An evolving perspective

When we first came to Rwanda, we stayed for 3 weeks in the home of another HRH couple.  He is a native Rwandan, she is from the US.  The house had a master bedroom and 4 other bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a large and functional kitchen, and a large, comfortable living/dining room.  We were very comfortable there, and, though the couple was away during our stay, his brother lived in a small house in back and he and the house keeper made us feel quite welcome. We began to learn our way around certain parts of the city where we were staying: Kigali, the capital.  With the house came a car and driver to show us around.  Mostly what we saw, though was the most westernized parts of the most westernized city in Rwanda: the big house, the mall experience at the Union Trade Center, the nicely paved roads, and a chauffeur-driven Mercedes.   We were most thankful for all of these things, but they are beyond the means of most Central Africans at this time.

When we moved to our apartment in Kabgayi, on the grounds of the Saint Leon Minor Seminary, we were in a much smaller accommodation.  The bedroom was just large enough to fit the bed and a free-standing closet.  The bathroom was very small and up a short flight of stairs from the bedroom, the living-room/office was about 8 ft. X 15 ft. furnished with very uncomfortable chairs, and the kitchen was barely adequate.  There was not much sunlight, and there was frequent noise: of farm animals, pumps and generators, crowds of university students, and church bells. Some of those students would stand outside our place conversing loudly, and sometimes idly peer in through our windows.  As far as transportation, we walked a lot at first, but soon we purchased a car. (A Toyota Corolla, of course.  Most of the vehicles here are Toyotas, even the buses!)  I still walk a lot, while Anne drives the car to the School of Nursing and Midwifery, where she teaches.  Still, there were many things to be thankful about that living accommodation: it was a 10 minute walk to Anne’s work, the people at the Seminary are very friendly and went out of their way to make sure we were happy, I could walk to the market, there was frequently live entertainment of one form or another, and we had security within the compound.  Also, when compared to the living conditions of the majority of people in this country, we had considerable material wealth and comfort.

Now, we have moved into a house in the adjacent town of Gitarama (AKA Muhanga).  We have 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, (including a 230 square foot master bedroom with attached bathroom), a living room that measures 18 feet by 21 feet and is furnished with comfortable couch, love-seat and chairs, dining room with a table that can seat eight, gardens, a wall around the property, a security guard at night and a woman during the day to clean, do laundry, and possibly to cook. I can still walk to market, it’s just in the opposite direction, but our housekeeper does most of our shopping for us now.  So be happy for us: we can afford to live in this degree of luxury here. 

We are most thankful to have all of this luxury, but if I do not make good use of all that we have, I will commence feeling guilty soon.  After all, 98% of the population here (that’s a guess) have much less.  Many families here live in very small houses made of mud bricks and sleep on mattresses stuffed with straw.  Some have to walk for hours to get water and carry it home.  Some have little or no free time, while others seem to have little to do. 

I seem to have a lot of free time, and I intend to do something useful with it. I believe that we - all of us humans - are destined to develop a world civilization in which each of us has opportunities to develop to a higher degree of functioning than we have seen.  I believe that the day will soon come when all of us will be striving to work together in harmony to accomplish great things.  So, if I am now in a situation where I don’t have to worry about the basics of life, it behooves me to devote my life to working at a higher level and striving to contribute towards the fruition of that advanced civilization.  Therefore, I have a plan to follow, the means to put it into effect, and confidence that sticking to the plan (which includes quarterly course corrections) will make a positive difference in many people’s lives.  That plan includes learning the local language, Kinyarwanda.  It also includes making friendships around conversations and shared interests that are meaningful and enlightened. It also includes keeping you, my friends and well-wishers, posted about what we are doing.  All of it requires prayer, spirituality, and focus.  

The Century Language Club

So far, the most interesting and enjoyable part of my new life in Rwanda has been my participation with the Century Language Club.  This is a club formed by a group of students at the Minor Seminary where Anne and I are living.  As I mentioned, they meet after lunch and after supper on Mondays and Tuesdays to debate in English, and after lunch on Thursdays and Fridays to debate in French.  At the meeting Monday a team of three students who are preparing to do a Science Fair presentation later this week were to have rehearsed for the club so that we could give them advice as to how to improve their demonstration.  They were not able to present, so the club met to discuss future activities.  One of the activities suggested were to have discussions where an open-ended question is asked and everyone gives his opinion as to the answer.  Another activity would involve having one member give a short presentation, and then the rest of the members would ask him questions. 

