Mike's update

Day 8
Sunday 24th February 2008
To day there is nothing in particular that happened in the morning so it was a bit of a rest from the hectic but enjoyable first week.
A summary of my week would be classed as extremely active, the biggest time waster is the transport system, the most annoying, is the poor time keeping by everybody Rwandan.
The biggest pleasure is working with highly responsive children, who have nothing but their clothes on their backs and very little to look forward to in the future. That is why all of them put so much into learning and playing rugby. The fields that they play on are generally just areas where there is some grass but large areas of smooth red clay. Some of the scrapes on their knees and elbows after they fall down are painful just to look at, yet they just get up and continue training for as long as we are allowed to coach them.
The charity “Friends of Rwandan Rugby” are very important in this country as they continue rugby coaching for both school children and youngsters to further their knowledge, and to further the expansion worldwide of rugby football.
During the afternoon we three went to the Red Cross ground to watch a game between APREDNdera and the Red Cross team.
The Ndera team are known to be a superior side but the Red Cross side were showing a lot of courage and determination which went a long way to them keeping the score down.
Some of the Ndera Team looked extremely old to be playing for a school side, but I was assured that all players must produce documentation regarding their ages.
Other than some unruly supporters from Ndera who needed to be controlled it was an interesting game of rugby football.
We were given a lift to our respective abodes and went to bed early as we were off to an early start to travel to the north west of Rwanda.


Day 9
Monday 25th February 2008 Travelling to Ruhengeri (North West Rwanda)

Today we had an early start as we were going to Ruhengeri to an Agricultural University which was approximately two hours by bus.
We travelled into Kigali centre by the inevitable taxi bus full to the brim of people travelling into work.
At the central bus station (this bus you buy a ticket to your destination) it’s still full to its limit, I don’t mean UK limits, I mean Rwanda limits, two totally opposite points of view (roll on Health and safety).
We met up with a Rwandan by the name of Alphonse who was helping with the rugby training at I.S.A.E university.
Once again I had the dubious pleasure of sitting in the front (suicide) seat two places from the driver, now this must be explained, in Rwanda we drive on the right but the vehicles such as buses, lorries, and cars etc have steering wheels on both the left and the right, now this makes for very interesting driving actions especially if you sit on the left front of a right hand drive bus. Talk about ‘your life on the line’ also the roads at times have very big potholes and most of the drivers think that they are budding ‘Lewis Hamilton’s’ the formula one driver. Fear is just another ‘brown pair of trousers’.
During our two hour bus journey I got to know some of the life story of Alphonse, the genocide started when he was eight years of age three days after it started his father was killed, he was some kind of manager this meant that Alphonse his mother and sister had to flee Kigali and avoid any contact with anyone for fear of being killed. He said that he had walked the length of Rwanda through the grassland and jungle foraging for food wherever they could get it, all the time avoiding other people for fear of reprisal.
When the country became more stabilised he and his family returned to Kigali, he left home to fend for himself. He believed that he should get a good education to this end he went to school in the morning and during all other spare time he bought and sold things to pay his way through life and school.
He has worked and worked has had a serious road accident which the doctors thought that he would never recover.
He wants to become a doctor and to this end he worked his way to university, for some reason which I could not understand he hasn’t been allowed to continue his studies (I believe it to be money) he gets all the course notes and studies at night hoping that he can take the exam.
The course started in January his total financial requirement for the year is approximately £250.00.
In his course last year he got a distinction.
In his spare time he has trained two rugby teams.
We arrived in Ruhengeri mid to late morning and booked some rooms in the local church hostel, very cheap but clean and ok for sleeping in.
Following this we grabbed a bite to eat and caught another inevitable taxi bus (I must add that in my humble opinion none of these vehicles would pass an MOT in the UK) to the university.
We arrived at the university our bags checked and we were allowed to go to the football field and await the team, and wait and wait. Eventually they arrived around 16.00hrs in dribs and drabs, and the introduction and training session began.
A good session was had but then we had to move because the pitch belonged to the football team and it was their time to train.
A discussion was held with regards to training times and we were informed that the team would be prepared to train at 6.00 hrs in the morning and at 16.00hrs in the afternoon whilst we were there.

