Research Log 4 - More focus

Focus Groups
A second round of focus groups were held this week. Yesterday’s groups consisted of children between the ages of 12 – 15. The children were divided into Child-Headed Households (CHH) and children from Adult-Headed Household (AHH). Since we are using consent forms for all participants we had to locate guardians to sign for these children. The irony is that it was much more difficult to locate guardians for the children from AHH than for children from CHH. The Secretary of Social Affairs was able to sign for the children from AHH, but we had to locate a parent or guardian for the other children. We were told that the guardians would be available for the children and that in fact they were present. Emily took the adults into a separate room to go over and sign the consent from while a started to explain the purpose of the research and the child’s rights on an individual basis. The problems arose after explaining and obtaining an agreement to participate from the first child. I asked him if his parent or guardian was in the next room. At this point he indicated that he came alone. I showed him the consent from with his name on it and asked who the person was that signed the document. He said he had no idea who the person was. This happen a number of times and because we did not have parent/guardianship written consent for the children we did not allow them to participate. We suspect the Sector Leaders in charge of organizing the groups organized these random adults to sign for these children, however in an effort to retain face on their behalf we did not bring this issue up with them. Thankfully, we had enough children to participate in each group. Emily interviewed children from CHH while I interviewed children from AHH.

Overall I found the children more open and easier to get to participate than the adult focus groups. We played a few games at the start and in the middle of the group meeting. This seemed to help the children feel comfortable and open to the idea of the group. We also provided each child with a Fanta and a muffin at the start of the group meeting.

Since my group turned out to be 5 girls and 1 boy, the information I received was heave on the female perspective. The 1 boy did speak, but not a lot. However, the main purpose of the focus group was to get an overview of the topic and situation in Muko. We also intend to have semi-structured interviews after the household surveys have been completed. We will interview both boys and girls and this will help to create a gender balance research.

Household Surveys
Pilot Household Surveys were held today. As we suspected our surveys are too long and can take over 2 hours to complete depending on the number of people living in the home. After today’s test surveys will modify the survey as needed. We intend to return to the field next week with the modified surveys to complete the household surveys over 2 days.


During my 2nd interview a rain storm hit Muko. We had to stop the interview since the home we were in had a corrugated tin roof and the thundering sound forced us to take a break from the interview. In the darkness of the mud house I pulled out my camera to entertain the children that had been listening in on the interview and showing off by counting, saying the days of the week and reciting the alphabet all in English. They quickly hammed it up and posed all around the room. The photo shows the children in a dugout tree that was in the house. This is a photo on the streets of Muko shortly after the storm passed.

Research Log 3 - Defining Terms

Focus Groups
I held my first focus groups on Monday. With the assistance of the sector leaders 3 groups were scheduled and invited to participate. The groups were Cell Leaders, Primary and Secondary school Teachers and members of the Parent Teacher Association. The purpose of these purposefully selected focus groups was to gain an understanding of the perceived situation in Muko regarding child labor and education. Unfortunately (but unsurprising), the organization and scheduling of the groups was not as planned. Instead of having participants arrive at a designated hours throughout the day, all of the participants arrived at 9 am, which was the first time slot. I had no choice but to apologize to the participants and explain the misunderstanding.

Each focus group lasted between 1.5 and 2 hours. Despite knowing that Rwandans are reserved, we opted for focus groups (rather than semi-formal individual interviews) in order to gain a greater initial amount of data. As we are employing Grounded Theory, this data will be used to adjust our focus and related questions. The focus groups did not generate as much discussion and data as I had hoped, but they definitely opened the door to the understanding the perceptions held by the community leaders.

Defining Terms
The purpose of the focus groups in part was to define terms such as; at what age does a person become an adult, what is a Child-Headed Household, what is domestic (unpaid) labor, and what is agricultural (unpaid) labor. It was relativity easy to define the age of adult hood as well as what considered to be Child-Headed House. It was much more difficult to draw a line between agricultural work and domestic labor. It may prove difficult to differentiate between the two as our research continues as it is very easy for conversation to switch between the two. We will have to consider how to deal with this issue as we move forward.

Children Focus Groups
Hopefully before the end of this week or at the beginning of next week I (we if it is next week, Emily will return to Kigali this weekend) will return to Muko to conduct focus groups with children. As with the adult focus groups, these groups will not be for gaining in-depth information. They will serve as an introduction to the perceptions and realities that the children are facing. I have set aside more time to work with the children as it is important to make them feel comfortable as well as to make sure they understand the purpose of the research. I will also use games at various times of the discussion to keep them interested and active. This will also help create a higher level of comfort and interest.

At this point we have divided the children into children from Children-Headed Households and children from Adult-Headed Households. The ages of the children are to between 12 and 15. I have opted not to divide the children into male and female groups. If this proves to be hindrance on participation I will further divide the groups into male and female groups on any subsequent group discussions.
I am hopeful the children will be less guarded then the adults and more willing to openly talk. Given that the research subject is child-centric they may find the topics more interesting and worthwhile then the adults.

