accommodation arrangements

Hi

For those of you interested in the practical details of living in a developing country, here is some info for you. Accommodation for expats living in Kigali is plentiful, because of the massive inrush of NGO's and other aid agencies here after the 1994 genocide, which a lot of people - probably correctly - ascribe to the collective guilt of the rest of the world which stood by and watched while the genocide happened. So, there are all sorts of accommodations, depending mainly on your budget. The lucky expats here are paid foreign salaries, so they can afford to rent out huge mansions, with multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, sweeping views, walled gardens, resident housekeepers, gardeners, guards etc. The rest of us - ie those on local salaries, are still well catered for and can find plenty of shared accommodation in those places mentioned above, or more modest abodes - apartments, bedsitters etc.

Anne-Marie and I are lucky to have found a place only 10 minutes walk from work, which is good as we don't have a car, unlike most of the (rich) expats, and we don't trust the moto taxis - I think I've mentioned them in a previous blog. We are on a bus route though, so that's an added bonus. And we're within walking distance of some local supermarkets amd the big local fresh food Kimironko market.

The apartment is in a block of 6. Ours is 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom (which means there's a guest room there for any of you thinking of visiting) for US$1000 a month, which includes cleaning and water. We pay extra for electricity and gas (about $10 a week), and for our laundry to be done ($6 a month). The apartment complex has a guard and various handymen and a manager, so we're very well looked after. It came fully furnished, which was great - we've only had to buy a couple of odds and ends.

Rwandan Orphans Project (ROP)

Before I left Australia, I came across a website for this project: http://www.rwandanorphansproject.org/ and got in touch with its manager - a young American Sean Jones. I met up with him and his partner Jenny not long after I arrived in Kigali, and so began my connection with the orphanage and staff.
It was fortunate for me that the ROP is only a half hour or so from home - a 10 minute walk, followed by a 10 minute bus ride, then a 10 minute bike ride. The orphanage is set up in  what used to be a boarding school, owned by a Hutu who fled after the genocide. The building was left abandoned for about 15 years, before it was taken over by ROP.

The orphanage caters for boys who are ex-street kids - homeless because of family disruption due to illness, death, violence, separation etc - all the usual reasons. It is currently full, with 100 boys ranging in age from 5 to 18. The older boys attend local secondary schools, and the younger ones go to an in-house primary school. The project pays the school fees for the secondary boys, as well as for some local girls whose families cannot afford the costs. A few local girls also attend the primary school, which provides them with an education they wouldn't otherwise have access to.

The teachers are wonderfully dedicated people, working in very spartan conditions, and doing great things with the kids, guiding them from the very streetwise and vulnerable individuals they are when they arrive, to the charming young men who are proud of their achievements. a lot of these children have missed years of schooling because of their homelessness, so it's not unusual to see 8 or 9 year olds in P1 (Year 1), or teenages of 17 completing their primary schooling in P6. They all really value education however - Sean said it's often the selling point  when a child is deciding whether or not to leave the streets and come and live in the orphanage.

I try to visit twice a week, KIE work demands permitting, and either take some of the English lessons, or help the teachers with their teaching of English. As English is their 3rd language, after Kinyarwanda and French, they are happy to have anything I can offer, which is rather hit and miss on my part! I enjoy going there however, as the boys and staff are so welcoming and appreciative and there's a great atmosphere there.

They run on the smell of an oily rag, relying on donations to survive, as there is no government funding. so a good deal of Sean's time is taken up with sourcing funds, from month to month...He's an amazing young guy - took leave from his job as a computer analyst to do a year's voluntary work in Africa, and after a few months found himself managing the place because of some problems with the previous management. You can read all about the project on the website, which Sean manages.
The classrooms are bare concrete rooms, with benches for the students, and a blackboard for the teacher. The kids have some exercise books and a pen and there are some class sets of texts supplied by the government to all schools. The teachers manage with 'chalk and talk'.

Anyway - I'm including some photos to give you an idea of the Project.

Bye for now....