The Beauty of Umuganda

I think I’m starting to pick up Kinyarwanda, sort of. It started with scattered words, but now I’m beginning to hear things, to recognize the subject matter of sentences, to observe the other accoutriments of a new language (finger pointing, eyebrow raising, gesturing, inquiring). You can’t know how important this is. You can break down any barrier with a few well-timed words. And with kids, it’s simply magical. On Sunday, I walked through a very poor section of Kigali along a dirt path with Anaclet and, as happens constantly, every single kid came up to me to say hello or bonjour. To which I would reply, “Muraho. Amakuru? Ni meza? Wit wande? Jewe Matayo” (“Hi, how are you? You’re well? What’s your name? My name is Matt”). You get one of two enraptured responses: either aghast wonderment or uncontrollable exclamation. If the latter, they may follow me around for a good while, laughing and giggling with their friends. It’s a great example of language bringing people together. It’s much the same with handicrafts. By simply bringing a beautiful basket into their home, an Indego Africa customer expresses respect for the culture of an artisan thousands of miles away (you can make that happen – click here). Pretty cool.

But, for a lesson in civics and ethics, we should look no further than Kigali the morning of every last Saturday of the month. Like me, you won’t believe what happens. It’s called umuganda. Everyone leaves his or her home and proceeds to clean, tidy up, trim, repair and just generally upgrade their local neighborhood. Everything from raking leaves to cleaning up trash to fixing broken things to helping the poor - it’s a total community effort. I’m not sure from where this directive and initiative emanated (apparently it’s very longstanding), but it’s a pretty impressive phenomenon. Combine that with a welcoming and hard-working attitude, and it’s easy to see why Indego Africa chose to launch its handicraft and Hand Up program in Rwanda. Everyday it’s confirmed: This country is really on the right track.

President Museveni is OK

Representing Indego Africa, I attended the 1st Annual East African Community (EAC) Investment Conference here in Kigali. Little did I know when I signed up that the heads-of-state of the EAC would be in attendance (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya). President Museveni of Uganda impressed early as a light-hearted character. First, his military attaché (in full dress uniform with beret) would constantly be fetching and giving Museveni things (folders, pens, tissues), then delivering an exceedingly rigid salute to him each time. Museveni also elicited numerous laughs during his speech. Noting that the EAC had recently negotiated tariff-free exports with the US and EU on thousands of products, he then rather dryly commented that: “Now we need things to export there!” President Kagame of Rwanda (pictured right, kind of) was considerably more subdued, but he exuded a quiet confidence as every other head-of-state noted Rwanda’s achievement and applauded its organization of this conference in record time. In his speech, and echoing Indego Africa’s mantra, Kagame preached the value of trade and encouraged the attendees to challenge “the aid dependence syndrome.”

Later Thursday evening, I joined a new friend of mine (Michael Grosspietsch, founder of eco-tourism agency New Dawn Associates) to his weekly poker game with some other expat guys: a European Commission consultant, an employee of CHAMP (an AIDS non-profit) and a freelance aviation software engineer. While not much of a gambler, I amassed a nice little pile of chips and survived the high-stakes table to take home 300 RwF (about $0.60). More importantly, I got an education in Rwandan labor law and corporate registration from Michael, which should come in handy when Indego Africa formalizes its status in Rwanda.

In other linguistic news, I marveled this week at the universality of certain English words. When Anaclet and I were explaining complex invoices to women at Covanya, it struck me that Anaclet used the word “OK” a number of times while speaking Kinyarwanda. I know that “OK” is used in German, English and many other languages (the French being hold-outs with their “d’accord” – not catchy at all), but I didn’t expect it in a Bantu language. I don’t know the origin of the word (sounds like a Wikipedia assignment), but it reminded me that linguistics is fascinating.