Semi-Structured Interview with Officials
While the Officials of Muko Sector have been supportive and have approved our research they have been a bit illusive when it comes to interviews. We may have to change tactics for gathering the information we hoped to gain from them.

Research Log 2 - A slowish start!

Here is week 2's Research Log. Not a lot has happen since last week, but underneath things are definitely progressing. I'm looking at it as the mega that is about to become the lava of my research.... Maybe I'm just trying to talk myself into all of this!

I hope you find it at least a little interesting. Time permitting I will write another blog non-research related. Also, once I get into the field my logs should be a bit more interesting!

Interview Delays
There have been a some delays in the commencement of interviews this week. I had hoped to get into the field and interview official and community leaders; however, due to coordination and transportation issues this has been delayed until early next week. This is a minor setback, which will have minimal impact on the research schedule. It will actually allow for more time to review the interview questions and structure.

Translators
I have worked closely with our translator this week. Emily and I created a detailed Translator Guide which clearly outlines the rolls of the Translators and Researchers in given situations. We have closely reviewed the research plan, purpose of the research as well as questions for the approaching semi-structured interviews. We have also carefully explained our expectations of them as research translators. This should help us avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings while in the field.

Semi-Structured Interviews
On Monday of next week semi-structured interviews will take place in Muko Sector. We have organized 4 small groups focus groups (2-4) people per group. The 4 groups are as follows, Group 1. Cell Leaders, Group 2. Head Masters and Teachers of Primary Schools, Group 3. Head Masters and Teachers of Secondary Schools, Group 4. Parent Teacher Association Leaders and Members.

The small groups will allow us as researchers to maintain more control of the process. This is preferred at this time as we are still testing out our translators and we are uncertain of their moderation skills. I am however worried that I may have scheduled too many groups for one day. I have estimated that these group meetings will take between 1.5 and 2 hours each. We are not looking for in-depth discussions at this time, but rather a general overview of the situation. Should we need to gather deeper information from these participants we should not have a problem contacting them again.

The goal of these initial interviews is to gain a perspective of the perceived problems/lack of problems and general attitudes related to child labor. We also are looking to define terms such as what is a child, what constitutes (child) agricultural labor, what constitutes (child) domestic labor. These questions will assist us with formulating impeding interviews with parents and children as well as the household surveys.

Participants will be supplied with refreshments. If the meeting were longer we would also supply them with cash (around $6) for their time and transportation. Additionally, since interviews will take place near their homes/place of work there should be no need for transportation reimbursement. However, as of now I am awaiting for conformation of the participants and the location exact of the interviews. I will have this information within a few hours of posting this blog.

While in the field it is my plan to schedule the next group of interviews. Hopefully we will be able to return to Muko later in the week (Thursday or Friday). Emily will return to Rwanda on Monday the 15th and will also participate in these interviews.

Working with Children
As a proportion of our interviews are to be conducted with children (including orphaned children) we must take ethical and legal concerns into consideration. We are in the process of tracking down the laws and procedures for gaining necessary permissions. In addition I will pose this issue to officials while in the field on Monday.

There has been some difficulty tracking down solid advice and methodology concerning child-centered methods, as most of what I have come across is more psychologically based. I will continue to investigate this issue.

Research Log 1

As expected the LUMID program has kept me very busy. I haven't spent much time on the computer that hasn't been work or school related. It also means that my endeavor to keep a blog is dwindling. In an effort to regain momentum I have decided to use my assignments as a jump off for my blog.

Over the next month and a half I will conduct research that will be used in my thesis. As part of research tasks I am required to create log entries regarding my progress. I'm not sure if this will be of interest to my readers, but it is what it is.

The Research Question

The research will look into child domestic labor within child headed households and adult headed households. We will be investigating the gender component and how this may or may not effect educational attainment. As we become more familiar with the situation we will narrow and modify our research question.

Joint Research
Emily and I intend to do our research as well as write our thesis together. However, we have had an early setback, Emily returned to Ireland late last week due to an illness in her family. We are hopeful that she will be able to return to Rwanda before the end of the month of November.

We will conduct this research while simultaneously conducting baseline data collection for a new project area of our host organization. This will allow us to spend more time in field as well as support our access to community we might otherwise have difficulty entering.

The First Visit
On October 25th we visited Muko Sector, where our research will take place, and met with local leaders including Executive Secretary, Secretary of Social Affairs, Police, Village and Cell Heads, Head of Forest Activities, Head Agronomist, Head of Security, and Head Masters of Schools. We were able to explain our research as well as data collection objectives. The community was very accepting of our intentions and welcomed us into their community.

We also had a short meeting with the Secretary of Social Affairs. She was very open and willing to provide us with any data available. We provided her with a list of preliminary data and she agreed to prepare the data before our next visit.