Tuesday’s after lunch meeting was of the discussion variety.  The topic was, “What can each of us do to help prevent war and other types of conflict.”  There were some excellent answers!  Among them were: love your neighbor as yourself, value your neighbor, consider every person to be part of your family, recognize that we are all equal, work to ensure that everyone has equal human rights, do not tolerate hateful speech and propaganda such as that used to incite the genocide of Tutsis in 1994 (and the Nazi genocide of Jews in WW2), provide education to everyone, create jobs for everyone who can work.

I missed the Tuesday evening meeting because Anne and I drove to Kigali for an event at the residence of the United States Ambassador to Rwanda.  The event was a party for all of the Americans who have come to Rwanda to help the country develop its health care system.  A number of people from the C.D.C. were there, as well as many of the HRH people, and a several from USAID.  I talked about the Century Language Club to everyone I spoke with there (maybe 30 people total.)  While I often find myself on the edge of a big party like that, I decided to make the effort to introduce myself to many people and engage them in conversation.  Since I had something besides small talk to share, I did feel like I was bored/boring, and I met some very interesting and dear people, all of whom seemed to share my appreciation of the Language Club.

When we returned home this morning, we noticed a line of Rwandan drums standing next to chapel that stands just inside the gate.  This afternoon, as I was typing the above paragraphs, I heard drumming, and went to see what it was.  There were 10 drummers drumming where I had seen the drums this morning. The leader was playing the smallest (highest pitched) drum, setting the beat and demonstrating rhythmic patterns. Much of what I saw them doing appeared to be in what a European or American musician would call 6/8 time.  The most interesting part was when they paused for 17 beats, then, in unison, pounded out 6 1 2 3 4, then rested 19 beats, repeating this sequence eight or ten times, then going into a more insistent pattern in 6/8 for the big ending. During the long rests, they would all beat the air to count time, then all hit the drums at the same time. The drum team appears to have some new members, as I heard a few inconsistencies, but noticed improvement during the course of the practice session.  In any case, as I was once a drummer myself, I greatly enjoyed watching and listening to the drum team.

In Kabgayi

We are mostly settled into our apartment at La Petit Seminaire at Kabgayi, just outside of Gitarama.  Anne has begun her work to improve the quality of midwifery care at the hospital here, and to train a new generation of midwives in the application of evidence-based practice.  (That is, instead of practicing in the way you do because, “this is the way we have always done things”, one practices according to what has been found to have the best outcomes.)  It is evident that she has a lot of work ahead, but there are many here who support what she is striving to do, and Anne has faith that it can be done.  The country has decided to adopt a model of having one university with 5 or 6 different branches (sort of like the University of California which has U.C Berkeley, U.C. L.A., etc.)  I think the idea is that the curriculum will be basically the same for all of the branches.  In any case, they are striving to raise the level of education provided, and also to have the capacity to provide better health-care.

I have offered my services as a teacher of English to the School of Nursing and midwifery, and to the boys’ school where we are living.   I have begun with the boys school (La Petit Seminaire Saint Leon at Kabgayi – The Minor Seminary) participating with the Century Language Club which meets 8 times a week for 25 minutes a meeting: in the afternoon and evenings on Monday and Tuesday, they hold informal debates in English, and on Thursday and Friday they debate in French.  Such a wonderful group of young men they are!  There are about 20 members of the club, and all are brilliant souls. The debates are informal:  A topic is chosen, one person is chosen (or volunteers) to be moderator, then the rest of the members choose to either support or oppose the premise of the topic.  There is no real order to the proceedings after that, so members of each side take turns putting forth whatever arguments comes to mind.  As in any group, some are very ready to jump in and share their opinion, or their point while others seem relatively reticent.  The main purpose of the club is for the members to develop their skills at thinking and speaking in English and French, so I am working to ensure that the more aggressive talkers give the others a chance, and that the others feel empowered to participate.  I think it might also serve them well to develop the skills that a more formal debate requires: Research of facts relevant to the topic, consultation among team members as to the best arguments to use, and the ability to argue either side, whatever their personal opinion might be.  (That last should help them to see more aspects of an issue than what they are biased towards, which might lead to a change in personal opinion, and will certainly make them better prepared to answer opposing arguments, whatever side they are on.) 

So far, the topics that I have heard debated were “Does CHANCE exist?” and “Can material possessions make one happy?”  As for the existence of chance, many of the students believe that, “A Man’s Chance is God’s Choice,” (which is also the title of a book) while others believe in the “Law of Attraction”!  That debate took two 25 minute sessions to complete.  Being informal, there really is no basis for determining a winning side, but the moderator will offer his judgment none the less. For the other topic, most of the students supported the proposition that having material possessions CAN make one happy.  I expected them to mainly be talking of having essentials like food, clothing, and shelter, as there are many in Rwanda who live in great poverty. However, some of them were asserting that one could not fail to be happy if they acquired great wealth, or had a car, or owned a big house.  I fear they have bought the hype and drunk the Kool-Aid of Western Materialism.  I hope to share some websites giving more scientific data about “what makes people happy.” For example: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/here-are-the-things-that-are-proven-to-make-y/  Personally, attending the meetings of the Century Language Club makes me happy! 