Covanya and Cell Phone Etiquette

Today marked a potential turning point in the launch of the Hand Up program in Rwanda. Anaclet and I spent a great hour with one of the country directors for Women for Women International based here in Rwanda. W4W takes an appropriately wholistic approach to the development of women, giving them training in income-generating skills and life skills over the course of one year. Sponsors in the US support them during this time and, after their training is over, the women either transition into cooperatives or launch their own initiatives. It’s a truly great program and we’re hoping that W4W trainers will provide their valuable expertise to Covanya (weaving) and ANGE (life skills) in the coming months. We couldn’t be more pleased.

We also visited Covanya for the first time on my trip. Our primary weaving cooperative, the women at Covanya seemed to be doing incredibly well. It brings me so much joy to let them know how they’re representing their country and educating an entire nation about their culture. They laugh and smile broadly when I tell them that our website gets 200 visitors per day from around the world and that their products are in prestigious museums, like the US Holocaust Museum and Art Institute of Chicago. We also learned an interesting fact today about who we’re helping. Apparently, many of the women are nearly-blind and one of the few things they can do is produce our plateau baskets. To think, we can make them feel productive and valued by simply buying a basket. What an awesome feeling. If you’d like to have it too, just CLICK HERE.

Around this point in my posts, I like to throw in little tid-bits and observations from the day. Today I noticed something unusual about how cell phones are used here. For those of you unaware, the cell phone has become the ubiquitous form of communication in Africa and everyone, from the big boss man to the oldest woman, has one. I’ve been noticing lately that lots of my conversations with friends and colleagues have been lasting 59 seconds. For one thing, that’s likely due to the fact that you pay by the minute. But there’s another socio-cultural angle at play. Only the person who places the phone call needs to pay. I gather that it’s considered polite if the call recipient gets to the point, so that the caller can hang up in less than one minute. An interesting phenomenon has developed whereby pleasantries are significantly curtailed on the phone and, if I receive a call, I feel the need to get to the point toute suite. Also, I believe Rwandans are developing an internal one-minute clock that I don’t yet possess. It explains why I’m occasionally cut-off mid-sentence and then, glancing at my phone, it reads “Last Call 0:59”. I better get with the program before I’m offending my friends.

How Many Cows for Your Daughter?

Our coordinator Anaclet invited me this past weekend to a very important family ceremony in Rwanda: the “dote” (dowry). One of his cousins/nieces/distant relatives (it’s never easy to tell how everyone is related) was being married to the young man of another family. This is not an arranged marriage (the couple chose each other freely), but Rwandan families still participate in a traditional ceremony to determine how much the groom’s family must pay (in cows) to the bride’s for the right to marry their daughter. More than being solely traditional, it’s also incredibly humorous.

The families sit under two separate tents, separated by an avenue of straw and grass. After the entrance of the heads of the family, the rest of the families take seats. The most important men then go about exchanging drinks (in this case Fanta and sparkling apple juice) and toast each other’s family. Then, the haggling begins in jest. The groom’s family complains that their son cannot sleep without the bride. The bride’s family suggests he go to a hospital. Then they propose that the groom’s family accepts a lesser daughter from their family (she is suitably embarrassed). The groom’s family then makes a low-ball offer (say 4 cows) and the bride’s family scoffs. There are lots of winding speeches and vociferous laughing.

Finally, the families agree that the pair should be married and send out a band of brothers to inspect the cows. It is entirely feasible that the groom’s family will try to pass off lesser cows. The brothers return and announce that a price of 8 cows has been agreed. Both sides are content and offer toasts of non-alcoholic champagne. Next comes the bride in fantastic traditional outfit. The couple sits in a tent with warriors from both families. As expected, the agaseke basket features prominently as the carrier of various gifts between the families. Of course, you can get one from Indego Africa for your family’s next special event on our website (CLICK HERE).

The real fun starts after the ceremony. After alcoholic beverages are distributed, each side begins to roast the other on mistakes that they made. For example, the groom’s family complains that the bride’s family clapped at the wrong times. The bride’s family shoots back: the groom’s family spent too much time greeting each other rather than getting seated. What follows is copious food and lots of curious musical selections (the Kinyarwanda versions of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” and, of course, Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You”). The most striking feature of the whole ceremony is the amount of time everyone takes to greet each other. It is noisy, raucous, flamboyant and just incredibly welcoming.

