Tales from Rwanda: September 2007

Today is an important day here in the office, it's the last day of the fiscal year for the government. We've been working very hard on the 500-page PEPFAR Rwanda country operational plan (2008 budget plan). We had a ceremony with the Ambassador, CDC, and USAID to electronically submit the budget today.

Randolph was asked to press "send" since he is leaving next week to go to Afghanistan, after 2 years here in Rwanda.

Some of you asked what happened with the goats that I was organizing for the Secretary of Health's visit last month.

The goat giveaway went very smoothly. The community was happy, the Secretary was happy, and the goats looked happy (hopefully happy enough to breed and provide the "People Living with HIV Association" to which they were donated with lots of baby goats and they will name them after the Secretary!)

Here is a photo of the goats tied to a tree waiting to be gifted to the association.

We had a very lively event at the community health clinic which included singing, dancing, and drumming.

Near Lake Kivu in southwestern Rwanda, Nyungwe National Park is the largest montane rain forest in Africa. Pronounced "nee-young-way", this is the newest National Park in Rwanda (established in 2004). It covers 970 sq km and is home to over 13 kinds of monkeys, chimpanzees, and hundreds of types of birds. Most people visit the chimpanzees but there are a variety of trails and sites around the mountains.

Four of us left Kigali after work on Friday and drove five hours, arriving at our lodging after dark (it was an adventure driving through Nyungwe, over potholes, in the dark). We stayed at a nearby tea plantation guesthouse. It was a bit rustic but had running water and electricity. We knew we would be arriving late so we brought food for dinner with us.

Laurie, Jenny, and I

We decided to hike to see the chimpanzees. We stopped by the ranger's office the night before and were told to be there by 6AM in order to see the chimps, and we were warned that the trail is rugged. We were also told the hike takes seven hours!

Sunrise with Nyungwe Forest in the background.

We learned upon arrival that we were late and that we should have been there by 5:30AM for the best opportunity to find the chimpanzees. They said there was still a chance, so we took it. Our guide Tiery issued us walking sticks and directed us to the path entrance.

Ann, me, Jenny, Clint, Laurie, and Tiery

We walked down the road a little bit. Our guide was moving very fast.

We went downhill at a very fast pace for about 45 minutes and then started heading uphill again. There were a number of foot bridges on the path. We all tucked our pant legs into our socks.

We had heard about people getting ants in their pants after stepping on one of these colonies!

The path was clear and easy to follow, but the terrain was steep. We hiked uphill for about two hours.

The walking sticks came in very handy. As did the trackers and guides who motivated us to keep going and persevere. It was very challenging.

With the help of the trackers radioing location information to our guide we were able to find a small group of chimpanzees in the trees. Here is one of the better photos; as you can see they are pretty far away. They were fun to watch but very fast. They were swinging in the trees, making lots of noise, and moving through the forest quickly. We only saw them for about 15 minutes and then they were gone.

On the way back we took photos and learned about the forest and primates.

There were many new and fascinating plants and trees.

The views from the top of the hills we climbed were incredible.

The guide pointed out plants, and butterflies, and interesting forest facts.

Laurie, Jenny, Clint, and I- mid-hike.

We stopped at a pretty waterfall.

The guide said this is where the chimpanzees take a shower.

After the hike we rested at the ranger's station. It took almost seven hours, and was one of the most challenging hikes I have ever done. whew!

We saw Angola Colobus monkeys on the roadside.

After leaving the park area we headed to a nearby lodge where we thought we could get dinner, but learned they were overbooked and did not have any extra food. So, we drove an additional 30km to the nearest town called Cyangugu to find dinner. We were so tired and thought this was such a pain- but as it turned out we were able to eat dinner at a beautiful guesthouse on Lake Kivu.

The weather was perfect during dinner. After dinner we had to drive in the dark again to our guesthouse and in the rain!

The next morning we walked around the tea plantation, near the forest edge. (Our lodging is up on the hill in front of us.)

The tea fields and forest backdrop were amazing. I've never seen so many shades of green. Of course, I took hundreds of photos.

Jenny, me, Laurie

Laurie and I

On our drive out of the forest we stopped at a sign pointing out the River Congo on one side, and the River Nile on the other.

Although the drive between Kigali and Nyungwe is very long; the scenery is really pretty.

We stopped in Butare for lunch.

We also stopped at a Genocide memorial. In Murambi, a district in southern Rwanda not far from the city of Butare, during the Genocide in 1994 the Tutsis all ran to a church there and were told by local authorities it would be better for them to go to the technical school on the hill where they would be protected by the French army. Ten days into the Genocide - they were attacked and thousands of Tutsis died here. Years later the survivors exhumed the bodies from the mass and shallow graves from surrounding areas and buried them properly in a mass grave at Murambi. The grave contains about 44,000 bodies.

Roughly 1,400 bodies were preserved and have been placed in the school buildings. We were shown many rooms containing bodies carefully arranged on raised platforms. They have been covered in lime, for preservation. Moving through the rooms was horrifying and difficult. We were shown where a volleyball court had been set up over the original grave sites by the French army during that time. We also visited a large room where they have carefully hung the clothes of victims. This visit was sad and the experiences we learned about are so difficult to comprehend. However, I am glad we visited. It has been very important for me to learn about these events and participate in the remembrance and healing.