Time to do some research on the guidelines for formal debates. 

Going to Kabgayi (See photos on my Facebook page)

Today was our second visit to Kabgayi, a Roman Catholic compound just outside of the Rwandan city of Gitarama.  On our first visit, we met the HRH (Human Resources for Health) Professor of Pediatrics who is at the same facility where Anne will be teaching and mentoring midwives.  We also met Father Deo Gratis, the head of the Petit Seminair (the Catholic boys’ school where we will be staying).  He has caused an apartment to be refinished and prepared for us.  The apartment has furniture, sheets and blankets, as well as plates, pots and pans, glasses, cups silverware, and other accoutrements.   Our living accommodations appear to be quite agreeable, and they are a 10 minute walk from the Kabgayi School of Nursing and Midwifery where Anne will be teaching. 

The hour drive from Kigali to Kabgayi was quite an adventure in itself.  I am glad that we were being driven both times by experienced Rwandan drivers who not only know the route, but also know what the road and traffic are like.  Driving in Rwanda is not as orderly as in the US, but it is much more efficient: at busy, uncontrolled intersections (which there are many of in the cities!) people turning or going straight negotiate on the move who is going to go first.  There is no careful “waiting your turn” at a complete stop, it is more like those stunt driving teams where the cars weave in and out between each other, but this is all improvised.  It seems to work, as I have not seen any accidents!  On the two-lane blacktop highway between cities there are mostly busses of various sizes, as well as trucks both large and small, lots of motorcycles (most of which are acting as taxis) and many pedestrians.  Most of the pedestrians are carrying things.  Mostly, they carry loads on their heads, which seems to be very efficient but I am sure takes plenty of practice.  When passing a slow truck going up a hill, you not only need to watch for oncoming vehicles, but also for oncoming pedestrians and motorbikes.  (A motorbike might squeeze into a virtual third lane to pass or be passed.)  We may soon have our own car, and Anne and I will have the thrill of driving these roads ourselves.  Adrenalin, anyone?

The view from the highway was quite remarkable.  Rwanda is mostly an agricultural nation, and it has the third highest population density of any African nation, so most of it is not covered by rainforest (“jungle”) as some parts of Central Africa are.  We saw many rolling hills, similar to the foothills of the Appalachians, but covered with terraced farmlands.  In the valleys, there are many small, well-tended fields, as well as many areas where bananas are growing. We are in the driest part of the year now, so many of the fields did not appear to be green, but did appear ready for the rains to come.  I was again very glad that I was not driving, as it gave me an opportunity to look out at the countryside and the villages.

We did not stop in any of the villages that the road passes through, so I had only the most superficial impressions.  One thing that stands out is that the buildings that face the highway are often covered with advertising. I don’t mean many ads for many different product, as we see in the states, rather one might see the front (or is it the back?) of an entire row of buildings painted blue with the “TiGo” logo, or painted red with the “AirTel” logo, or gold with the “MTN” logo.  These are the three competing providers of wireless services.  Some villages had 100 feet of blue building with the TiGo logo repeated 5 times or so, followed by an equal length of buildings with the Airtel logo.  The only other ads I recall were for the two most popular brands of beer. 

Arriving in Kigali City, Rwanda

The preparations were finally done with (but I can’t say they were “completed”!), the long flight is over, and we are in Rwanda.  We were met at the airport by a wonderful group of people.  The “leader” of the group was Callixte, the caretaker at the home owned by Vianney and Cairn where we are staying for our first few days (maybe weeks) in Rwanda.  With him was the driver for the house, Gaston, and three men who had been hired to help with our baggage using their pickup truck and a van. We had been joined by one of the other members of the HRH (Human Resources for Health) program while at O’Hare, and by three others during our layover in Amsterdam.  Between the six of us, we had around 20 large checked bags, and ten or so smaller bags, all of which were loaded onto the pickup truck, the van, and the trunk of the 1994 Mercedes.

The house where we are staying is quite large, with a big living room and dining room, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a lovely veranda.  The veranda has a flat roof which has a great view of the northern portion of the city, which is built on a number of hills.  (This is, after all, “The Land of a Thousand Hills.”)  Right now, we are living in a degree of luxury that very few of the people of Rwanda ever experience, but this will not last long. 