Translators
Since Emily and I speak a very small amount of Kinyarwandan we will primarily work through translation. We used a few translators for our project evaluation in September, however they did not work out as well as we had hoped. One of the girl’s confidence and English skills was not where we would have liked it to be and the second had a poor attitude and was a bit confrontational. Unfortunately this meant we had to find new translators to work with. After interviewing 5 additional possible translators we settled on 2. One of then accompanied us on our trip to Muko, we found him to be patient, easy to understand and even tempered.

Modifying the Research
Emily and I both understand the obstacles we must overcome, but we still intend to push forward with our joint research. Emily and I will remain in close contact as we revamp and adapt our research. We will be able to contact each via Skype periodically. I will keep Emily posted on the progress or lack of progress I am making in Rwanda. We intend to continue to work together on interview questions and surveys.

Emily and I have organized a gantt chart detailing our research schedule, which includes focus groups with children, semi-structured interviews with officials and leaders and conducting a number of household surveys. Given that Emily will no longer be here for most of November I am considering what is most important for our research topic and what is feasible for one person to manage. At this point it is my intention to schedule the semi-structured interview with officials and leaders for next week. This week I will be finalizing the questions for the semi-structured interviews. I will also spend a few hours with the translator reviewing the research purpose, interview questions, discussing expectations and familiarizing him with the research methodology.


So there you have it, my first research log ever! More to come over the next few weeks.

Fun Week Finish - Snapshot Blog

The final fun week entry brings us to Shingrio in the Northern Province. Joining us is Muzungu Joss.




The children arrive and the day begins!









Who is that strange looking kid in the back?









The children can't believe how white Muzungu Joss is.









The Fanta Arrives, just in time for fun day.









The children inform the audience of their rights.









We dance for the rights of the children.








Top Students are rewarded for their hard work.











Fanta and Rwandan donuts are enjoyed by all.











The children love the camera!









A satisfying week's work indeed. These are the days that you remember. These are the days that keep your spirit high. These are the days that remind you why. These are the days I feel privileged to experience.

More Fun Week Fun

On the second morning we headed deeper into the surrounding mountains. This time it took us over an hour of inclines, bends and turns to reach the school. This school was at the top of the hill with a 360 degree view of the valleys all around. The children gathered upon the slope of the hillside and awaited the arrival of the Fun Week Team. As I rounded the corner of the audience their smiles lite up, seeming to say, “Today really is going to be a FUN DAY!” Just as the day before, the event began with the National Anthem and introductions of the leaders and guests.

Shortly after, the fun beings. The children once again perform poems, dances and songs. All in honor of Children’s Rights and Fun Day. The third act (which can be seen in the video blog) is a traditional warrior dance, which is traditionally performed only by males, but today the girls are breaking down these centuries old barriers and perform alongside the boys. This creates an exciting buzz throughout the audience. The dancing is fantastic. The ground vibrates and the dusty earth rises in support of the children’s passion for a positive change in their community.

Once the performances are over the children are each given a Fanta and Rwandan Donut. Such sticky excitement.

Today I have asked to interview a few members of the community about the day’s events. It may seem like such a simple thing, a day for the children to celebrate themselves, stand up for their rights and to be rewarded for their hard work, but this is an unfamiliar activity for the community.

Here are some excerpts from my interviews.

Each grade is given two awards; one is given to the overall top performer and another for the girl with the highest marks in sciences. Nizeyimana Marie Garth was the top female in science in the 6 grade at Sanza Primary school. “The books and pens will help me with my studies and the book bag will help me carry my things to school. But my favorite prize is the dictionary, because I want to become an English teacher! Thank you for the kindness and support you have given us.”

This is Damien’s second time attending Fun Day and his second time winning the top student prizes! Congratulations Damien! When Damien is at home he doesn’t have much time to study. He spends most of his free time doing chores around the house. Each day collects grass for the family cow, afterwards he walks 1 km to fetch water. How does Damien do so well in school? “I always study while I am at school and next year I will study even harder so that I will be the number one student in my class again.”

Mukamurara Beatrice, a 51 mother of 3 girls is a member of the Sanza Primary school PTA said, “Today was so special for all of the children. These school celebrations will motivate children to stay in school and work harder. It will also encourage children who have dropped out to return to school. It is wonderful to see all of the children in the community benefit from your sponsorship of our community.”

Such a simple day, truly changes lives.

I dedicate this post to 3 of my friend who have all lost a family member within the past week.

To Jessey, you have been a longtime friend of mine and supported me with my brother passed away. Thank you for your support then and you and your family are in my thoughts now.

To Hesron, I am very sorry for the loss of your 3 year-old niece. I only wish I could communicate this to you better.

To Crystal, safe travels to Canada. We will be here in Kigali when you return.

Fun Week Fun

On Tuesday night I and 5 staff headed due East until we hit Lake Kivu. The journey was in the dark and like many roads in Rwanda they twisted and hugged the sides of the mountains. The road was built by Chinese contractors; in fact it seems the Chinese build all of the roads in Rwanda. The road to Kivu is particularly impressive as it has been cut into mountainside and hovers over steep valleys, but this isn’t something I would notice until our return journey to Kigali two days later. We arrived at our lakeside hotel in Kibuye just after 8 pm and settled in for the night.

