Celebrating Children and Art

On Sunday the US Embassy hosted an HIV/AIDS Poster Contest Award Ceremony with many of our partners in Rwanda. The contest was announced and kids of all ages submitted posters. This was the first event I have attended with the new US Ambassador to Rwanda.

Artistic and creative talent is not always easy to find in Rwanda. I was so happy this event recognized how important messages can be conveyed through art and how we should foster this talent in Rwandan children.

One winner in each age group received a backpack full of goodies, a US-Rwandan flag pin, a certificate, and a picture with the US Ambassador. It was clear this was a really special event for these children and their families. Each child was so proud of thier artwork, I just couldn't help but take a picture of every single one.

I really liked this one above- he used Acryllic and Watercolor paints. These materials are not easy to find in Rwanda.

News and TV crews attended the event, which I think made it extra special for these kids and their families.

Here is US Ambassador Symington (front row), the Deputy Chief of Mission, and Jenny (who organized the event) with all of the winners.

There were a number of creative non-winning entries that were displayed as well.

Here is one illustration of a United States shield over the world protecting it from HIV/AIDS.

Here is a city scene including a Hummer with the license plate "PEPFAR". ha ha.

A Volunteer Opportunity

In October, the Government of Rwanda decided to switch the entire public school system to teach in English. This change was announced and requested to happen as quickly as possible. This decision has roots in the bitter history of the French role in the genocide. Rwanda has accused more than 30 French politicians, officials and military officers of supporting the genocidal regime. Since then, they have closed the French Embassy, cultural centre, international school and radio station in Kigali.

Currently, 95% of schools teach in French, and Rwanda has 31,000 primary school teachers of whom about 4,700 have been trained in English. Of the 12,000 secondary school teachers, just 600 have been taught the language they will soon be expected to teach in. So how do they make this change quickly? Well, one way is to teach the teachers. I am neighbors with an incredible woman, Meredith, who writes text books and teaches English and has been here in Rwanda helping with this transition since early fall. When I met her I learned that she has been organizing a series of workshops where she teaches teachers in large groups on weekends. She described how all of the teachers travel from far and willingly give up every Saturday because they are so eager to learn. I immediately told Meredith I would love to volunteer at one of her workshops, wanting to experience something outside the health sector in Rwanda.

She took me up on my offer and invited me to volunteer this past Saturday from 7:30am-noon. I met with Meredith, her colleague Savannnah and another volunteer teacher on Friday to review the lesson. I thought I would be teaching simple english grammar or something, but learned that the lesson encompasses grammar as well as general education subjects, reading, speaking, and an emphasis on being learner-centered. I realized this was going to be much harder than I thought! My lesson involved teaching concrete thinking skills where I would ask the teachers to describe qualities of what makes them a good teacher, teach adjectives, review math skills while making an oragami cup, and symbollically place the qualities in the cup to share out loud with the class. Ambitious!

We traveled to a primary school called Kagugu which is just outside of town in Kigali. There are over 200 teachers who travel to this school each Saturday over 6 weeks. Not surprisingly, Meredith is always looking for volunteers to help with this program. I toured the school, saw a pretty bare library (below), and was told this is truly one of the nicest schools in Rwanda.


The classrooms are also pretty bare in the school, with simple benches in the front hall. Many of the teachers wear white coats to "distinguish" themselves in this profession.

I was given a couple pieces of chalk, some scratch paper, and an eraser to teach my lesson. The teachers were separated into three groups and we each taught our lesson three times.

With the first group it was excruciatingly difficult to speak slowly. Eventually I got in a groove and believe I became quite good at pronunciation with them. I took time to write things on the blackboard and use my "nice" handwriting.

Everyone paid very close attention when following my instructions for making the cup out of scratch paper.

I enjoyed making something (I love art!) and I liked the challenge of helping them through adjectives and phrasing sentences about the qualities and skills of good teachers (kind of a social worky activity too!)

They were so happy when they had completed the cup.

What I found most difficult was helping them discuss and share independent ideas about the lesson; how to customize the lesson for their own classroom; and identifying what was learner-centered about this lesson. I was uncomfortable with silences when I asked a question that recieved no immediate answer and I initially provided the answer too fast. I realized if I waited long enough, someone usually had an answer. Also, because I was not familiar with them individually, I had a hard time knowing when to push someone to give an answer or how best to customize the lesson for them. It was helpful to ask who among them were math, science, and language teachers for example. This helped me to connect with the group and encourage them to use critical thinking about the lesson.

