my location, from a Canadian perspective the hospital was awful. My room boasted a broken cot, moldy walls and an odor that took my already weak stomach passed the brink of tolerance. I recognized the injustice as I was ushered to the front of a huge line and given priority treatment, but truth be told, I didn’t protest too loudly at the time.
Long story short - spent the day there, got antibiotics. In and out and now, fit as a fiddle... however I’m still shaking my head at the irony of Chris once again being the one to nurse me back to health in a foreign country!
Onto better stories...
1) GORILLAS
Coming face to face with a giant silverback amidst the sprawling jungles of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda has to be a highlight of a lifetime. A trip to Rwanda would not be complete without a visit to Diane Fossy’s majestic and rare gorillas.
Our guide called out with a deep, throaty grunt, as he lead the way through the jungle cutting our trail with a machete. The gorilla responded with a few grunts in return, without lifting his eyes from his lunch of bamboo shoots. The enormity of his chest and the size of his hands were a striking contrast to his peaceful and playful persona - knowing full well he could crush us if he felt so compelled. “It’s OK. He’s happy to have us here,” reported the guide as he lead us through an hour long visit with a family of 22 gorillas. It was the beginning of one of the most awe-inspiring hours of my life - surrounded with playful gorillas atop the mountains of Rwanda.
2) SAFARI
A few days later we’d arrived into Uganda. Perked on the hillside, our bungalow overlooked the plains of Africa in her most photogenic state. We awoke well before dawn. First thing in the morning is the best time to see the animals, so we wiped the sleep from our eyes, downed some thick black coffee and headed out for a day filled with an African game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park, followed by a boat tour through the 34 km channel connecting the beautiful Lake George and Lake Edward.
The hot African sun quickly warmed the countryside, lighting the 1970 square mile national park. Almost immediately, shouts of “STOP!” were echoing from our cab as any one of us spied herds of majestic creatures grazing through the tall grasses of their natural habitat. The park was filled with buffalo, waterbucks, African kops, antelope, wild warthogs and even a monstrous monitor lizard; grazing water buffalo; hippos and crocodiles; and massive African elephants played in the cooling waters, only a few meters from where we were.
CONCLUSION
I ponder what it all means now. Why do we travel? Why do we put ourselves in danger and end up in the dentist’s chair in Kathmandu or a broken hospital cot in Rwanda? Why live in a monastery or visit children with AIDS? Why hike through the Himalayas or watch the sunset in Spain? Is it to find a deeper meaning to life, or a deeper sense of humanity? Maya Angelou pointed to travel as the one hope we have to recognize that “all people cry, laugh, eat, worry and die.”
So my inner nomad is a bit more satisfied, but I'm left with the ongoing questions of life. Maybe for now I can be satisfied with this answer - that maybe we travel and maybe we live, if only to get us step by step closer to recognizing the humanity in us all.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain~
Comments
LOVE this entry. You really bring your trip to Rwanda and Uganda to life! Thanks!
What an experience! What a writer you are!!!