Ten hours later I awoke to the sound of waves hitting the shore line that was just beyond my window. I opened the patio door to discover the island dotted Lake Kivu. As my eyes adjusted to the rising sun I tried to envision the shores of the Democratic Republic of Congo that were just on the other side. But that is a development tale for another day perhaps, today was the first day of Fun Week.

After a simple breakfast we headed 30 minutes into the mountains, which is a really short drive. As we arrived so did the children. A teacher and a whistle guided one of the schools down the mountain and announced their impending arrival. But to their astonishment a Muzungu was cheering on their arrival. Once they caught sight, the entire school stopped in their tracks. They slowly approached and gathered around saying nothing and only able to respond to, “How are you?” with “I am fine, teacher”.

It quickly became obvious that the chosen meeting location of the local government building was not a suitable place for 2,000 children. The solution was to send them to the “field” on top of the nearby mountain.

It turned out the “field” was a pine forest, but this was a blessing as the day was spent in the shade rather than the equatorial sun. The event started with the signing of the National Anthem. It’s always a wonderful experience feeling the National pride of a country beaming through the voices of young children. Short introductions, including the Muzungu trying her best to speak the very few words of Kinyarwandan she knew, lead to the children’s performances.

All of the songs and dances were written and choreographed by the children. The theme was fighting against child related violence and the promotion of children’s rights. Each school took their turn dancing, singing, reading poems and entertaining the crowd. Given the number of children at the event it was a bit of every child for themself and they slowly pushed in on the stage area, while other children took to the trees to get the best view in the house. I’m pretty sure if I would have climbed a tree at my school’s event I would have been very quickly escorted from the event.

After the performances prizes were handed out to the top children in each class. One prize was for the overall top student, while the second was for the top performing female in the sciences. This is done to encourage female students not only to stay in school, but to work just as hard at classes that typically thought to be only for boys. The children were very proud to have won the prizes, but they really didn’t know how to react. There were so many people looking at them, they were given such nice things (new backpack, English dictionary, math set, notebooks and pens) and a Muzungu was asking them to smile for a photo! It’s a lot to deal with for sure.


After all of the prizes were handed out it was time for the good stuff, Fanta and a Rwandan donut for all! The children were organized into their classes and made to wait for the arrival of their treat. As the tops were popped off their eyes were fixated on the fizzing sweetness just out of their reach. Fanta, Coke, Sprite and a few rogue Tonics were dispersed throughout forest. Their sticky smiles were quickly filled with baseball sized donuts.

As I wondered the forest I was greeted with curious eyes and eager handshakes. I’ve recently taken to the Obama style fist bump over the grubby handshake. Thankfully they love it and laugh when I complain they are too strong. We exchanged names, said hello, found out our age and then resorted to the camera for endless entrainment of taking photos and then showing them off.


The day ended with a typical meal of bruchett (meat skewers) and chips (French fries). Contrary to my travel goals and practices I don’t have any photos of Rwandan food, but I intend on taking some photos and sharing the Rwandan cuisine with you all soon.

Videos from fun week

Children dance and sing about Children's Rights and ending violence against children.
This dance is traditionally done by boys. Today girls join in on the fun.






I don't know how they dance with pots on their heads! They are great!

The settling of dust

As I write this entry I am sitting in our gazebo in the front of our house in Kacyiru. We are incredibly fortunate to be living on a newly paved road as most homes are off a road that is off a dirt road that is off another dirt road. We are in the middle of the long dry season so many of these dirt roads have now become dust roads. Walking down any of these roads results in a dust cloud Pigpen would be jealous of. The dirt covers the lower half of your body, and somehow chemically binds to your ankles in a way that only a pumas stone and Listerine can remove it. We are told that the rainy season is coming, actually we have not been told that is coming but we have been give exact dates as to when it will be here. One source told us August 15th, another September 1st, and yet another September 15th. Each person makes their claim with great conviction. August 15th is less than 24 hours away and as it stands the skies are blue and partly cloudy, depending on the part you are looking at. Either way, once the rain starts it will be here for at least 2 months, with downpours expected twice daily, this is yet another reason we are incredibly fortunate to be living on a newly paved road. Those living on the dust roads are excited for the rains to come and wash off the 6 inches of dust, however given that all roads are on hills and they are already rutted and potholed I don’t see how a muddy, slick, rutted and potholed road is a better option. But then again, what do I know, I have only been in this country for 3 weeks. I’ll keep you posted on this one.

Kigali is very different than any place I have ever lived. Coming from Minnesota, Ha Noi, and southern Sweden the first thing that will hit you is the never ending hills. Each hill is basically its own suburb and each is connected by several windy and twisted roads. To get around town we usually hop on the local taxi buses. The system is simple, but you have to know how to use it and there are no written clues. So basically you need to know the neighborhood you want to go to and which stop it comes to. Standing on the curb you listen for the drivers to yell out Remera or Mumugi . Then you aggressively cue to get a one of the 15 spots on the bus. Once they are full they fly down the windy roads and you hope they are going the direction you need them to. As you approach your stop you knock on the roof to signal your stop. The average cost is 180 RWF or about $0.25. The average travel time from our doorstep to our destination is about 45 minutes, so just going into town takes a bit of planning and appreciation of cheap public transportation.