Day 10
Tuesday 26th February 2008
Ruhengeri university
Today was an early start we were even up before the dawn chorus which is something to hear in the mornings Deena is not a great bird lover and to her it is just a massive noise.
We had slept two to a room Emma and Deena in one and Alphonse and myself in another.
During the evening we had an almighty thunderstorm that continued for hours and seemed to circle the guest house lots of noise but a distinct lack of flash.
The accommodation was pretty basic the toilets and showers were very questionable and they were mixed no modesty here.
We awoke at 5.00hrs dressed and walked from the Guest house in the dark along an unmade track (I kept tripping over loose stones) into the town about 5-10 minutes away. We were so lucky a taxi bus stopped to let us board (lucky me I got the suicide seat again) This driver enjoyed two things in life, driving like a maniac and secondly having his radio on full volume playing local music. This we put up with for about 30minutes until we arrived outside the University. As we got off our heads were still ringing with the pleasant sound of music. It was still dark and damp at the university gate our rucksacks were checked before we could enter, we then walked to the ground.
At approximately 06.20 the first person arrived followed by others in dribs and drabs, (to be fair I know of a lot of university students in the UK who think that the day starts at 12.00).
We had an excellent training session because we were able to communicate with the students either in English or Kinyrwandan through Alphonse. The players about 20 altogether 19 guys and one girl (who reminded me of the small police officer in the film Police Academy) who were split into different groups for the various rugby skills. It was obvious that they had been coached by someone as their basic skills were there. We continued coaching until around 07.30hrs when the students had to leave to go to classes at 08.00hrs.
It was a very good session and they agreed to meet us again at 16.00hrs later in the day.
This was market day and this area of Rwanda is known as the agricultural area of the country, it is possible to see various crops growing along the roadside. As we returned to Ruhengeri during the early morning both the road (cyclists, few cars) and alongside the roads were people male and female (majority female) also small children carrying produce from carrots, to pieces of wood about one and half metres long on their heads. These people are streaming into the markets to sell their produce. How some of the cyclist rode those bikes defied gravity and all laws of balance.
We had lunch at the guest house very expensive by Rwandan standards I was informed, I only had soup (very nice) but I didn’t know what it was, it was called fresh fish soup, but I think that they have a pet fish who swims through the soup leaving a trace of something but it definitely was not fish.
We rested for a time until 15.00hrs when we once again caught the taxi bus back to the university.
The afternoon session was held on a different field from the morning it appeared to be a football pitch shared with the local village. The field is a slightly grass covered rock with bits sticking out of the ground definitely not a rugby ground but suitable for coaching. Earlier it had rained and there were puddles everywhere, these students are the best prepared for sport but all they have on their feet is second hand trainers. This was very dangerous when it came to them stopping at speed their feet would disappear and they would crash to the ground, luckily no body was hurt. We coached for about two hours when it was time for the students to eat.
Once again it was a very good session with these guys showing such eagerness to learn and play rugby.
Back on our favourite “Joyride” to Ruhengeri where we ate in a local eating house where we ordered our main meal of the day, this consisted of pieces of fish on a skewer and good old frites (chips) after a long wait about thirty five minutes we were informed that they had no fish but we could have chicken. By this stage who cared anyway so we accepted chicken, another long wait and our meal arrived. The taste was great (as most meals are in Rwanda) and as by now we were absolutely starving it soon disappeared.
We walked back to the guest house in the dark with all types of vehicles driving past you sounding their horn in your ear. In Rwanda every time that you pass or approach someone you sound your horn it’s quite noisey.
We arrived at our guest house cleaned up and went to bed tomorrow is another early start.

