If any of you have been emailing me, sorry for not responding. Although the Internet is now available in Kigali, my email server at home has apparently “experienced a catastrophic failure”. It should be up and running soon, but it may have lost the last bunch of emails sent to me.
On Wednesday, we began working on the house we are building. In the morning, we met with Capasenga (16), Aline (15), and Elfancine (13). Their father was killed in the genocide, and their mother died in 2003. The girls have been on their own ever since. They were evicted from their home (basically a mud hut with no running water) two years ago because they couldn’t pay the rent. A nearby landowner offered them a temporary home on his land: a 10x10 mud hut with no kitchen area or latrine. The home is not secure and has been broken into several times. Earlier this year, World Vision gave the family a mattress, some chickens, and school uniforms for the two youngest… they all were stolen shortly after. Who would do such a thing? They have been taken advantage of in other ways too. Desperate for food, the girls hauled heavy bricks at construction sites for just 10 cents a day. Now the younger girls go to school, while Capasenga walks to Kigali to sell firewood. For us, the drive is about 45 minutes, so I can’t imagine how long it must take her to walk.
But, life is beginning to finally turn around for these girls! In two or three months, they will have a three-room cement home, complete with a kitchen area and latrine. The two youngest with be continuing with school. And Capasenga will be quitting the firewood business to become a sewing/ seamstress apprentice. One of our team members is buying her a sewing machine, which will literally change her life.
Homebuilding is crazy here!!! The foundation is made up of stones of all sizes. Bricks are made onsite, using the land available. The men (paid workers) begin by chipping away at the dirt in the centre of the yard with a hoe. Once the land is broken, they add water to make mud. They then add straw to hold the bricks together. Then, we beginning rolling the balls of mud, and throwing them down the assembly line, to the men working at the brick forms. We have neighbourhood children coming by and upon seeing what we are doing, they climb into the mud pit and begin to help themselves. Mostly the kids make the mud balls. Sounds easy, but I can tell you that it isn’t! You have to remember that the consistency is made so the mud sticks to itself. Hard work!
At the job site, I was playing with a baby that had come on the back of his sister, and a man (the father, I assumed) asked me if I liked the baby. When I said yes, he tried to convince me to take the baby back home to Canada so he could grow to be “nice and fat”.
As we worked, someone asked Capasenga to sign a song. She and six of her friends climbed into the mud pit and began to dance and since a song which welcomes Canada and “ muzungues” (white people) who have come to help them. Many of the people who knew the family before commented on how they seemed happier than ever before.
On Thursday, Nyamata (the town we are working in) had Gacaca, so we weren’t allowed into the village. The court system was overburdened dealing with genocide criminals, so they decided to implement an ancient community tribunal called Gacaca. The entire community must show up, and criminals within the community are brought forward to plead their case. The community then decides whether they will accept the criminal back, or sent him back to jail.
So, we used the day to go for a hike of Mont Kigali. Some of the more breathtaking views you have ever seen, but it was a brutal hike! I’m still sore!
Today we did more building. The market was supposed to be open today, and I still had to get Assumpta and Jean D’Amore their goats from their sponsor family. Well, there were no goats at the market today! Fortunately, someone got the message to Assumpta’s family, but poor Jean D’Amore and his aunt walked for two hours to come pick up their goat. Instead, we invited them in for lunch, and then Jean D’Amore played soccer for about an hour with one of the guys in our group. Fortunately, we were able to give them a ride home as well. The goats should be delivered on Sunday, but I’m beginning to see that in Rwanda, things never happen when they are supposed to.
Well, there is more, by I am literally falling asleep as I write this. Bye for now!