Kigali itself is a very chilled city, especially for its size of 1 million. The city is so separated by the hills that each suburb is mostly self-contained. The center or “town” takes less than 10 to circumnavigate by foot. The main taxi-bus stop is smaller than the bus park at my high school. Town is where head for treats such as vinegar (which I have yet broken down and paid the $4 for), potato chips, wine and western canned goods. Every purchase is scrutinized, do we really need it? How will we use it? If we buy it how much will our meal cost and how many meals can we get from it? Yes 95% of our treats are consumable.

We have been slowing getting to know the expats in the community, but since our budget is as tight as a sausage casing we pick and choose our activities carefully. The top our list has so far been quiz nights, movie nights (at friends), cheapish dinners and picking up returnables from the nearby “Smarter” super market. Emily has put together a hiking group so we hope to organize some weekend outings soon!

As for work nothing too exciting has happen in the past few weeks, but next week is “Fun Week”. I will be in the field for 4 days and fun is sure to happen! Details and photos to come! Whoop, Whoop

Election Day in Rwanda

Three weeks ago the presidential election campaigns began. I'm not going to go into much detail about the various candidates (not such a wise idea while I am a guest in the country). I will say that out of the 4 running for President (with others denied the opportunity to run) one is a clear "favorite". Kagame has more or less controlled the country since the RPF took over the country and stopped the genocide in 1994. In 2003 elections were held and Kagame officially became the President (7 year terms). For the past 3 weeks the streets have been lined with Kagame's face on all of the billboards, as trucks, motos, and cars proudly fly the RPF flag. Security has been stepped up and armed soldiers wander the streets.

On the day of the election everyone was given the day off to vote. Esron was out the door at 6 am to line-up, vote and die his pinky nail, to signify that he has voted. He returned to the house just after 9:30 am and began doing various chores around the house. My favorite of which was a washing of the rooftop. Turns out it's not burnt sienna but rather a dull corrugated aluminum color. I guess all this cleaning is a sign that the elections are running smoothly.

The day before the election rumors were floating that the Tuesday would be another official holiday to celebrate Kagame's re-election. This is in spite of the fact that the official count is not scheduled to be ready until Tuesday night. Funny that, but as I type this I am at home not at the office on Tuesday afternoon. I guess the RPF camp is pretty confidant.

As it stands I have not heard any violence nor incidences related to the voting, but I have made the decision to stay close to home and lay low. As far at the "free and fair" elections... I won't post my thoughts, but I will add that those I have spoken to have for the very most part been happy with Kagame and planned on voting for him again. Some even hope that he will change the constitution so that he may run for a 3 term in 7 years time.

Here is a link for a summary of the Rwandan election, including a video:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/08/20108943239684905.html

For those of you who are interested, here is a great and detailed summary of Paul Kagame's history:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/rwanda/7900680/Paul-Kagame-Rwandas-redeemer-or-ruthless-dictator.html

Back in the field

Thanks for all of the feed-back everyone. It is great to have your support and to hear from you. We have gotten a bit busier with work and classes start soon, so I have not had much time to write an update. So, here is a condensed version of what we have been up to!

Finally, I was able to get back in the field. It’s been exactly a year since I left HSCV and I have missed the work. I’m not the academic type, and I have been willing myself through assignments knowing it would lead me back to the field.

Last Monday afternoon I left Kigali with 4 staff, including our driver. Rwanda is small and even the most remote areas take only 5 hours to reach from Kigali (please don’t mind the rutted and washed out mountains roads). We headed to the Northern Province to visit and investigate a new Development Area (DA) in the Muko Sector. It took us only 2 hours to climb the mountains and reach our destination. The drive was amazing as we drove up the windy, twisted mountainside. It has been awhile since I’ve been on such windy roads, but comparably to most countries (US excluded) the Rwandan traffic and drivers are tame. Rwanda has 5 of the 8 volcanoes that make up the Virunga chain, with the remaining 3 in the DRC. Unfortunately we were clouded in, and I was only able to see a faint outline of one of the volcanoes in the distance.

Upon arrival in Muko sector of Musanze district we meet with the local leaders. This trip was a fact finding/ introduction our mission. This is a new sector for our work, and it was extremely interesting to see their “rights based” approach in action from the very beginning. So far I have been very impressed with their approach and commitment they make to insure the development is happening from within. Any programs funds must come from the desire of the community. This is to stay, if they build a school, it because the local community leaders (not just the officials, but the teachers, PTA, religious leaders…) have advocated for it. AAIR acts by informing the locals of their rights (land rights, access to education, women’s rights…) and helps them learn how to obtain those rights for themselves. It is a bottom-up, top-down approach that seems to be working.