Day 11
Wednesday 27th February 2008
Returning to Kigali
Wake up ‘dicky birds’ we are off again on our little jet taxi bus from Ruhengeri to the University so that we can arrive before 06.00hrs for early morning rugby coaching.
Once again the road and by the side of the road is filled by people taking their produce to the market either locally or to Ruhengeri town. Most of them weighed down by the weight of the produce but still managing to carry the items on their heads. I doubt if they suffer from stiff necks in the morning.
We arrived at the University went through the gates to the field it was very cold and wet because once again it had been raining and there was still some rain in the atmosphere. I felt sorry for Alphonse as he did not possess a rain resistant coat and it was so cold that he was shivering. Me coming from deepest Forest of Dean “I’m were used to the cold he was” so it didn’t affect me too much.
Again the inevitable wait until everyone arrived so that the coaching session could begin.
We had about 18 guys (the girl didn’t arrive) to coach it was an excellent session and we achieved so much within that hour and a half. Emma and Deena decided that this team had reached such a good standard that they were now in a position to play other teams. To that end a university rugby tournament has been set up between three of the universities, this should be an interesting afternoon.
The students all left to go to their classes whilst the rest of us went to see the Sports Director. Whilst we were waiting I looked around at the farm animals, they have the usual, sheep, pigs, cows, turkeys, ducks, chickens, and rabbits. They were extremely well looked after and we were told that they were not eaten but kept for study only. I lay odds that someone has a bit of pork occasionally.
Emma met the director and following her discussions we were invited to meet him, he would appear to be a person who was prepared to back the rugby team and to this end he has agreed that he will attend their forthcoming match, this is great news for the development of rugby within the university.
We had informed the students that we would not be returning that afternoon as we were returning to Kigali.
Once again the taxi bus was our mode of transport rammed in with my knees up to my neck as there isn’t much legroom and squashed into a seat that would normally hold three, holding four and hanging on for grim death. What fun!
We arrived in Ruhengeri about 10.30hrs Emma booked an Express Coach this guarantees the ticket holder a seat on a higher standard vehicle than the taxi bus.
Emma, Alphonse, and I went to see the local market where I was told that they sold clothing that was not very expensive. I had in mind to purchase a rainproof coat for Alphonse, which I did this only cost me the equivalent of £3.
These clothes shoes and trainers, were by the labels obviously British and second hand.
We had some lunch and got seated on the bus, I must explain the seating arrangements it goes as follows people sit on the normal seats and then within the aisle where we would stand at home, there are fold down seats which are filled by more passengers.
Heaven help anyone if there is an accident or a fire.
We arrived safely!!!!!
As an aside the countryside is absolutely beautiful it is called the country of a thousand hills and it is true.
When I am walking most of them appear to be in Kigali.
We said our goodbyes to Alphonse who was still wearing his raincoat (he hadn’t taken it off since we bought it) and the sun was beating down.
The three of us caught a taxi bus to their home and I picked up my belongings from their house and walked to my Hotel for a well earned rest.

Day 12
Thursday 28th February 2008
Because we had left Ruhengeri mid afternoon yesterday this day was un-planned so it was decided that I would go to The Genocide Memorial whilst Emma and Deena went to a land meeting.
We travelled into Kigali together by Taxi bus and walked to the City shop (a large super market similar to Tesco’s) It was agreed that when I returned from the memorial we would meet here.
Deena made a deal with a Taxi driver on the cost to the memorial (prices must be agreed before entering the taxi) as me being a muzugu (white person) would have been charged double that of a Rwandan.
The taxi drivers name was Felix and after arriving at the memorial we agreed that he would return in two hours to take me back into Kigali.
Outside the memorial there is a concrete world map which some Rwandans were in the process of demolishing, through gestures and animation I borrowed one of the sleigh hammers and broke up some of the concrete much to the delight of those guys.
I then entered the memorial which leads patrons in a circular movement around a sculptured art exhibition as a centre piece. There are photographs and commentaries on the walls explaining the history of the genocide that took place within Rwanda.
After seeing these photographs I went into the garden of remembrance where there are said to be 258,000 people buried in a mass grave, I defy anyone to leave that memorial without it touching both your eyes and your heart strings.
This is the time for reflection and hoping that we the Friends of Rwandan Rugby
are giving some pleasure and happiness to the children who survived this horrific episode in their very recent history.
The taxi driver collected me from the memorial and returned me to the City shop where I met with Deena and Emma.
Their day had been less than successful with regards to purchasing a suitable rugby field site. It would appear that for a white person to purchase land the cost is far higher than the same piece purchased by a Rwandan.
Following lunch I went to coach the Red Cross rugby team. This is a team that I have seen on a number of occassions both training and playing a game.
They are termed as “Street Kids”.
From my observations the Red Cross are doing a fantastic job by giving these boys skill training such as woodwork, and metal craft, etc, so that they can earn a wage and lead a normal life.
I enjoy coaching these guys as they are so keen to learn and play rugby to the highest standard possible.
I started to coach at 15.20 and I was told that they must eat at 17.00hrs.
The sun was scorching but these guys just kept on working at their skills and because they kept going so did I. At 19.00hrs I tried to stop the session but they insisted on my carrying on, the stop came at 19.45hrs I was on my knees from lack of water and energy.
I returned to the hotel via the dreaded taxi bus and motor cycle.
The rest of the evening was spent at Jo’s flat.
Jo had cooked the two girls and me a beautiful meal which was gratefully eaten.
Jo is a nurse Training Officer at the local King Fisal hospital she is absolutely wonderful to the girls and myself allowing us into her home, and making us so welcome.

