More photos

Lions at Tsavo East National Park, Kenya

A well deserved break at the top of Mount Kabuye. (Thanks for the shirt, Mam!)

View from Mount Kabuye

My summer in Rwanda

The rainy season has started here again.  It reminds me of home although since it is back to school time, I imagine it’s quite warm at home. It’s been an eventful summer so I have neglected my blog.  I have a lot to write about. 

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for their kind birthday wishes.  I received beautiful cards (some handmade by the senders) and lovely presents.  Thank you all so much it is always lovely to hear from my friends and family at home.  I had a great birthday in Ngororero with great friends.  I introduced some of my Rwandese friends to pizza and Irish dancing.  We had a great evening together.

I’ve been blessed with visitors since the start of July.  My friends Kate and Michelle came to visit from the UK and Ireland.  Kate just left yesterday.   I was delighted to be able to show them my adopted country and my new friends.  They both had a brilliant time and were sad to leave beautiful Rwanda.  We visited schools together and Kate even helped me figure out some new tricks on Excel.  It very was sad to say goodbye to them but I am happy that my Rwandan adventure is continuing.

I had a great time while the girls were here.  The highlight for me was the mural of the world map.  It was a great experience.  We had lots of help from the pupils, teachers and other volunteers.  For many of the children it was the first time that they had an opportunity to paint.  We all learned lots about geography and the children had lots of opportunities to practice their English with all of the visitors.  It is something I would definitely love to do again in the future.  I brought Kate to visit it last week and she was very impressed and discovered a few countries to add to her must visit list. 

During the summer Kate, Michelle and I also visited Kenya and saw lots of the tourist sites in Rwanda.  We went on safari which was a first for all of us.  We were very lucky because we saw two lions.  There were lots of elephants, giraffes and zebras.  We had a brilliant day and the sense of adventure increased when the engine of our car went on fire!  Luckily we made it home safely!  Also, we went snorkelling in the Indian Ocean.  It was amazing.

The highlight of my travels around Rwanda this summer was visiting Nyungwe forest.  Kate and I went there to see the Colobus monkeys.  It was the first time that I visited a tropical rainforest.  The views were beautiful.  I will try to add photos when the internet connection is better.  At the moment it is very slow.

Next weekend, the new bunch of volunteers will arrive.  This time last year it was me!  The time has passed so quickly and it is funny to think that we are the veterans that they will look to for advice.  I have learned so much in the past year that it will be nice to be able to pass on some tips to the new volunteers.

The good news at the moment is that I have successfully applied for a grant to create a library at one of my most rural schools.  The school has a high dropout rate for girls so we’re hoping that by giving them responsibility for the library it will act as a motivator for them to come to school.  It any of you would like to be involved you can send a book in very simple English to me at Pauline Quinn, BP 207, Gitarama, RWANDA.  If you like you can write a dedication on the inside with your name and country.  You could even include a photo f yourself if you like.  Thanks in advance for your help.  I’ll post photos of the library when it’s up and running.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all in December. Top of my list is a visit to St. Mary’s P.S. that kindly sponsored the paint for the world map mural. 

Slán,

Pauline

Note: I wrote this last week but only managed to post it now.

Hi

Hi all,
Sorry for the delay.  The internet has been really bad in Ngororero.  I am in Kigali at the moment because all of the Irish community here have been invited to dinner with the Irish Ambassador to Uganda tonight. I've a blogpost all typed on my computer in Ngororero so I'll post that as soon as possible.
Things are going well. I'm working on a library project at the moment.  I applied for a grant and got about 500euros to start a library in in one of my rural schools.  If you'd like to get involved you can send a book in very simple English to Pauline Quinn, BP207, Gitarama, RWANDA.
I'll leave it at that with a promise to post again really soon.
Best wishes,
Pauline

Photos of Map in GS Ngurugunzu

Finished map!

Alex (principal of GS Ngurugunzu) paints the Rwandan Flag

Pauline and Michelle working hard

Drawing Rwanda

The farewell walk from school.