But, enough of the technical aspect of what I’m doing, which may not be as interesting to you as it is to me (I just get very excited about these things). The time in the north was absolutely wonderful. I was asked to interview a few people to create a profile for our poverty analysis of the new sector. I ended up speaking to 4 people, 3 women and 1 man. Their lives are very difficult. The land is very scarce since Rwanda has the highest population density of in Africa and over 90% of the population engages in agriculture of survival. The Rwanda’s have also traditionally had very big family as a means of security (more children to help you when you are old and a better chance of having a child that make it into adulthood). However, the reality is child mortality rates are dropping at very high rate and fertility rates are remaining at about 8 per woman. This is putting an even higher burden on the limited land and resources. Part of AAIR's advocacy focuses on family planning and education related to these issues. Needless to say their challenges are immense and it can be overwhelming to hear their stories and to try to understand how great the need really is.

Their children are so sweet and so excited to see a westerner for the first time. Many of them run up to touch and say hello and try out their English, some become speechless and others cry and run to their mothers. Once the camera comes out and the snapshots are shared; the excitement is hard to contain. They are really, really beautiful children.

Later in the week Emily and I were asked to travel to the Southern Provence to help collect “stories” that will be used in a community newsletter that is sent to sponsors. The South isn’t as “mountainous” as the North, but the hills in this country are never ending. Rwanda called the “Land of the 1,000 hills” for a very good reason, but really there are so many more than 1,000.

On the first day we visited 2 schools within the Nynaze district. The first is in the process of building a playground for the students. The local PTA is the brainchild of the project. They have overseen the construction and the parents were hired to participate in the building. This is not only a source of revenue for the family, but it also builds ownership into the project. The parents and the children really view the playground as theirs and they have all vowed to care for and protect the playground. The second school was a newly built and will be used for the upcoming school year. The old school was a very difficult 2 hour walk up hill. The school had great difficulty recruiting and retaining teachers as well as students. The new school will help the areas children stay in school and continue their education. An important addition to the new school are the 12 new and private toilets for the children to use. This basic need is a major cause of girl students dropping out of school. Once a girl reaches puberty, their period can become a major point for boys to bully them.

On the second day we traveled another 3 hours into to the remote Southern mountains that border Burundi, to the district of Rhanza. At one point we were able to see Burundi, given the declining state of security in Burundi this is likely to be the closet we will get. This school has also built new toilets and classrooms. The school currently has over 1,500 students with over 40 children to a classroom on split shifts. Some of the classrooms they are using were built in the 1950s. They are more or less made of mud brick walls with dirt floors. Before AAIR’s support most of the classrooms did not have desks or chairs for the students. The children sat on stones or logs, without a writing desk. The classrooms were also very dark, no electricity and only 2 windows in each room, a very hard environment to learn anything.

I was impressed by the teachers and the parents dedication to their children’s education. As with the other schools, they were built because of the PTA advocacy and ultimately built by the parents.

We were also fortunate to be introduced to the Sara Club. The Sara Club was stated 2 years ago. The group is managed by students with the support of teachers. The Sara Club is combating such issues as bullying and Gender Based Violence (GBV) through education, peer consoling, singing and dancing.

The girls preformed a song and dance for us and it was the most amazing performance. The girls were very proud and dedicated to the performance. Their positivity and warm spirits filled the school yard.

The average age in the Sarah Club is around 13, but Divine is by far the youngest at 5 years old. She does not yet attend school, but when heard about the Sara Club’s dancing and singing she couldn’t resist. She attends every meeting, practice and event. When asked how she feels about the Sara Club she is shy and recoils, but when she is on stage she is all business. She dances with great concentration and seriousness, keeping in step with girls 10 years her senior. She is my new hero.

Well, I have gone on for much longer than I thought I would. I hope you haven’t been too board by all of my development speak, I’ll try to minimize it next time. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll send a new update soon!

Week 1 in Kigali

The first week has been eventful, yet not so eventful. Emily and I were whisked to the office on Monday morning, however not knowing that Rwanda is one hour behind Uganda we thought they were an hour late in picking us up!

Up to this point we had been told very little about the office, staff and capacity. So we were taken aback when we pulled into a large 2 story house with the a sign out the front. It turns out that there are about 30 local staff. We were given the grand tour and warmly welcomed by everyone.

We had lovely meetings with the Programs Director and HR man. The country director was out of the office as she was in Hanoi for a governance seminar. We have since been settling into the office and finding our respective place within the office. We walk to lunch each day and eat a buffet style of Rwandan food, which consist mainly of “Irish” potatoes, rice, plantains, salad, soup and either a beef or goat stew. Not bad food, but the starch based diet takes some getting used to.