Day 13
Friday 29th February 2008
Rest day
To-day was going to be a rest day for us all.
I liesurely rose from my bed went for breakfast, this is the same each day and consists of a plain egg omelette, three slices of bread, and cups of tea or coffee.
There is very little milk drunk in Rwanda so the only milk for coffee is powdered milk which tastes similar to that which my children were fed on when they were babies not bad but not my favourite. The sugar is raw sugar, not as refined as ours and is a light brown in colour.
The hotel that I am staying in is classed as middle priced, that means a bed and breakfast amounts to 25$ (£12.50p) per night.
The currency here is either Rwandan Francs or American Dollars, the pound is unknown.
Everyone who is staying at the hotel has breakfast at the same large table, I have been talking to a very pleasant guy from Malawi, he works as a quantity surveyor and to date we have had some very interesting conversations.
Following breakfast I went back to my room to catch up on the daily blog that I missed whilst travelling to Ruhengeri and back, I do not take my computer with me as we have to carry all our needs on our backs in rucksacks, so what with my cameras and clothes that is enough.
I was writing my blog when Emma phoned to ask whether “I wished to assist her in coaching two sides in Nyamirambo. One of the teams was named “New Kids” and the other was a school side ESI Nyamirambo., during that afternoon.
Obviously I agreed and subsequently we travelled to Kigali in the bus this time it was a real bus unfortunately it was standing room only.
In Kigali we caught another taxi bus to Nyamirambo as we were early we stopped at a local café for a cold drink and a rest.
It was another very hot day of which there are many, it’s fascinating to see the length of your own shadow which is very small due to the position of the sun.
The ground that we were training was within the grounds of a Muslim school there appeared to be hundreds of kids up to the age of about twenty both playing and training for football.
Eventually a Doctor Alfred Jahn (this guy has a fascinating history which I will relate later) arrived with a number of his orphans to be coached whilst he had a discussion with Emma.
These are two teams normally train together. They were due to be trained by a guy named Heavy whom I have met on a number of occasions and works with the Rugby Federation.
We received a phone call from Heavy that he would be late so I started the session with great difficulties until Dr Alfred introduced one of his boys to me as someone who could be my interpreter. This certainly made my job easier when you consider that I had been operating by gesture or by moving each guy physically. Once the interpreter was in place the coaching session continued without too many hitches and about an hour into the session Heavy joined me which by then I was knackered the temperature being 27 degrees but felt like 50. The session lasted about two hours non stop.
I was then invited to have a meal with the Doctor and his street kids to which I accepted with pleasure.
Doctor Alfred has approximately thirty orphans that he looks after in four different houses. He lives in his own house whilst the houses where the orphans live are controlled by an overall boy who supervises each house this being looked after by another boy called the house supervisor. It appears to work wonderfully and the children have great respect for the Doctor.
The meal consisted of a piece of meat and a large amount of vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, spring onions, and some other green vegetable that I didn’t recognise. The meal was very nutritous and very filling but on the quiet I sneaked my piece of meat back onto the plate of one of the orphans.
Doctor Alfred is seventy years of age, a paediatric surgeon who performs many varied operations on tiny children. He still manages to operate from 8.00hrs to 16.00hrs (he informed me that he had reduced his hours) every day with the exception of Fridays and the weekends. The weekends are for the children and he says that they are all a family.
Doctor Alfred’s story is that he was born in Germany of a very poor family. After the war they became part of the communist bloc where he went to University to study medicine. He practiced in his local area for a number of years during that time went to Vietnam at the height of the conflict. He said that this was personally very painful to operate on people with bullet wounds, napalm burns and many others only met in a war zone.
He came to Rwanda in the 1990s returned to Germany but decided that his love for the Rwandan people was so great that he returned in 2001 to set up an orphanage (with his own money) to look after these street kids.
He told me that he has never gone looking for orphans they find him.
He has strict criteria for entrance into his homes which means that he makes certain that they do not have parents, that they have certain ambitions and they are prepared to stick by the rules of the house. Anyone breaking these rules must answer to all of the other boys and repent, if this is done he is given another chance.
I left the orphanage and Dr Alfred feeling very humble hearing what he has done in his life for the benefits of those children.
I travelled back to my hotel by taxi the price having been negotiated by one of the orphans.
I was told he was the best negotiator amongst them. It cost me 4000 francs about £4. Without help it would have cost me about £6.
So ended another interesting and mind searching day.

