Rwanda

We loved Rwanda! It is hilly and green with a temperate climate, and everything is clean and well run. It’s also incredibly compelling to see how thoughtfully the country has approached moving forward after the genocide. Notably, Rwanda is the first country in the world to have a majority female government which, ahem, may have something to do with it.

When we asked the kids where they wanted to go on our trip, Rwanda was one of their top choices because of a company called Zipline, Inc. which they learned about it from a video by Marc Rober, a STEM YouTuber. Zipline uses super quiet and efficient drones to deliver medical supplies to rural and other hard to reach areas. They can access the entire country in less than an hour and are very busy with launching and landings (see the video below the photos). It is truly a life-saving operation, especially for emergencies. While we were there, we watched them send blood to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where many people were fleeing the violence. The process is truly phenomenal and inspiring, and has grown from Rwanda to operations worldwide.

We also did a homestay in a local village and the kids took a class on building mud homes. It was hard work, especially when Mira got in there to mix the water and dirt with her feet which was much harder than it looked. One highlight for the kids was the animals — the family had a cow, goat, several pigs, and a bunch of chickens that were all maintained in the interior of the home. Dev also loved helping to build the fire to cook dinner at night. The pit latrine/toilet, with no door, next to all the chickens was decidedly less fun. We ended the homestay with a dance party where the women taught us a cow dance and we taught them the Macarena. The experience is run by an NGO, Azizi Life, and the women that hosted us were all part of various cooperatives that work with Azizi.  The cooperatives make products that are then sold at the Azizi Life stores and any profit above fair wages is reverted back into community support and development.

Besides the homestay and the trip to Zipline, we otherwise spent our two weeks in the capital, Kigali. We had been considering some other side trips but violence (re)erupted on the border with DRC shortly after we arrived and we decided it was safer to stay in Kigali. The grandparents were worried enough as it was.  

We couldn’t go to Rwanda without learning more, and teaching the kids, about the genocide. Our first stop was the Kigali Genocide Memorial where they promptly told us that kids are not allowed. Oops!  But it’s never too early to traumatize your children so we proceeded with a thoughtful guide who skipped a few things that were particularly not age appropriate. She taught us about the history of Rwanda, the role of colonization and colonizers in the genocide, and the resulting horrific violence. We also learned how the country has thoughtfully and intentionally approached repair and reconciliation in the aftermath (again, notably, led by a government that is majority women). One of my favorite examples, albeit a small one, is that once a month everyone stops what they are doing and works on neighborhood projects together like picking up trash (which explains why it’s so clean everywhere) to build community and accountability. We went to the memorial on Johanna’s birthday which probably wasn’t the best decision. Afterwards, we decided to cancel our fancy dinner plans because none of us were feeling in the mood. 

We also made time for some fun. Dennis fulfilled a bucket list goal and took a lesson to learn how to ride a motorcycle!  There are “Moto” taxis everywhere and everyone drives super patiently and responsibly so it seemed like the perfect place. We even let the kids take a short ride around the block.  They had a blast!

The next stop is Tanzania where we are going to a two-week hub with minimal electricity and then a short safari.