Driving In Rwanda

Here are some thoughts about driving in Rwanda.
Right side steering wheels make it difficult to see around trucks as you try to pass vehicles on winding mountainous roads. The government is making it illegal to sell right steering wheel vehicles. We drive on the right side of the road so it makes sense to have left handed steering wheels.

There are more motorcycles registered in Rwanda than four wheeled vehicles. Dodging "motos" (motorcycles) is a skill. Many of the motos are under powered and driven poorly. Directional signals are used for everything except turning. The vehicle before you will signal to you if it is "ok" to pass. Trouble happens when a. they tell you wrong or b. they want to turn left in front of you and you assume they are signaling for something else. Almost all vehicles are under powered going through the mountains so be ready to crawl behind slow moving trucks until you finally find a straight away to pass. Police are positioned at various spots throughout the country. They will stop you if they think they can find a violation. Mostly trucks and public transport (buses and vans) are stopped. "Coaster" Toyota buses are mid size vehicles that don't make as many stops as the smaller 18 passenger vans. On Coasters you get your own seat. On vans they cram as many people as possible into a 15 passenger van! They cost the same amount of money. Vans stop many times. Coasters are express. If you are lucky you live where the bus starts or you are stuck to ride the vans. It costs 90 Rwandan Francs to ride from Gitarama to Kigali (1 hour) which is around $1.80. Motorcycles are the biggest hazard on the road, vans and small buses are next. Then there are the huge coaches that travel between countries. There is a huge (it looks even larger on the small windy roads of Rwanda) red bus that travels from Burundi to...I don't really know where it stops...maybe Uganda. It looks very tippy as it winds up down the roads.

While there are lane markers to let you know if you are in the right or left lane, it seems that a lot of drivers just wander all over the road never picking a lane. Horn honking is constant. While at first I thought it was just a courtesy honk, I now think that it is a passive aggressive way of saying "I am ticked at your driving!" Honking your horn not only tells the vehicles around you that you are coming it also tells everyone that they are idiots and that no one really knows how to drive! lol Roundabouts are wonderful inventions...or at least they look good. The problem is when hardly anyone knows how to drive on them. Aggressive driving is the only way to survive. Grab a line and go for it. If you are exiting in the next turn you are to signal and proceed to the outside lane.

Toyota has a corner on the market. It would appear that 90% of all vehicles are Toyota brand. I don't know how they got such a hold in Rwanda but Toyota is the "ticket". Models are a little different than in the U.S. The 4Runner is a "Surf". Land Cruisers are similar but there is also a Prado Land Cruiser. Corollas are similar. Rav 4s are very popular and look like their U.S. counterparts. Mercedes makes a model that is only $12,000 and it appears that Benz's are as "elite".

Trip to the Airport

We are sitting at the airport at Bouron Cafe waiting for Andria's long-time friend Margaret Larson to arrive. It is always a little surreal coming to Kigali and the airport. For one thing, Kigali is so different than the rest of Rwanda. It is like the modern world compared to Little House on the Prairie. You see fashion and tall business buildings in the city. In the airport I am looking around and see well dressed people everywhere. There are many muzungo's (white people) waiting like we are to pick up someone that has arrived on Brussels Air. Andria just enjoyed a pinene sandwich and some REAL ice cream at the famous Bourbon Cafe. Again it is very different to what we find in Gitarama.

We are very excited to have Margaret Larson with us for the next 7 days. Her family has their own nonprofit "Micah Global Foundation" as they dedicated themselves to being a "missional family". The whole family, their kids are grown, travel the world and help bring the love of Jesus to many. We hope that we can make a good connection with Margaret and that she will feel "called" to make many more trips back to Rwanda. This is a scouting trip for her to see if she could bring teams next time.

Living Water

The past two days I have been hauling water for the orphanage. We are rather spoiled here because normally we have city water piped up to us on our hill. During the dry season the water pressure doesn't reach us, so we have to haul water from a natural spring. We take four 20 gallon buckets (80 liters) along with six 5 gallon (20 liter) to the spring. To get to the spring is part of the adventure. It is a good 15 minute drive over a rather rough road. Once we arrive we park at the top of a steep hill and walk down to the two pipes that have water continually flowing from them. It takes about 1 minute for our jerry can (a yellow plastic container that once held cooking oil) to fill. Each 20 gallon container is given two jerry cans (5 gallons each). Because of the weight we carry up the 20 gallon containers 1/2 full to the top of the 100 yard steep trail to the vehicle (a Toyota SUV). When all four 20 gallon containers are 1/2 full we then carry enough water up with the jerry cans to top off the big containers. It takes three or four of us to lift the big containers into the back of our SUV. We put giant leaves in the containers to act as baffles to stop the water from spilling out as it sloshes when we drive home. The jerry cans are also filled and instead of nice water proof lids we have to use plastic bag parts to cover the 3 inch holes. Once in place we use vines found on the ground to tie the plastic in place. The jerry cans are set on top of the lids of the large containers to act as weights to keep the lids in place as the water spills out from all the bumps.

Once we arrive home we bucket out the water into our large 5,000 liter tanks. Water will be locked in these tanks and a key is given to one person who will ration out the water. With construction going on and the need for concrete we make two trips each morning to provide enough water for construction, cooking and cleaning. Clothes washing is only done out of necessity. Bathing is always done by using a bucket, but even that is cut way back because of lack of water.

Reflecting back on the day my arms are already aching from just two days of helping carry water. As I gather water I look at all the people who are also gathering. Many children with all size jerry cans. Most of them are excited to see me and yell out "muzungu"! which means "white person". I smile and greet them and they break into a huge smile that is so common here. Then I also see many older woman..not more than one man did I see today. Apparently it is a woman's job, as well as children, to gather water. I have read that many young girls must gather water all day long, usually spending hours walking, and end up not attending school. I wonder what each person's story is as I look into their eyes.