Michelle's last moto trip to school

The mural so far

Hi all,
Greetings to all from Michelle and I! Michelle arrived two weeks with 2 amazing suitcases filled with goodies that we've been distributing over the past couple of weeks. It's lovely to have a housemate. The weeks are truly flying by.
Our project at the moment is painting a mural of a world map at one of the school's I visit regularly.  The pupils of St. Mary's sent some money from a recent talent show to pay for the paint.  It is going well so far. I'm learning loads of geography! The pupils are really excited and they are helping us as much as possible.  We are aiming to have the first map in Rwanda with Southern Sudan.  Although they have been recognised as a country by the UN the borders have not been agreed yet so we may have to leave that one until last.  We're hoping to finish soon.
Last weekend we went to visit beautiful Kibuye.  It is by Lake Kivu and on of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.  We really enjoyed our time there but I think that the highlight of the past couple weeks has to have been the gorillas.  We hiked up into Virunga National Park and after an hour we came across the Ububano family of gorillas. We got within touching distance of them.  We got to see about 8 gorillas but the most exciting was seeing the silverback whose name is Charles. It was so amazing!
I'll try to add photos tomorrow.  The internet isn't working so well at the mo.
Slán,
Pauline

St.Patrick's day and other celebrations

Hi all,

It’s been a long time. I don’t know where the time is going here. It’s been a very busy couple of months!  I apologise for the delay since my last entry but I’ll try to make up for it now by giving an account of the last couple of months.

I’ll start with St. Patrick’s Day.  The day started with text messages from friends in Rwanda wishing me a good day.  I was a little sad at being so far away from home on the big day but I was soon cheered up when some of my colleagues asked me to join them for a brochette after work.  I spent the evening eating potatoes (Irish potatoes as they call them here) and drinking Guinness with my workmates and a man named Patrick.  It was one of those moments that I wish I could record to show you all.  Also on that day an article appeared in the Irish Independent about me and my plans to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Rwanda.  This is the link in case you missed it. http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/its-amazing-that-kids-here-in-rwanda-ask-me-about-mary-robinson-2582929.html The Saturday after St. Patrick’s Day we had a big celebration in Gitarama.  About 40 people came from all over Rwanda to celebrate with us.  The Irish were well represented as I had found a few Trinity students the previous week in Kigali and invited them to the party.  There was lots of Irish music and I led the ceilí dancing.  The Siege of Ennis was a particular favourite.  It was great craic of a night.  The Monday after the party a lot of decorations arrived from a good friend in Ireland so another party was held the next Friday in my adopted village of Ngororero.  All in all we made the most of St. Patrick’s Day!

Here the schools have a 3 week holiday in April.  I decided to leave Rwanda for two weeks including Genocide Memorial week.  I visited Ethiopia and Djibouti with 2 other volunteers.  We had a brilliant time.  My favourite place was Lalibella in Ethiopia.  The rock-hewn churches are amazing.  Apparently angels were involved in the construction and if anything was going to make you believe in angels this place would. 

Another highlight was feeding hyenas in Harar.  It was a bit scary but I figured how many chances do you get to feed wild hyenas.  We ended the holiday with a couple of days in Djibouti by the Red Sea.  It was nice to see the sea after spending so long in landlocked Rwanda.

Once I got back from my travels it was time to celebrate International World book day.  Here is the article that I wrote that will be included in the district magazine.

World Book Day Celebrations at G.S. Ngurugunzu

On Tuesday, the 19^th of April the pupils and teachers came to G.S. Ngurugunzu to celebrate World Book Day.  Even though the celebration took place during the school holidays a large number of children came to school to celebrate this special day. 

The celebrations began with a wonderful display of dancing, singing and drumming by the pupils.  The children wore colourful costumes.  The display of traditional Rwandan culture was especially appreciated my VSO volunteer, Pauline Quinn, who was also in attendance.

The principal of G.S. Ngurugunzu, Muhoza Alex, spoke to the children about the importance of reading.  The children were then given books in Kinyarwanda to read.  The books had been supplied by Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in an attempt to encourage reading in Rwanda and celebrate World Book Day.  The children really enjoyed reading and the books will be made available for the children to read at school in order to promote their interest in reading.

Work is going well and I’ve spent a lot of time visiting schools. Last week was the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) week.  I did a project in a school with a very high dropout rate for girls.  We asked the girls to draw pictures explaining why they don’t come to school.  The most common answer was that they had to work.  The girls work collecting water, selling at the market and looking after younger children.  These are the main reasons that girls cannot come to school. It reminds us of how lucky we are in Ireland that all children have the opportunity to go to school.  Another reason why children in Rwanda cannot come to school is because they don’t have shoes. 

Another big event here was the royal wedding.  The Rwandans were very interested in it. I spent my lunchtime in the local restaurant watching the ceremony with my Rwandan colleagues.  It was a pretty surreal experience.  That evening I was invited to a reception at the residence of the British High Commissioner to Rwanda to celebrate the day. As there is no Irish embassy here I am registered with the British one and this is why I was fortunate enough to receive an invite.  When we arrived we our names were checked against the guest list and only then we were allowed enter.  There were British flags everywhere.  It was a lovely evening for a garden party and we all enjoyed the DJ’s choice of British music and the loop of highlights of the royal wedding on a big screen. There were lots of typical British foods including sticky toffee pudding (but not as good as Stephen’s I have to say!).

