Mike's update

Day 16
Monday 3rd March 2008
This was my first day of rest since I had been here so I was able to laze around in the hotel, and write my blogg for the past week.
I would like to describe the hotel at which I am staying, it is in the shape of a quadrant with rooms (two floors) on three sides. In the centre is a small area with a table built around a tree stump that has been long dead and a planted area with small trees and shrubs. The side where there are no rooms is a bit like a stable in shape with a bamboo wall behind which the guests eat their breakfast in one area and watch Rwandan television in the other. The choice of programmes is Rwandan TV news or Rwandan TV news, (not a lot of choice) therefore reading material or your Laptop plus DVDs is an absolute must.
This hotel is as I have written previously is mid price range £12-50 per night this includes breakfast.
The room is quite large containing a double bed a table and chair, a wardrobe, and the most important mosquito net. Adjoining is a toilet and shower but suitable flip flops or similar are required.
The hotel is extremely clean which includes the bedclothes, the room, and the ground within the fenced area of the hotel. The roadway (if you can call it that) is the inevitable red clay and very heavily rutted, a nightmare walking at night when there are no street lights.
The guys who operate the hotel are hard workers always cleaning and also only too keen to help.
I went to the internet this afternoon it is marvellous that we are able to pick up messages from all over the world instantly and then reply to our loved ones.
I had my evening meal at a local eating house this consisted of fish cooked on a stick plus chips I must say that the Rwandans have certainly managed the art of cooking lovely chips.
I don’t go much on the boiled bananas (these are not sweet ones) pretty tasteless I am told that it is an acquired taste I don’t think I ever could.

Day 17
Tuesday 4th March 2008
Nyanza
This is the day of my great adventure going to see two schools in the Nyanza area accompanied by a guy called Juma who is a twenty one year old and lost his parents when he was eight years of age. This is an experiment to find out what the problems are associated with volunteers travelling alone across Rwanda.
Juma is a rugby player and has also been responsible for teaching some of the teams to play rugby.
I am therefore trying to coach Juma at the same time as coaching the schools.
My day began very early catching a taxi from Emma’s house to the centre of Kigali where I met Juma. I had large rucksack on my back containing rugby balls, vests, marker discs, books on positional play, plus all my clothes and toiletries, I know how a donkey feels when carrying his load.
We caught an express bus from Kigali to a place just outside Nyanza. The express bus is designed to hold about eighteen people, but unlike the UK they have installed extra seats in the aisle, lucky me, I got one of these, to describe them would be to say that they are similar in height up your back as a child’s seat. What outstanding pleasure to sit on this seat for approximately one and a half hours.
We arrived at our destination a guest house about two miles outside Nyanza, this was going to be our humble abode for the next two nights.
Once we had seen the rooms they were not too bad we paid and settled in, first problem, the water is turned off to save wastage. The water was turned on and after waiting for about half an hour the water was running out of the taps. The only difference between hot water and cold water is the colour of the tap, what comes out is the same temperature, cold.
We met at College Maranatha having travelled there by Motor bike, after haggling over the price we got it for 100Fr (10p)
We met the Discipline Master, Daniel who informed us that we could use a field “just down this dirt track”, now “just down” to me is far different from “just down” by a Rwandan. I had my rucksack minus my clothes on my back and the “just down” turned out to be about 2 miles. All the time I was being told it was just around the corner.
There were about 12 lads there for coaching unfortunately the pitch was also being used by a football team, we trained in the corner as they played on the rest of the pitch.
It was a good training session that lasted two and a half hours with a lot of work being done by Juma and myself.
The time was now about 18.30hrs and it gets dark around this time, this meant that we walked this long and winding track in semi darkness, seeing the potholes were nigh on impossible. These young lads (mostly orphans) were looking after me like an old man (which I am) and were so concerned about my welfare that one of the guys carried my rucksack. What a gentleman.
We ate at a roadside restaurant (a bit of an exaggeration) a friend of Juma’s who lives in the area and living rough came with us to have a meal, the usual goat meat and chips.
To get back to the guest house was about 2miles it was pitch black and no motor bikes in sight so we proceeded to walk me with an absolute dread knowing the distance. Luckily I thumbed a lift from a guy in a private car who took us to our guest house, what a relief.
I discovered that I didn’t have a mosquito net over my bed and the only guy to speak to appeared to be a guard. He must have been about 80 so what guarding he could have done I leave to your imagination. Anyway Juma explained my problem re mosquito net, and the answer was “That they only have nets in rooms 1 and 2 but not in the others (mine being no 8)” because “You don’t get mosquito’s in the others” That was it no mosquito net. I went into my room and the first thing that I did was to ‘splat’ a mosquito against the wall covering with blood. I sprayed the room with insect repellent and I must admit I never saw another mosquito in that room.
Once again to cold water, but I slept well until the dawn chorus which is something to behold its absolutely beautiful.