Then I think about Jesus who proclaimed "I am the living water". I never really thought about the importance of water when I lived in America. Water was always readily available. But now I have a different perspective. Water is the difference between life and death in Rwanda. Water is "living" water. Our relationship with Jesus is a matter of life and death too. Funny how moving across the world can change my perspective.

Mission Team Visits Urukundo

Mission Team from England stayed at Urukundo for a few nights. Soccer was the favorite pastime!
A team from North Phoenix Baptist came to visit. Their travels to Urukundo were somewhat eventful. The team flew into Johannesburg and missed their midnight connecting flight to Rwanda. So instead of arriving on Wednesday they arrived Thursday night late. On the way to pick them up at the airport our sedan broke down. We were stuck at a gas station with one good vehicle and one not so good. What do we do now? The team is arriving in 30 minutes and we are still trying to get our second vehicle going. We need both cars because the team is too many to fit in one.

We called our friends Isaac and Serrina from Victory Orphanage. They own an old model Land Cruiser that has seats in the back that run perpendicular to the front seats. Finally we got a hold of them and were on our way. Long story short, we picked them up in the "safari mobile" and were headed home to Urukundo (an hour drive). What an adventure!

Friday was filled with laughter and sharing. Andria's junior high youth leaders were Dan and Cindy Snead, so they had fun remembering some youth trips to Mexico and other places that Andria's faith was formed. It was like have family visit. Very encouraging!!

We showed them Urukundo and future spots for a school and clinic. We then took them to the market for a fun, chaotic experience of what it is like to shop for your daily needs. Our final destination was John's farm. A 45 minute drive and we were at his property. Kids came swarming and wanted to meet the visitors. Cameras took some great shots as children crowed around to see what they looked like in the little windows of a camera.

Overall it was a fun day and Saturday came too quickly as we took them into Kigali for some craft shopping, lunch (German Bakery) and to the airport. Thanks to Pastor Dick, Juan, Jennifer, Cindy and Dan!

We also had another team of young people from England. The four young men from their team stayed in Hope House for four days. They spent their time traveling to schools and villages bringing the joy of Jesus. They were from a community church in England. Today, Sunday, we heard from Sam as he shared his testimony. God was so good to us with two teams and some new and old friends!

Secondary School Kids Return

Discor and nine other children returned from boarding school on Friday, July 16th for a month long break. Urukundo has 37 total children for the next 30 days. There are also Papa John and Mama Hope's children (another nine) that are just as much a part of the Urukundo family! Life with the secondary school children home is very good. Boarding schools are the best way to ensure a good education and life skills. We send our children to King David's Academy. A christian boarding school about an hour away. It is the oldest boarding school in Rwanda. King David's Academy has taught our children well. The first morning with the high schoolers brought a list of chores that were completed without us even asking! The maturity between those in boarding school and those in primary is big...not only because of age but because of life experience.

We hope all our children can go to boarding school for their secondary education. It costs much more than public schools but it is worth the investment. The need for quality education is so evident with the return of our children. Education creates opportunities. Christian education empowers young people to be the Christ-led leaders of tomorrow. We hope to see many more schools developing as more and more children seek to further their lives through education.

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

Eight children stay in the nursery. The nursery is located in the boy's dorm. We (Todd and Andria) stay in one of the rooms of the boy's dorm. Do you have any idea what the noise level is at 6AM with all those babies? If they weren't so cute, it would be easy to get a little cranky some mornings!

Our children from Hillie at 3 months to Claude, who is 4 years old the nursery is always filled with great energy. The picture above is what each morning looks like during bath time. It is quite a job giving eight children baths! Vaseline is then smeared all over the children. This apparently is an African thing..it seems to work well for their skin! We love our babies! If you ever want to come and share some of your love, you are always welcome to Rwanda!

Living Water International

Having clean, accessible water is a luxury in Rwanda. Most homes have no running water. Woman and girls are relegated to "fetching" water every day (the picture above is of a woman who filled her Jerry can while we were watching and was hiking up a very steep hill to bring water back to her house). For girls this usually means no school because the distance it takes to go for water takes up most of their day. Jerry cans are the most common container for water. Large or small they are visible all over Rwanda. They are made of plastic and are yellow and look to hold 3 to 5 gallons. Whether it is being balanced on a head or strapped on to the back of a bicycle, Jerry cans are the main container used to get water from the source.

Urukundo is fortunate. They have water from the big company Electrogaz. It is like having "city water". It is piped into our property and stored in large plastic tanks. The water is filtered for drinking. During the dry season the water runs dry (dry season can last from 1 to 3 months). A couple of weeks ago the water stopped coming for three days. We were afraid that we would have a longer than usual dry season. Fortunately the water has come back (usually just in the evenings) and has filled our tanks again. The cost for water is anywhere from $400-$600/month to have Electrogaz as our supplier. This expense increases during the dry season when we have to haul water from the "swamp". The cost of fuel and labor makes water even more expensive during our dry season.

So we started calling everyone we knew to see if they had any contacts with well drilling companies. We recently had Living Water International visit our campus. They are a Christian organization that specializes in drilling wells and sharing Jesus. They came and gave us a bid of $20,000 to drill a well below our property for the community (an estimated 3,000 adults and children will directly benefit from this well). Then a pump will be installed to bring water to Urukundo from this community well.

We are praying to see if this is the best course of action. We need to raise part of the funds to have Living Water International dig.