This experience was exhausting and I know I could not do this everyday! I really appreciated trying my hand at something new and I have a much greater appreciation for how hard it is to rapidly switch the language in the public schools of Rwanda. I was amazed by these teachers' dedication and committment toward learning. We are so lucky that there are people in every population who identify their purpose in life to teach children. This group was no exception to my previous experiences that teachers are caring and thoughtful people deserving of our admiration.

St. Patrick's Day Celebration in Kigali

On Friday night I attended an Irish Ball at the Serena Hotel in Kigali, benefiting child head of households from a village near the city. This was a great chance to dress up for once!

These are some of my neighbors from my apartment complex. We all rode in a car to the party together after taking prom-like photos in the yard! :)

The ballroom was very festive with Irish colors and balloons.

The food buffet was yummy, including cream of tomato soup and multiple chicken/meat/fish dishes.

I met the Director and Vice President of the Nsanga Association of Child-Headed Households (the charitable recipients). They were really nice guys and it was fun to connect them with other colleagues at the party so they could work the crowd for fundraising.

Noni, Jenny, and I sat together.

We joked about how nice it was to have a reason to wear heels in Kigali!

I found this hat near the stage.

There was a lot of fun dancing!

An Irish band played mostly old school rock and roll.

A picnic at the Lake

A large group of us from the Embassy went up to Lake Muhazi on Saturday- about an hour outside of Kigali- where the US Embassy owns some land and there is a small structure with a nice grill on the side of the lake. Everyone pitched in with creative picnic food, and many brought their children and pets too!

We played games all afternoon- including Scrabble...

and Bananagrams. Fun!

Culture: Hierarchy and Obedience

(An interesting article written by a an Embassy employee for our local social-interest newsletter)

--By Javan Kajyambere

One of the defining characteristics of the Rwandan culture is their respect for hierarchy. This sometimes amazes foreigners, especially those from a western culture governed by written policies, when they hear answers like, "My supervisor told me," instead of "It is written policy."
If a Westerner asks, "Did you ask your supervisor why?" The Rwandan will always answer, "No." A Westerner asks, "Why did you leave this item there when you knew it was not the appropriate place?" And the Rwandan will respond, "My supervisor instructed me to do so."
"Does this look logical to you?" "Of course it does because my supervisor said so…." And so begins the frustrating, circular exchange. Well, to better settle out this misunderstanding, we need to know the place of the hierarchy in the Rwandan society.

In Rwanda, before and during the colonial era up to the early 1950s, the father was everything for the family. The nuclear family was the primary social, administrative and even political unit. As the head of the family, the father had the last word and his decisions were never questioned. A chief oversees many people and does not have the time to explain his decisions to his subordinates. Directives are meant to be followed, never questioned. These nuclear families formed the extended family (UMULYANGO) led by Umukuru w’umulyango (the head of the extended family). Not only the members of the extended family (200 to 300 people) were under his chiefdom but also all the activities (social events like marriages, ritual functions, economic activities and problem solving) were organized and supervised by him. The members of the family owed him strict obedience and he was expected to provide protection and maximum wealth in the form of cows and land taken from other hierarchies. It was from these chiefs of extended families that the King selected his Army chiefs, Cows’ chiefs and Land chiefs based on their leadership skills and age.

The hierarchy in Rwanda was a vertical system of management and absolute subordination. For example, if a child (or any other person within the hierarchy) disobeyed the father or chief, he or she could be banished from not only the nuclear family, but the large extensive family as well. This obedience to structure is the foundation upon which the culture of the Rwanda citizen was built. Many Kinyarwandan proverbs indicate that citizens should always do whatever the hierarchy asks. One of them is a popular saying "Irivuze Umwami." This means what the King (the boss) has said; no one else can say the opposite. Or, "Umwera uturutse ibukuru bucya wakwiriye hose" meaning low level people have to follow the examples set by the hierarchy. Unfortunately, the leader may be a blind man and when all the people follow him, they all fall in a pit.

Rwandans were and continue to be taught from childhood that they are to unconditionally respect their hierarchy, from the low level to the highest level of authority. And this culture has not completely disappeared despite the intermingling with western cultures. That’s why Rwandans will rarely call their supervisors by their names, or ask questions like why or on what basis do you give me this instruction. However, the yes response does not always mean that they agree. It sometimes means, the boss instructed, I have to obey.

International Women's Day in Nyagatare 3/8/09

This past Sunday I traveled to the northwest part of Rwanda (about 2.5 hours drive from Kigali) to represent the U.S. Embassy at the International Women's Day Celebration. The gathering was held in a field in this rural part of Rwanda because the rate of gender based violence there is higher. Nyagatare is the largest district in Rwanda, with grassy plains and lower hills. It is close to the border with Uganda allowing a nice view of nearby Ugandan mountain ranges. The region also includes Akagera National Park where there is the largest variety of animals in Rwanda including buffalo, antelope, elephants, etc.