On Wednesday and Thursday Emily was taken to field and shown a few AA project in the East, which consisted of a new school and toilets, water distribution and sponsorship programs. She is now writing reports based on the interviews they conducted. It looks like I will get a chance to visit the field on Monday and Tuesday. We will be heading to the Northern Province to investigate the possibility of implementing a new project. I’m waiting for more details, but it will be dealing with Food Rights and Women’s Rights (which is streamlined throughout all programs).


The Northern Province is where the volcanoes and mountain gorillas are located. Of course we won’t be doing any gorilla tacking, but it is a very mountainous region and the landscape is supposed to be stunning. I’ll be sure to bring my camera and to get few shots along the way. I’ve read a lot about the Volcanoes National Park and I’m very excited to be heading that way.

We haven’t had much time to settle into our new place, but we are getting comfortable with our new neighborhood. We are located just down the street from the American Embassy and the main Kigali police station. They are in the process of completing the new asphalt road outside our home. It should cut down on the amount of dust blown into our home.

As we were warned things in Kigali are not cheap! Kigali is very isolated, Goma being the closet city just on the other side of Lake Kivu and closet city of consequence being Kampala a 10 hour drive to the north. So things that do make their way here are very expensive. Electricity is also a major issue here and is very expensive. We have to prepay and enter a code into our meter. We have a hot water heater for our showers but only turn it on for about 10 min before our shower. All of our wash is hand done in buckets out the back. The tap water is safe to drink if you boil it ahead of time, but they put chlorine in the water, so you have to get over the taste. Most of the coffee in this part of Africa is awful, but we have found a local brand that is very nice, but it is about $6 a bag! Time for me to get a paying job!


Last night we meet up with an American from Seattle that is setting up an IT business based in Kigali. He took us to an expat type pizza place. It was nice to enjoy something a bit closer to home. However, the African cheese has done a number on our bellies, and it make take a few goes to get used to it! We are starting to meet a number of people living here and I’m sure in not time we will feel like “locals”! That said our Kinyrawandan needs A LOT of work. We are happy to have learned to say “I want”. Our first fully sentence being, “I want cabbage”. The first time we put this to use was at our local, where we were able to change it to “I want chicken”, with the intention of receiving 3 pieces of chicken. Unfortunately an hour later and many confused looks between us and the chef we were given 3 whole chickens! Thankfully we had had a few beers and the result was us laughing as we each attempted to consume our chickens! All is not wasted as they are waiting in the fridge and will be turned into a huge pot of chicken soup! Lesson learned!

Tonight our boss is taking the 3 of us “out”. We don’t really know what this means or will entail, but I’m sure we will have some stories to tell.

Photos of Uganda have been posted on my Facebook and Rwandan photos are soon to come!

Whew!

We finally made it to Kigali. Our time in Uganda was wonderful. I fully recommend the country to those looking for a trip to Africa in a bit less traveled country. The countryside is amazing, the people are friendly and the food is... well starchy (but not so bad in flavor). We didn't have enough money to do they typical things such a visit the National Parks and go on Safari, but we managed to squeeze in a few
amazing days mixed with a few days of pure relaxation.

We are very saddened about the bombings in Kampala. We were lucky not to be in Kamapala during the bombings. Uganda is struggling to find a legitimate lot for itself. The bombings were from terrorist outsiders and do not reflect the general safety nor tone of the country. It has been nearly ten years since any violence of this magnitude has happen. Hopefully Uganda will be able to move forward and tourist will still come.

To save some cash and for the sake of adventure Emily, Joss and I hopped on the Jaguar bus from Kampala to Kigali. The bus departed at 3 am, so we were up at 1:30 and out of the hostel gate by 2:00 am. The bus was full and it was a struggle to fit our LARGE suitcases under the bus. Thankfully after adjusting the sacks of flour, jugs of juice, americandy and cardboard boxes they were able to spare our luggage from riding the 12 hour journey on top of the bus.

It took about 6 hours to reach the boarder. From there we were stamped out of Uganda and sent over the walking bridge to Rwanda. As an American it was easy to get into the country. I was given an entry stamp and sent on my way. Joss and Emily each had to pay $60 dollars and smile nicely. While we were at this, everything was removed from the bus for inspection a process that took an hour and a half. They set the "muzunga" (white person) suitcases aside to be looked at first. They opened the first suitcase and asked us to describe what was inside, but before we could say anything another man came up and said something in Kinyarwandi. Turns out they made the decision that there were airplane luggage tags on the bag, so they must have been inspected by the airlines and are therefore fine. They then put our things back on the bus and sent us on our way.

We were told it would take about 2 get to Kigali, but it was much closer to 4. Either way we were happy to arrive in one piece and with all of our things. We hopped in a taxi and headed to our new home. We were lucky to find a place before arriving. It is a lovely little home on top of one of the many hills in Kigali. The house comes with a man named Esron. He is a guard, cook and cleaner. He is learning English and has agreed to teach us a bit of Kinyarwandi. Today he showed us how to use the taxi buses. We managed to find the 1 and only ATM in the city and thankfully it took our cards.

There are more photos and stories to come. Emily and I are on our 2nd of our Internship in Rwanda and it has already been an adventure!