Ooops! You'll have to turn your screens sideways for this photo.

This week 2 rabbits became 7! They are the cutest rabbits ever.  They are black and white like Rory. I’ll upload a photo as soon as possible.  I have some visitors coming to stay this weekend so I will ask them to name them for me.  My guard is really happy as he is the one who takes care of them.

That’s all for now!

I’ll try to keep my blog more up to date.

Slán,

Pauline

ps This was a boat trip that we took on Lake Kivu to Amahoro Island

The wedding continued

Hi all!

The wedding continued.  I apologise for the delay.  It’s been a busy couple of weeks.  I was finally inspired to update my blog for 2 reasons.  One my mum was asking me about it last night and two my blog is mentioned in the VSO March newsletter.  Hi to any other VSO volunteers who are reading this.  I’d love if you left a comment so I know who is reading and from where!

In Rwanda, a wedding is made up of three ceremonies.  First there is the civil ceremony, then the dowry giving ceremony and finally the religious ceremony.  The civil ceremony is usually a few months before the dowry giving and the religious ceremony which are usually held on the same day.  My friends had their civil ceremony last September.

The dowry giving is a traditional ceremony in Rwanda.  Everyone dresses up in the traditional dress.  Banana leaves play a big part! The shoes I was wearing and a lot of the accessories were made of banana leaves.  The bride is absent for a big part of the dowry giving ceremony as a big part of it involves the groom, the groom’s family and the brides’ family.  As I was with the bride I missed the part before the bride comes out.  It was great fun with the other bridesmaids dressing up in the traditional dresses.  There was a lot of sewing involved!  Unfortunately my home economics skills let me down so the other girls helped me sew the sash.  I was glad I brought my camera so I could take some photos. 

Then we got our cue to get ready.  I was very unclear about what I was supposed to do as all instructions from the bride and mother of the bride were in Kinyarwanda.  I figured I’d just follow everyone else.  We were all given a wrapped gift to carry.  Outside there was a marquee of beautifully dressed people.  They were all there to celebrate the special day. 

Then the male members of the groom’s family lined up and asked the permission of the male members of the bride’s family for permission to marry her.  They are all refused until the groom makes his case and is allowed to marry her.  The bride is then given the ring.  Then we handed the gifts to the bride and she gave them to different members of the grooms’ family.  He gives gifts to different members of her family.  Although I could not understand what was being said, the importance of the family was very clear.  After all the exchanges we ate before making a quick costume change before the church wedding.

We all changed from traditional outfits before the church ceremony.  Although the dowry ceremony started late we were all at church on time.  Cars brought us from the bride’s parents’ house to the church. 

Although the previous evening I had been assured it couldn’t rain during a full moon, it rained.  Luckily there were a multitude of umbrellas on hand to keep us dry.  It was difficult to walk in the beautifully fantastic high heels but there always seemed to be an elbow to grab onto when needed.  The church ceremony was very like home except for the presence of cameramen and their lighting equipment.  It was like being on the scene of a TV show!  The choir sang beautifully and there was drumming and clapping to the songs.

Afterwards the wedding photos were taken and the reception.  The reception was held near the church.  3 marquees were erected.  There were hundreds of people in attendance.  There were speeches, a meal and the cutting of the cake. The cake was amazing! The chef came out to light sparklers and then the bride and groom cut 3 of the 5 tiers.  The other 2 tiers were wrapped in cellophane and one was given to the bride’s family and the other was given to the groom’s family.  After the reception, the gifts and us were put in the wedding car and brought to the bride and grooms home.  All of the bride’s things were then brought from her parents’ house to her new home.  The rest of the evening was spent chatting over drinks.  Outside the men made speeches.  I had my first taste of banana wine which is very sweet.  After I gave a short speech about how happy I was to have been part of their special day I said my goodbyes.  Most of the women had left at this stage so I thought it was a good time to leave.  I made the short walk home under a fantastic starry sky reflecting on the amazing day I had had and thinking about how welcoming and friendly everyone had been to me.

I promise I'll write again soon.
Slán,
Pauline

More photos of Ngororero

Sunset in Ngororero

Another beautiful sunset, picture taken by my good friend Rose.

Ngororero - Gateway to Gisenyi

Goats - lots of goat brochettes are eaten in Rwanda

People often carry things on their heads here.

