Stories from Rwanda pop out in conversation with me all the time. Many of them are thought provoking- like this one...During my last week in Rwanda, I ate lunch with some of my Rwandese friends on the CDC team. They asked a lot of questions about what is different in D.C. as compared with Rwanda. I joked about how lunch at NIH is not a buffet (luckily!) and how there are not usually toothpicks on tables (which is common practice in Rwanda- maybe because the meat is tougher?). One of my friends, "A", told us he had been to Washington DC a few years ago. He had never been to the States before and stayed there for four days while in training. Here is one of the many compelling things he had to say:
A: There are many traffic circles in D.C. like Kigali.
Me: True! And similar crazy driving and lack of traffic rules in both cities.
A: In D.C. there are a lot of monkeys living in these circles.
Me: What! Did you say monkeys?
A: Yes, a very small kind with long furry tails and little hands breaking apart thier food.
Me: Oh you mean squirrels!
The group : What is a squirrel?
Me: Uhmm...rodent family I think, like rats...not monkeys.
(Laughter)
A: Also, there are a lot of people living in the circles.
The group: What! There are houses in the circles?
A: No, they sleep on the ground and cover themselves with plastic.
The group: Why? (looking to me) Is there no space for houses in the US?
Me: No, we have plenty of space for houses.
The group: Well, is there not enough building materials?
Me: No, we have plenty of materials.
The group: How do they cook food? Do they eat the monkeys?
I stumbled through an attempt to describe how and why homelessness exists in the US. I conveyed that life can get very complicated (especially in a larger city in the US) in terms of buying or renting a house/car/utilities/etc. and we have to navigate these complex systems which require a stable income. When this isn't possible, losing your house/car/etc can happen very quickly. I mentioned how some people suffer from disabilities or physical and health ailments and are unable to navigate and function in these systems. They may not have or be near family members who could help. I also mentioned post-traumatic stress from fighting in a war; natural disasters destroying homes; shifts in skill sets needed among workers; and the impact of policies/politics on government services available to adults.
In Rwanda, there are essentially no adults without a place to stay. When you do not have money to pay for a house, as a last resort you go to the forest, cut down some trees, get some mud, and make a home. And before that option, there is an open door policy among families and friends-who-are-like-family. It is understood that you can just show up to stay with them if needed. They place a high value on "families" and cast a wide net defining their family members. In my short time there I received the warmth of many friends considering me to be part of their "family", and telling me that next time I come to Rwanda I need to stay with them.
