First, I visited the Nyabeheke Refugee Camp in Northwest Rwanda. It took about 2.5 hours to drive there, and the last 30-40 minutes was along a bumpy road into the hillside. We were met by the Camp Director and a project lead- both of whom were extremely hospitable and knowledgeable. They walked us through the camp and showed us many things.
The camp was built on rocky strip of land that could not previously be used for farming. It was a good use of the land, but unfortunately there is very limited green space and trees. I learned the camp houses about 13,000 refugees from the Congo, many who have arrived (and are still arriving) after fleeing the Interhawme in the Congo. Upon entering the camp, I had an immediate realization of what a hard life these families have. There are 8 "neighbohoods" of multiple white tents; 5 structures surrounding a common kitchen area. Food and household goods (soap, clothing, etc) are distributed to families in the camp. It was a food distribution day, so many families were lined up to receive corn and other grains. Some families had chickens and goats roaming through the camp; I learned that families can earn a meager wage by growing things (although garden plots are limited) or selling eggs/goat milk, etc. The refugees are allowed to come and go from the camp as they please. However, the lack of income opportunities combined with a reliance on distributed food was stark.
Ideally, people will leave the camp either by returning to the Congo through reintegration; being invited to a developed country like the States, Canada, or Europe; or by resettling in Rwanda. I expected there to be a high number of people choosing resettling in Rwanda because it is so near the Congo and has a similar lifestyle and would get them out of the camp. However, the Director informed me that not a single person in the camp has volunteered to be resettled in Rwanda. Instead they prefer to wait and return to the Congo when it is safe (even if it takes years), or secondly go to a developed country. Some people have been in the camp for over 10 years, and other refugees in other camps in Rwanda for more than 30 years. As for the option of coming to the States- the US took 8 refugees total from Rwanda last year (out of 50,000 refugees here).
Throughout our visit we were trailed by at least fifty small children. The camp Director had about 10 of them chain-linked to his hand throughout the walk, which I found heartwarming. He commented that this is common when visitors walk throughout the camp because they want to see what's going on. Like the rest of Rwanda, their school is transitioning to english, so the children regularly rattled off english greetings, and I tried to correct the errors I heard. It seemed like an unusual number of very small children. The Director said the birth rate at the camp is high at 50 births a month; and there are 3,000 kids under the age of 5 ! I asked about family planning education, and he agreed that they need to improve the materials and education message. He felt many families see an incentive for more children because they receive a larger portion of food and space in the camp.I got a quick glimpse of the medical center and the HIV/AIDS programs (funded by our grants). I learned they have hired 8 new nurses, and expect this to provide relief to overburdened clinic staff. However they are not able to provide ART services at the camp, so currently patients must travel to a district hospital for meds. The prevalence rate in the camp is about the same as the national average (3.2%) I learned that malaria is a big issue in these camps and in this part of the country.
We visited a small grant project funded by the U.S. Embassy, building mud ovens in community kitchens in the camp. We visited 5 of the kitchens around the camp to view the ovens. I learned how to make an oven and why it is more efficient than a three stone fire (the more typical format for cooking in Rwanda countryside) because it uses less firewood and loses less heat. This is critical in Rwanda (like many other countries!) where trees and wood are a finite resource.
I also visited an area where they are growing organic gardens and providing nutrition counseling and gardening education to families. In particular, they are working to teach the families how to garden using containers (old plastic oil cans, or corn bags) because of the severely limited green space and ground availability. I thought this was a really creative idea.
Toward the end of our visit I asked about the poor condition of the children's clothing and the lack of toys/activities. The Director indicated they rely on sporadic donations from various groups and in fact he had just run out of sports equipment last week. I suggested that they consider setting up a donation site in Kigali (like the U.S. Goodwill model) and he liked that idea. It seems regular distribution of clothing and children's items would really help this camp. I wish there were more time in the day, and in life! I would love to help with that kind of project.
On the way home, we were momentarily delayed by trucks stuck on the small dirt road...so I took a photo.
My second visit to the field this week was to Nyamata (about 30 minutes outside of Kigali) to see an income generation project currently funded by the World Bank. In this project they have provided pedal-powered rechargeable lights to selected entrepreneurs in small villages to sell and then make a small profit every time the buyer brings the light back to the store for "re-charging" (about once a week). There is not electricity widely available to Rwandans in villages; oil kerosene lamps are most common. So this cheaper and more energy-efficient option seemed quite popular at the sites we visited. We met with two different sellers, and witnessing their entrepreneurial spirit was very inspiring. One woman described her strategies which allowed her to sell-out the product, including allowing people to "test" the product for two days before buying, advertising by word-of-mouth, and creating a rent-to-own price structure. Really amazing! This gave me a much better understanding of how micro-finance and income-generating projects really can work. We visited the project in consideration of adapting this in a clinical HIV/AIDS clinic toward improving adherence and follow-up care. Connecting the dots between income generation and HIV/AIDS health outcomes is exciting and important to consider. 
I also visited an area where they are growing organic gardens and providing nutrition counseling and gardening education to families. In particular, they are working to teach the families how to garden using containers (old plastic oil cans, or corn bags) because of the severely limited green space and ground availability. I thought this was a really creative idea.
Toward the end of our visit I asked about the poor condition of the children's clothing and the lack of toys/activities. The Director indicated they rely on sporadic donations from various groups and in fact he had just run out of sports equipment last week. I suggested that they consider setting up a donation site in Kigali (like the U.S. Goodwill model) and he liked that idea. It seems regular distribution of clothing and children's items would really help this camp. I wish there were more time in the day, and in life! I would love to help with that kind of project.
On the way home, we were momentarily delayed by trucks stuck on the small dirt road...so I took a photo.
My second visit to the field this week was to Nyamata (about 30 minutes outside of Kigali) to see an income generation project currently funded by the World Bank. In this project they have provided pedal-powered rechargeable lights to selected entrepreneurs in small villages to sell and then make a small profit every time the buyer brings the light back to the store for "re-charging" (about once a week). There is not electricity widely available to Rwandans in villages; oil kerosene lamps are most common. So this cheaper and more energy-efficient option seemed quite popular at the sites we visited. We met with two different sellers, and witnessing their entrepreneurial spirit was very inspiring. One woman described her strategies which allowed her to sell-out the product, including allowing people to "test" the product for two days before buying, advertising by word-of-mouth, and creating a rent-to-own price structure. Really amazing! This gave me a much better understanding of how micro-finance and income-generating projects really can work. We visited the project in consideration of adapting this in a clinical HIV/AIDS clinic toward improving adherence and follow-up care. Connecting the dots between income generation and HIV/AIDS health outcomes is exciting and important to consider. 
I was also amazed that Janean had tables and settings for 15 people!
Throughout the park there are monkeys along paths and on the side of the road. This is a velvet monkey that was climbing around the roof and yard of the Resthouse.
He showed us "impatience" bulbs that explode impatiently when you touch them.
and close-up.
We all got wet from the heavy mist, standing in front of the waterfall.
On the upside, the rain left very beautiful low-hanging fog throughout the tea fields. 
