Umuganda

It has been a great few days. On Saturday, we travelled to a part of Kigali to take part in 'Umuganda' - or 'community action'. On one Saturday every month, between 0700 and 1300, the whole country, from politicians, to businessmen, to ordinary people, have to take part on some kind of social action. This can be anything from building a road to cleaning an area of litter. Our task was to join some Kigali inhabitants in digging a ditch to allow water to travel through.

It was quite an amazing spectacle to see Govermment Ministers, and the locals digging together. Many of our Umubano volunteers took on the task with relish, digging and placing rocks in the ditch. Umuganda is quite a unique event - a real example of community solidarity, in which every citizen is asked to spend a few hours - once a month - making their country better.

After the Umuganda finished, we walked to a nearby school, where we were treated to a huge welcome - including numerous rounds of applause. After, the 1,000 participants of the Umuganda who were present in the school hall, treated us to Rwandan songs and dancing. It was a wonderful morning.

Yesterday was a free day, so I spent time preparing my lesson plans and sorting out a few songs to teach my students.

Today, we all learnt and sang "Love me do (the Beatles)" and "Let the Sunshine in" from the musical 'Hair'. "Love me do" went down particularly well.


-- by Robert Halfon Post From My iPhone