Mu rugo - My house in Ngororero

Photos of me from the wedding!

Me and a little boy who was part of the ceremony. We are both wearing traditional dress for the dowry ceremony



Me in my bridesmaid dress for the church ceremony



Traditional dress, the sash is made from banana leaves!

Hi all,

I hope you are all keeping well.  At the moment the long rainy seasons seems to have started so it’s quite wet in the afternoons and evenings and it is quite cold.  Not as cold as Ireland gets obviously but cold for Rwanda.

Last weekend, I was bridesmaid at a Rwandan friend’s wedding.  It was an amazing experience.  Friday, I had to go to Kigali to the salon to have my hair done.  I was anxious about what I was letting myself in for but in the end all they did was straighten my hair.  I also had my nails polished so all in all it was just like wedding preparations at home.  After the salon we went to the wedding shop where all the clothes for the wedding are rented from.  Everything is rented!  One girl was in charge of making lists of the ties, jewellery, dresses et cetera that would be used for the wedding and returned afterwards.

It was quite late when we left Kigali to head back to Ngororero.  Everyone was in good spirits as we set off and there was drinking and singing as we travelled back.  We were stopped twice by the police for long periods of time.  This was because we were carrying bags and bags of stuff for the wedding on the seats and apparently this isn’t allowed.  We eventually made it “home” after midnight.  It was straight to bed for me as I had an early start the next morning as I was to be at the bride’s house at eight.

The next morning I woke up to no electricity.  This meant my hair had to do as it was since I could re-straighten it.  I headed down the road after a quick breakfast.  I had never been to the bride’s house before but it was instantly recognisable as there was a flurry of activity in the garden and a huge marquee.  I was greeted in the house by 3 generations of the family.  Everyone was preparing for the celebrations ahead. 

More on the wedding to follow soon! I thought I better get some pictures up quickly as I've had lots of requests.

Back to Ngororero

Hi all,

I’m sorry it’s been so long.  Since last writing I’ve been home to Ireland and I spent a fortnight in Kigali.  I just arrived back in Ngororero last Sunday night.  I was met with a great welcome.  Here when you haven’t seen someone in a long time you greet them by pressing your temples against theirs.  I was a bit thrown the first time but now I’ve got it figured out.  Also, because of all the rain recently there are lots of flowers in bloom in my garden.  I will try to post a photo!  I was given a present of solar powered fairy light so once I get them up I will have the prettiest garden in Ngororero. 

Since I left there have been a lot of changes here.  There is a hotel being built, it is going up very quickly!  I reckon soon Ngororero will be added to the guidebooks as one of the most beautiful places in Rwanda!   Also there is an extension being added to the district office.  Things change very quickly here.

It was lovely being at home for Christmas.  I was especially happy to be able to visit all the pupils in Aston Village!  It was great to meet the teachers, parents, old pupils, new pupils, future pupils and of course Santa!  I got a great welcome!  I look forward to being back there in September! 

Because of the bad weather, I didn’t make it to see the girls in Room 26, St. Mary’s NS but I hope they liked the gift I sent them.   

It was also really nice to see my family and friends.  It was really lovely to be at home in Mayo for Christmas.  It was lovely to experience some winter weather after what feels like months and months of summer.  I was sad to leave Ireland behind but I am happy to be back in Rwanda to continue my work here.

I have spent the past 2 weeks in Kigali helping out with a research project.  The research will examine early grade reading and maths skills in Rwanda.  3000 pupils will be tested in 50 schools.  It was very exciting to be involved in this project.  Before Christmas, I was involved in adapting the assessments for Rwanda and the past two weeks I was training people to carry out the assessments.  It was a very exciting time.  The highlight for me was visiting schools in Kigali and supervising the assessors carrying out the assessments.  The results of the research will be used to help decide on future spending in education.    

Yesterday was a bank holiday.  It was the Heroes’ day.  There were celebrations held in the village.  I spent the day collecting my suitcase from Gitarama.  It took 2 motorbikes (one for me and one for the suitcase) to get them up the hill to my house.

This morning on the way to work I was asked to be a bridesmaid! I’m thrilled.  I’m not sure yet what will be involved but I’m sure I’ll have to lots to write about it in my next blog.  In Rwanda before the religious ceremony there is a dowry ceremony.    I’m not sure exactly what happens but I do know that there is a cow involved!  I’ll be sure to gather all the information I can so I can describe what happens to you all!

That’s all for now!

All the best,

Pauline

PS Rory is keeping well but I’ve been advised he needs another rabbit to keep him company!