I understand that I may be inspecting cows on behalf of Alexi’s family for his dote. As such, I’m trying to build an instinct for the rumpness of haunches. Any advice out there?

Trust Me: Sit by the Driver

Lots of shuttling across town today, using the whole variety of transport options: moto taxis, auto taxis, overloaded public bus, Alexi's vehicle. We met in the morning with Pastor Azarias, who is supporting ANGE as part of his mission work at Mt. Zion Temple Church in Kigali.

ANGE needs plenty of guidance on managing its affairs - everything from banking to document storage to invoicing to organizational management. The women at ANGE live on very little. Over 90% make less than $0.50 per day and support large families with that amount. Many of the women have AIDS, so it is not easy for them to work all the time. Anaclet, Azarias and I briefly discussed how we might improve the situation. We'll be looking for a part-time manager to work there, someone who can oversee their affairs on a regular basis. We also hope to have some university interns pitching in on that front. Perhaps local NGOs can help with AIDS drugs. Of course, funding is part of what holds us back. To read more about ANGE, or consider donating to help them out, click here.

I'm reminded today of one joyful part of living in Kigali: the down-time on crowded VW-type buses. As an American, it's easy to see it as lost time. I'm not being particularly productive (where's my wireless internet?) and there are usually 12-20 of your closest friends crammed in next to you. Despite the constant flow of people climbing over you, the bus ride becomes a time of peaceful reflection, friendly chatter, incomprehensible (but very funny jokes), and simple bemusement at the littlest of things. Not to mention that you quickly master the art of seat selection: closest to the window or next to the driver is best (you'll have to figure out why on your own). Somehow I resolve more things on the bus than in my office. Ahh, Rwanda...

Arrival: Amakuru?

The Indego Africa mission (and its massive luggage) arrived safely on Thursday morning, Rwanda time. I was greeted by our in-country coordinator, Anaclet, and my host, Alexi (the Executive Secretary of Kigali - i.e. the guy who gets everything done around here).

First impressions: Everything looks about the same, with a few more new buildings. Rwanda is developing at a breakneck pace, around 6% per year, so all the new construction isn't too surprising. The weather is incredible and people greet me warmly at every turn. I'm reminded that perhaps the only word you need to know in Kinyarwanda is "Amakuru" ("How are you?"). It pays immediate dividends - simultaneously breaking the ice and demonstrating your interest in the Kinyarwanda language. Everybody smiles and says "Ni Meza" ("Very good"). That's something small but wonderful that I had forgotten about since last time.

Anaclet and I immediately got down to Indego Africa business. There's so much in front of us that we needed a good few hours to hash out a plan, everything from things we'd love to do (get help from US AID) to things which we'll get done pretty easily (buying sewing machines for ANGE). Both of us exhausted, I headed to Alexi's for the night. Tomorrow's the beginning of a 53-day sojourn. I need some rest.

Onwards to Rwanda

Welcome to the Indego Africa blog! This is a place for volunteers, supporters and friends of Indego Africa to give updates, comment on comings/goings and post fascinating content about Rwanda and our incredible partners. We'll do our best to keep everything current and interesting, including some nice multimedia.

In the inaugural post, I thought it appropriate to let everyone know that I'm on my way to Rwanda as of tomorrow. It promises to be a productive, challenging, emotional and eye-opening trip. On the agenda:

(1) Launching the Hand Up development program
(2) Producing multimedia pieces for our website and the press
(3) Introducing new products
(4) Starting an internship program in Kigali
(5) Meeting with other NGOs and learning from them
(6) Setting up the meetings necessary for us to become fair-trade certified

As usual, it's a tall order and two months just may not cut it. Before the long and grueling journey begins, I want to thank everyone who has made it possible, from those that took on volunteer projects to others that have kept me sane (mostly). We're all pulling towards the same goal: improving the lives of our partner women.

Keep Indego Africa in your thoughts and prayers. Yahoo!