The US Ambassador was invited to this event but couldn't attend so it was offered to our HIV/AIDS team because we fund the gender based violence programs. I was happy to go and also happy that our prevention specialist was going with me, who is Rwandan. I knew that most of this celebration, especially in a rural area, would be conducted in Kinyarwanda.

There were a lot of farms, and cows in these flatter areas as we drove to Nyagatare.

Once we arrived, we exited the car as diplomats and were escorted to seats just next to the guests of honor under tents and near the podium. I don't think the diplomats typically sit with cameras like tourists throughout the event- but I didn't care, I was excited for the photo opportunities! :)

I didn't know there was a National band; they were very enteraining in their performance of the National Anthem in their bright blue band uniforms.
A number of local and national coalitions and associations paraded by with signs and show of support for women's issues.

A few men's groups also showed their support.

One group in the parade was a large partner/ grantee of the U.S. HIV/AIDS programs.

There was a group of women dancing here.

Another group performed a sketch about a family struggling because the man would drink and come home acting abusively and then the neighbors got involved and helped encourage the husband to save money and spend time with his family. I followed along with the story thanks to the translation from my colleauge.

Here a group performed traditional drumming and caused quite an appreciative stir from the audience because a woman was included in the drum line.

I thought the event was very well organized. The local Mayor, Governor, and a Minister from the Government spoke and reinforced messages about reducing and preventing gender based violence as well as strengthening families. There was a testimonial from a couple who had struggled with violent episodes from the husband but were able to reconcile and change behaviors with support from family and the community.

After returning to Kigali, I attended a dinner party at a friend's house. Hosting dinner parties is very popular here (not a lot of places to go out to!) and often the food is straight from the garden or some creative concoction from ingredients available in Rwanda. We took this picture at the end of the night because Jenny, Meredith, and I all rode with our usual taxi driver Bane. We all compete for Bane's time as he is such a great driver and a good guide to the country. We asked the house guard to take this picture for us, but he struggled with using the camera!

A Visit to Church

I visited the Christ Church of Rwanda with my friend Laurie this past Sunday. She attends regularly and plays the piano with the choir /band. I was immediately impressed by this large pretty church in the middle of a fairly upper class neighborhood (Gaculiro) in Kigali.

They were celebrating their 2-year anniversary, complete with a larger than usual crowd, cake and refreshments. Lucky me!

As others began to arrive I ran into a handful of people who I have met before. A few families from the US Embassy were there, and a number of people I knew very well when I was last in Rwanda. It was a nice feeling to know so many others in the congregation, and immediately made me feel welcome.


I skimmed the visitor materials and learned the church was started by a couple from Uganda in 2005 and was primarily financed by a Church of Christ in Oaklahoma City. They describe this as a nondemominational comunity seeking to discover the call of the Bible in unity and community revival. As I listened to the proceedings (prayers, scripture, and the usual)...I learned they take a fairly conservative approach to scripture, which is not typically what speaks to me the most. However, the Minister gave an interesting sermon and explained that he strives to provide an academic and historical approach to faith when considering modern issues relevant to Rwanda. This is something that often does speak to me. Religion and faith have had both detrimental and helpful impact on Rwanda's healing and rebuilding after the horrific genodice in 1994. I want to explore this angle in my time here in an effort to more fully experience the culture and community. I liked that songs were sung in Kinyarwanda while the sermon was given in English. The congregation appeared to be about 70% Rwandese and 30% International.


The sermon included mention of the following quote: "Confront the brutal facts, yet never give up faith."...which is from the book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. It was framed in a lesson about the "intention for gathered people and call to action". The Minister presented a challenge to consider the context of life in Rwanda, accept responsibility and understand impact of historty; while gathering with a purpose of finding solutions forward, providing thoughtful debate, and valuing security and empowerment. I liked these messages and appreciated the overall positive emphasis in the lecture. It was good food for thought.


Because it was the Anniversary celebration for this church, they invited traditional Rwandese Intore (een-or-ay) dancers to perform after the service ended. This form of traditional Rwanda "ballet" (centuries old) is one of the ancient forms of dancing in Africa. The Intore dancing is also known as “warrior dancing". They wear little bells on each foot which gives a rhythm to the entire background music. I loved how everyone smiled so widely throughout the dancing, the men jumped especially high into the air, and thanks to a friend translating next to me I learned the women were imitating cattle with arms extended as horns and the men acted as warriors and cattle keepers.