Blog post brought to you by Curtis
Hello friends and family,
Our translator goes to University for 18 hours on the weekends, so we decided to take both Saturday and Sunday off to give him a rest.
With our two-day weekend, our team elected to visit Akagera national park for a traditional African safari. We took the time to experience Ethiopian food in Kigali on our way through. The luxurious smell of traditional spices was a welcome reprieve from the pollution and gasoline that typically assault our senses while in Rwanda’s capital.
We started on Safari the next morning in a rumbling behemoth called a Toyota Land Cruiser. The day was long but it was incredible to see the gorgeous untouched Africa savannah and the animals for which this continent is famous. It was a dream come true for me who had been dreaming of such a trip since I was a four-year-old running with my mouth agape through the Denver Zoo, and it was a remarkable reminder of the primal beauty of the country we are privileged to be able to work in.
Now, down to why we are here.
Our last update saw us leaving the Masons and a regular helpers working hard on our monolithic columns. Each one needs to be 3.8 meters high, which in freedom units is about 12.5 feet. It is marvelous to watch such skilled laborers, as they carefully lay each brick, painfully ensure it is level and square with the slightest taps of their tools producing satisfying plinking sound. They worked through the weekend, and upon our arrival Monday we saw the bottom half of 6 columns eager to reach their full destiny. To finish the tops we had to construct scaffolding; a process that takes 5 days in America was completed in about two hours. The masons coaxed massive tree trunks several feet into the ground, sending nails through them like they were twigs.
As the construction was well under control, we headed to the town center for a meeting with the chiefs from all cells (akin to counties) of our sector (akin to states) to determine the next place where we will implement a water catchment system. U was reminded of our community’s incredible capacity for organization and desire to assist each other, as the meeting was a huge success. We received input from many community leaders, including my good friends Wilson, Ignase, and Japhet who have our current water systems.
The committee decided upon 3 sites, Gasiza, Kabaya and Kibaya. The last two are just as confusing as they appear to be. Stories of people from these communities traveling upwards of 12 hours to fetch water were numerous. We immediately planned to visit Gasiza on Tuesday, and Kabaya and Kibaya on Wednesday to assess their feasibility. Travis and I were not looking forward to Gasiza, as we traveled there last year and knew it was about a 5-hour Odyssey up the side of the volcano to the border of Uganda and Congo.
Tuesday, or Tyr’s day, we drove about 15 minutes past our usual stop at Munini on a simple dirt road towards the looming volcano. After another 35 minutes of walking, both Travis and I were surprised to find we were already at Gasiza. We met with the man that the community had elected to receive the water system and the chief of the village. Both men were extremely courteous and more than happy to do whatever was necessary for a successful implementation, a sobering reminder that water really is the most base of human necessities and our system can truly be life changing for this village. Turning a 12-hour trek for water into a 5-minute trip has extreme consequences on a person’s quality of life. We quickly gathered a crowd of curious onlookers as we barked our measurements to each other to produce a rough sketch. One of the smallest onlookers found himself in the path of our mentor, and he decided to offer Travis the gourd he was holding in hopes of placating the monster that loomed before him. Travis responded by accepting the peace offering, and placing it in the back of the little boy’s shirt when he wasn’t looking.
The trip is so far a massive success, and all signs are pointing to a successful implementation well ahead of schedule. It is all thanks to the incredible support and friendship of our community, as well as our incredible implementation team. It is a wonderful thing to be a part of a group that has so much chemistry, compassion, talent, and work ethic. We have had incredible luck with everything so far, and I hope that continues.
And as promised, here are the best pictures from the last few days!
Japhet (a.k.a Moguru, meaning "legs") at the worksite with six columns
A velvet monkey in Akagera
One of many common Impalas in Akagera, a type of antalope
A hip-hop-apottomus, his lyrics are bottomless...
A zebra looking on as our driver made horse noises at it (our driver loved zebras).
An old giraffe before he walked away from us
Zebras, warthogs (called Pumba, meaning "stupid" in Swahili), and cape buffalo on the savannah
"Yeah, I crossfit."
Travis testing out the scaffolding.
Gasiza, a possible new implementation site
There are several gems in this picture. Curtis is testing out his directing arm under the supervision of Travis, who suggested "less aggressive, more condescending." Travis is holding the gourd that the little boy on the right just gave him, while that boy has both hands down his pants. Many community members were present to observe our later attempts to fix our tape measure. We have sworn not to open it again.
A view of Uganda (the top part of the hill)
An opposing view of Uganda, with the customs check point shining in the valley
Further proof that the scaffolding works (these guys don't need to crossfit though). The two sitting by the columns are our skilled masons.
Jacques holding Michael's hand, a true sign of friendship
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