Winding up of Europe 2010

In 15 days Joss and I will depart on the next adventure. Our time in Sweden has been at times too short and at other times too long, but any way you measure it has been a rewarding experience. We've made some great friends, had some fantastic adventures survived being apart and thrived while being together. It hasn't been our most crazy adventure but it has been a memorable one.

For the next two weeks Joss and I will push forward and wrap up as much as we can order to make the transition to Rwanda. I am working hard to compile as much information as I can for my thesis that is due a year from now. Joss's mum is here visiting just before we hop on the plane. Like usual there is a lot to do and a only days to fit it all in.

We land in Uganda on July 1st and will spend a few weeks traveling. We've booked a room at the Red Chili backpackers and will use it as our base. We're looking forward to many amazing things such as safaris, white water rafting down the Nile and repelling (I might have to push Joss of the cliff, but it will happen). I can't wait. We have our travel book and bird book. East Africa is known for having amazing birds, so we are looking to pick up a pair of binoculars before we head out.

Emily will meet us in Uganda on July 9th and we'll we will make our way to the south west and head towards Rwanda. Once we make it over the boarder we will only be a few hours from Kigali where we will call home for the next 6 months. Right now we are looking for a place to live and we are finding the cost to be more than we had expected. The good news is that we have made contact with a few people living in Kigali and they have been a great help. One of the people we have been emailing is actually a former LUMIDer and she responded to an email I had posted in a group forum. She had no idea that I was in the LUMID program but a few emails back and forth soon revealed a common connection to Lund University.

Last week Joss and I took a quick trip to Prague on our favorite WizzAir. We ended up couch surfing with a family we found online. They were the most generous and fantastic family we could have found. They lived atop of one of Prague's hills, so we got plenty of exercise walking to and from the city each day. Prague is an amazingly beautiful city and every turn reveals an amazing piece of history. We had 3 full days to enjoy the city's parks, pubs, museums, restaurants, street vendors, cafes and sunshine (something that has been disappointingly missing this year in Sweden). We could have easily spent a week in the city and would have loved to have the time to visit some of the towns dotted in the surrounding mountains. We hope there will be a next time!

Joss's Mum arrived in Denmark from the Faroe islands last night. Joss will spend a few days in Copenhagen with her and then she will come as stay with us for a week and a half in Lund. We have a few trips in the region planed and hope the sun will show itself for our last days in Sweden.

A year from now I will graduate from the LUMID program. You are all more than welcome to join me here in Lund to celebrate the accomplishment. So have a look at your calendars and mark a trip to Southern Sweden for early June 2011!

April in Sweden

Hej San everyone,
Today was the first day of my last course of my first year of Grad school. Very exciting. In less than 2 months time I will be half way through this journey. It's crazy how fast the time in one's life goes by. I'm so lucky to be living a life that is equally exciting and fulfilling.

The snow has finally melted and early spring flowers are popping all around Lund. The city has put out the flower boxes and filled them with Easter daffodils.

Joss and I stocked up on food and wine for the long Easter weekend. I've had the last week off for Easter break and it has been nice to have rest before the last push of the school year. In 2 months time I will have completed my first year of Grad school, with one more to go. I am 95% sure that I will be taking the Internship offer in Kigali, Rwanda. I've also been offered an Internship in Uganda, but I am more interested working in Rwanda. If possible I will work something out where I can work at both locations, but that is up in the air at this point. Other LUMID (my program) students have worked in Rwanda and I've exchanged a few emails with them. They have enjoyed their time there and one stayed on to work with a UN organization.

The plane tickets to Rwanda are very expensive, so most likely Joss and I will fly to Uganda and either take a bus or fly from there. It will save us about half of the cost doing it this way. Given our finical situation we need to take advantage of savings where we can. Also, this way we will be able to spend a week or so in Uganda. Times are exciting for us. We are working out our visa and getting our shots. Seems it will is wise to get our Yellow Fever shots before we head out. Actually they won't let us in without them.

In the mean time we are enjoying Northern Europe as best we can. Last weekend we hopped on a ferry to Rostock, Germany in the former East Germany. It's a lovely little city on the Baltic Sea. We were fortunate enough to stumble the Easter market where we were able to enjoy bratwursts, sauteed mushrooms with garlic sauce, fried potatoes with apple sauce (yes a bit strange indeed), curry sausage, and a variety of beer. Needless to say it was an enjoyable day. On Sunday we headed to Warnemunde, which is a seaside resort town that was a favorite vacation get away back in the day for leaders such as Castro. Today it is a cute little port town where you can walk around eat, drink and shop. A really nice little get away. It was a bit cold where we were there, but I'm sure in the Summer time it is lovely.

Anyway, I should be getting to my studies so that I can work out what this development thing is all about.

Enjoy the photos and drop me a line when you can.

Also, when you get the chance follow this link....
http://llamatown.wordpress.com/ Joss's blog, he updates it every so often. It is his account of our life. Take some time to read it over, and stop by from time to time.