Rwanda

When I said Rwanda was on the list of countries I was visiting, most people seemed a little concerned or shocked. When you mention Rwanda, the thing that comes to mind for many, is the horrific genocide that happened there 24 years ago. And wow, visiting some of the memorial sights and talking to people who experienced it first hand is something there are no words for. Having said this, what an amazing country, which has come so far! Such beautiful people.

Land of a thousand hills

The first thing I noticed when arriving in Rwanda, is how clean and tidy it is. I did not know that it is known as the cleanest country in East Africa, and they have banned plastic bags! They’re ahead of a lot of 1st world countries. 

They have this very interesting tradition in Rwanda called Umuganda. It means ‘coming together in a common purpose to achieve an outcome’. On one Saturday every month, communities come together to do a variety of public work, it can be anything from cleaning streets, cutting grass along roads, or repairing public facilities, roads or building houses for vulnerable. I’m not sure of your view on this, but I think it is wonderful, and the results are certainly evident when you travel through Rwanda

This is the church where my taxi driver, at the age of 3 years old, was found walking over dead bodies. He lost his parents, grandparents and 3 siblings. They were amongst about 400 people killed in this church during the genocide.