In the house with Anne and me are three other members of the HRH project: one midwife from the Chicago area, a midwife from up-state New York, and one woman in Adult Nursing who is originally from Uganda, but lately from Eastern U.S.A.  We are a lively bunch!  All excited by the adventure which we are beginning, all jet-lagged and somewhat giddy.  The house also has a staff which includes Calixte, who acts as caretaker and translator, Gaston, the driver and a cleaning woman who goes by "Mama Chic".  We are thankful to have such good people around us as we begin our journey.

Departing for Africa on August 3rd

As I write this on July 27th, I note that one week from now we will be on a plane headed for Amsterdam, from whence we will proceed to Kigali in Rwanda.  A few weeks ago we moved from our garden apartment to a room in the house of a friend.  Most of our stuff is gone, and we are near to completing the process of winnowing our possessions to what we will be packing. 

While it seems, from one perspective, that we are moving to another continent with much less "stuff" than we have had in the past, I am reminded of the many refuges that have fled from one country to another with no more than they can carry on their backs.  Some of what we will be bringing could be classified as "tools for service," including text books, computers, pens and pencils, and the like, but most are things for our own use, including clothing (how many outfits does one really need?), some things for the kitchen (we hear that a good set of kitchen knives is hard to come by) and a year's supply of our vitamins, prescriptions, and toiletries (also hard to obtain in Rwanda.) There is a Yahoo Group for the participants in the health project for which Anne will be working, and the posts therein include lists of "things I wish I had brought," and, "things I am glad I brought." Some of the items listed seem to be mere personal preference, but others have caused us to take notice and plan to make room.  I don't recall any list of "things I should have left behind!" 

In the last several weeks we have undergone other transformations besides the reduction in our material possessions.  Some have been occurring in our relationships:  both between Anne and me and between each of us and the rest of reality.  We have been working on being more unified through improved communication, greater patience, and more practice at teamwork.  I have particularly become aware of the times when I have a choice of how to respond to situations: either with a "knee jerk" emotional response, or with a more detached and rational response.  (The latter usually has a better outcome, while the former is more likely when I have not been on stage for a long time.  Theater of some sort is definitely on my list of things to do in Rwanda.) 

We have said many farewells, and are grateful for so many good friends and close family.  Soon, we will have new friends and a new Baha'i family in a whole new part of the world. 

Preparing to go to Rwanda

Last February my wife, Anne, and I moved from a loft apartment near downtown Aurora to a garden apartment on the east side of Aurora, near Naperville.  Because we were moving to an  apartment that is smaller and has less storage space than the previous one, we got rid of a lot of our stuff.  Papers, photos, books, clothing, toys, even some furniture were sold, given away, recycled, or trashed.  When we had moved everything in, I suggested to Anne, "Let's pretend that we are getting ready to move to another country.  What things would we actually bring with us?  What is important enough to us that we would store it in Aurora?  What would we sell, give away,  recycle, or trash from the stuff that we still have?"  We didn't actually do this exercise, but the thought of it did help to prepare us for where we are now:

It came up suddenly last Friday when Anne received an email telling her that she had been accepted to a program in the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and had been given an appointment in a hospital in Rwanda mentoring midwives.  She had applied many months ago and had thought that she was not going to hear anything back.  Now it looks like she is expected to arrive in time for orientation beginning on August 1st.  We have lots of stuff to go through and divest ourselves of!

We have begun to count down the days and list all of the things that we need to do to prepare.  The program will also pay to fly me out and the salary and per Diem are sufficient for both of us.  I will likely find work teaching English, as Rwanda is moving towards all its citizens learning English.  in the meantime, I will probably have to drop out of the play I was just cast in (Egeon in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors) which is a downer for me, since I haven't been on stage since last summer and working with Midsummer Theater Troupe was one of the most enjoyable gigs I have had in a long time.  But I have hopes of doing some sort of acting in Rwanda.  Mostly, I am excited (and nervous) about experiencing a whole new cultural reality.

A final  thought for this evening:  Monday I went to work after getting too little sleep.  I found that I was irritable and prone to being critical of anyone or anything that inconvenienced me.  "Whoa!" I thought, "If a little sleep deprivation can put me out of sorts this much, how do I expect to deal with culture shock and all that I will face in Rwanda?"  So now I am working on a more spiritual way of being:  What ever another person does, I need to refrain from judging them or their actions.  Instead of responding out of my criticism of their actions or of them, I need practice following the principles that I have been striving to learn:  patience, empathy, loving-kindness, and a willingness to learn from whatever life throws at me.