Umwaka Mwiza

Umwaka Mwiza or Happy New Year,

We brought in the New Year with a night of dancing at the orphanage, followed by a lively game of UNO, goofiness and insightful talk. The kids are amazing dancers, with expressive styles and natural rhythm. And as hard as the little babies tried to stay up for the New Year, they asked to be carried and fell asleep in our arms.  

Our team has continued monitoring our irrigation system that was implemented during the summer, and it is operational! The hydro-powered ram pump delivers stream water to the upper tank, which is in turn routed to tap stands in the fruit- tree nursery. We have also mapped out the orphanage, trained kids in efficient surveying techniques, and learned about water uses at the orphanage.

Prince, Victor’s right-hand man and future director of Children’s Village Kigarama, continues to emphasize how the orphanage’s priority is to provide for the children through sustainable income-generating streams, using the resources and ingenuity available at the orphanage. For the past several days, we have seen this resourcefulness and creativity in action. Antwan, an orphan here, spent six months training in Ruhengeri to hone his carving skills and has showcased his new works on a table in Bisoke, the older kids’ dorm. His carvings include giraffes, masks, and giant gorillas that sit on tree stumps around the orphanage.  Solar dryers, provided by the Johnson space center, are used to dry pineapples. These pineapples are available for consumption at the guest house.

We also had the chance to visit the Birambye site, which will serve as a Sustainability lodge, providing for educational opportunities at the orphanage.  The lodge can serve as an economic engine, generating funds sustainably and serving as a market for goods produced at CVK, such as crafts and dried pineapple. The site will be the first of the kind located on Lake Kivu. I am looking forward to leading initiatives to help create a business plan and get this project running. More about the project can be found here: icatis.org/birambye

And if you would like to get involved, drop me an email me at ankit.sharma@colorado.edu.

It has been great seeing the children again. When we arrived, they warmed up pretty quick. Elena continues to add to my Kinyan-Rwandan vocabulary. I learned that I really need to be careful when I say the word for hair on my head, Oomosatsi. One false move, and I could end up saying Oomosazi, the word for crazy person.

Today, we went to Lake Kivu with the kids. I commandeered a dugout canoe with Inno, who is an amazing American football quarterback unlike Sonya, who kind of throws like a girl.

I have also started an intense workout regime' with Steve, several kids, and Janak, another volunteer here. We are putting our spare materials from the irrigation project to good use. Galvanized pipe makes for an amazing pull-up bar.

It’s the end of the day and I’m beat. Hearing the sounds of the crickets in the hills is soothing – I’ll sleep well under the stars tonight.

Murabeho,

Ankit

PS. Feel free to leave comments – sometimes we wonder if this is read. Cheers!