Our last week here has been just as eventful as the past five weeks. Despite it being rainy season we have had two days of sunshine so we have taken advantage of this by sitting on our porch. The locals seem to think this is an invitation to come and speak to us and so consequently come onto our porch completely uninvited and unannounced. Children like to drop in and say hello on their way back from school and we have had a number of dinner invitations from random adults who are passing that we have politely declined. This sums up the friendliness of Rwandan culture and is something that we will really miss when we are home.
The evenings here have been quiet to say the least. On Monday night we had a 3 hour power cut which meant no lights, no laptops, no cooking, no washing and no films to watch. We decided this week we wanted to know what life in the centre we are working in was like at night. On Tuesday we put the girls to bed which was one of the highlights of the trip. We arrived at around 7, taught them the Macarena and did a bit of dancing. They had rice and kidney beans for dinner and then shockingly enough the moment dinner finished they all decided they wanted to go to bed. We went and said goodnight to all of them and had a look at the sleeping arrangements. Even though we knew that two children shared a single bed to see it in person was very shocking especially since the 18 year old was sharing with an 8 year old. The girls seemed very happy but to us it was a very strange realisation and not something we had seen for ourselves before.
On Thursday night we headed to the Kayonza boys centre for music and we stayed for their dinner. There was a power cut so each table had a candle stuck to it which made for a very lovely atmosphere. The boys (like all Rwandans) pile their plates ridiculously high and we often find ourselves wondering where all the food goes especially since everyone is so skinny. The rush for the food is extremely fast as they are definitely worried they won’t get their fair share. We have been told a number of times that we do not eat enough but by that time we are so stuffed we cannot eat anymore.
On Saturday we decided we wanted to have a leaving party so we could say goodbye to all the children together. As our last centre competition was such a success we decided to hold a drama competition and debate in the morning followed by party games and painting in the afternoon. The drama competition was brilliant and was totally unexpected as the centre managers had told us that they didn’t really understand the task. Yet, in true Rwandan style they pulled it out the bag. Each centre did sketches, songs and dances and the imagination of these children is exceptional. The boys for example had three sketches that included a man who had bought a talking belt, a man who had swallowed a goat and who now had string attached to him, and a man who had four arms. The girls too did a hilarious sketch which involved a large teacher teaching his class how to eat. The content was very unexpected and very entertaining. The girls won the drama competition due to a very well rehearsed dance routine that included elements of the Macarena.
The SACCA staff wanted to have a debate to continue the lessons they had been teaching the boys which was that reintergration and family life was better than centre life. Legally the children are only meant to stay in the centre for a year before being reintegrated with their families or adopted families. It is therefore in the Staff’s interest to have the children believe that centre life is only temporary and that family life is the permanent solution. Yet in reality many children get reintergrated and then return to the centres as they are not happy at home. The motion therefore was that family life was better than centre life and each boys centre took a side. It was a highly biased debate as the chairperson was a social worker who was trying to emphasise the importance of family. We were quite surprised by the topic of the debate but the boys took to it very well and produced some solid arguments. Obviously the family side won.
In the afternoon we created a party with colourful paper chains on the walls and balloons everywhere. We had made some parcels for pass the parcel and it took awhile but the kids eventually understood the game and were getting excited by the dares and presents. We had then organised for some very large pieces of paper for each centre and some paints. The only paints you can get in Kayonza are powder paints or house paints so we had fun trying to get the consistency of the powder paints correct. The children each put their handprints on the paper and then had great fun painting each other and us. It was raining so we all went outside to wash the paint off and they have created some murals (word?) for their centre walls. As a present we had brought five pineapples to share amongst the children and this went down a treat! We said goodbye to the Kabarondo boys as we would not see them again which really made us realise how close to the end we were and how hard saying goodbye to the children really is.
As it’s our last blog we thought we would reflect on our time here and what we and the children have gained from the experience. Our first thoughts were that the Africa that you see on TV and Rwanda are very different. It seems that Western society sees Africa as a whole country and forgets that each country has its own traditions, situation and culture. Although we have experienced poverty, and worse poverty than we could imagine, we do not have a sense that the country are trying to be the West. The people make the most of their lives and what they have and most seem very happy. The people here are some of the friendliest and most generous people we have ever come across.
The children in the centres are a prime example. Despite their difficult and horrible pasts they are smiley, happy, lovely children who act as a large family and who look after each other in the most admirable way. They have really shown us that genetics doesn’t make a family and that because they all have something in common they are compassionate and understanding especially to newcomers to the centre. The children are so ambitious and want to have families and better lives for their children than the childhood they experienced.
SACCA does, not to be clichéd, an incredible job in taking children off the streets, looking after them, supporting them when they leave and reintegrating them into their families. We would really like to help raise awareness and money for SACCA and the work they do. If you would like to donate to SACCA please head to the World Jewish Relief Website. We have had the most amazing experience and can’t believe it is over. We can’t recommend Rwanda and SACCA enough and will never forget the experience.
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