Day 14
Saturday 1st March 2008
Referee Seminar.
The refereeing standards in Rwanda are by nature as it is a new sport not of a very high standard, so in an attempt to rectify this problem, Deena had, sometime in the past asked the Rwanda rugby Federation to organise a referee seminar.
Nothing happened, so Deena organised it herself by asking the federation for ten names of people to participate in the coaching.
Names were given and a location agreed, and the time set by the federation was 08.30hrs on Saturday morning. Emma and Deena were asked to provide food, water and monies for transportation.
Two local school teams had been asked to turn up so that actual situations could be assessed and discussed.
On the Saturday morning Deena and I made our way to the ground and we arrived at 08.15hrs.
Meanwhile Emma and their very good and supportive friend Jo were at Jo’s flat cutting up fruit and making food for the participants of the seminar, and were arriving at lunch time. All this work was to save cost.
The first person to arrive was a man by the name of Charles he had not been seen before by the girls.
Eventually Deena started the seminar at 10.00hrs under a tree with a distinct threat of rain in the atmosphere.
Meanwhile one of the teams (or should I say a number of players) from K.I.S.T. University arrived and I started a coaching session that lasted about two hours. For the other team only two or three arrived so a game was totally out of the question.
Because of their studies the students had to leave and return to their university without being used for demonstration.
The seminar finished around 12.30 hrs and Emma and Jo arrived just after with the food for everyone.
Deena had informed the participants that there was going to be a game between New Kids and ESI Nyamirambo during the afternoon and asked if they would be prepared to stay and help. Most declined the offer with the exception of Charles and a Guy called Booker he had been at the training of the New Kids and I believe that he plays and coaches.
Whilst waiting the arrival of the two sides a thunderstorm arrived and the heavens opened the amount of water over such a short timescale is tremendous. Luckily we were able to shelter in the school next to the playing area.
By the time that the teams had arrived the storm was over and a game was started, considering that New Kids had only played three previous games and the ESI Nyamirambo Team were more prepared it was an enjoyable game to watch, with the New Kids losing but only just.

Day 15
Sunday 2nd March 2008
Coaching girls
Coaching girls is a totally new experience to me here in Rwanda the problem being that when I coach the lads I can physically turn them to face the ball etc! but how do you deal with young ladies?
Emma asked if I would like to go with her to coach some girls (street children) at the Red Cross, this was a new experience for me.
We caught the taxi bus and then walked down a steep red clay track to the Red Cross ground. We were to be there for 09.30hrs, they arrived about 10.30hrs we were just about to leave.
There were six girls only one in a tracksuit the others were wearing skirts (all the clothes that they have) and flat shoes, which some of them took off.
We coached passing which they picked up quite quickly but when it came to teaching them how to tackle I left the arena to Emma.
We were very lucky in the fact that we received help from a guy I had nick named “Georgeous” he is a lovely guy a street kid who is always smiling and is so helpful even though his English is limited (a darn sight better than my kinyarwandan) and he plays for the Red Cross boys.
The session ended and considering that this was their first time appeared to be very constructive, the biggest problem for the girls is that they need shorts or training bottoms to train properly.
After training Emma and I returned home and did our own thing for the rest of the day. I spent time on the net at a nearby internet café it’s lovely and necessary to keep in contact with the people you love.