Day 18
Wednesday 5th March 2008
Nyanza
The guest house we were staying at did not provide breakfast so we therefore had to go into Nyanza to find somewhere to eat. Juma who was supposed to know the area set us off walking in the direction of a place called Butare. I had a suspicion that this was in the wrong direction, but hey I am not a local. After walking between 2/3 miles (up and down hills) Juma asked a young guy on a bicycle how far to Nyanza and was informed that we were on the wrong road and we should return to our starting point. I was so pleased that I was going to have the pleasure of walking all the way back up and down those hills again.
When we got to the crossroads it was my decision to ride the scary motor bikes, into Nyanza. We found a small eating place (termed restaurant) and had breakfast at the exorbitant cost of 60p each this consisted of 3 chapaties a small container of fruit and a large cup of milky coffee.
As we had nothing to do until 16.00hrs we returned to the guest house, once again the water was turned off and we asked for it to be reinstated, cold but at least it was on.
At 15.30hrs we returned to the first school where we had agreed to meet the lads who were going to take us to the new school which was ‘nearby’.
If you ever hear the word ‘nearby’ or ‘close’ in Rwanda totally ignore it and put on your hiking boots.
We met up with Daniel the sports director of College Maranatha who gave us the name of the person we were to meet at the other school, and his potential players would be waiting for us.
We trekked to the new school which was an orphanage run by the Catholic church, the church is very large by any standards, has a dark blue roof and overlooks Nyanza from a hill.
We went from football pitch to football pitch (every child plays football in Rwanda even the girls) until eventually we arrived at the right pitch, the grass in places was up to the knees, ideal for teaching rugby!
I met their sports master a very nice guy by the name of Dominic and about 15 of his lads. I had brought the lads from the first school to demonstrate the coaching lessons that I wanted them to learn.
I started by showing them how to pass which as we all know is alien to them as they play basketball a lot.
We were succeeding slowly when after 30minutes Dominic said that they would have to go because they all needed a bath. They all trooped off with the two rugby balls that I had given them with their promises that they would practice on a Saturday the only day that they had free.
Juma and I continued to coach the first school team until it started to get dark. We walked back into town (one of the guys kindly carried my rucksack) where Juma and I had an evening meal comprised of Goat brochette and chips (I could have had fried banana but I find them tasteless) and a fanta.
Following our meal we returned to our guest house to read and rest.

Day 19
Thursday 6th March 2008
Nyanza
Today was similar to yesterday in as much that we travelled into town on the motor bikes had breakfast went on the internet, walked through the market that mainly sold clothes, there were many common labels from the UK amongst the goods on display.
We returned to the guest house collected our belongings had a brochette (goat) for lunch.
For those who have never tasted goat it is very chewy, certainly tests the jaw muscles, and gristly, not too nice but cheap, 50p each at the cheaper eating houses.
Met the guys from the first school, this time we got a motor bike ride to the ground, the journey was similar to that which you see when the guys are scrambling over rutted fields great fun!
We had an excellent coaching session and this side is looking like a real rugby side in terms of formation and knowledge. They are ready to partake in their first rugby match, I am well pleased.
Following our session Juma and I walked (one of the guys carrying my rucksack he insisted) into the town. When the taxi bus arrived we fought to get the suicide seat for our journey home, I was staying at Mark’s house the Headmaster of ETO Gitarama School whilst Juma was travelling to Gitarama.
Juma told me when to get off the bus and where I should find a gap in the hedge and to walk from there to Marks’.
Much easier said than done, to start with it was pitch black, yes the stars are shining but not much light. Luckily there was a guy with a white stick (not blind) walking on the opposite side of the road who asked my destination and then suggested that I follow him. This guy proceeded in front of me and used his phone to light up his path, unfortunately it made my path impossible to see. We were walking uphill on this path and I kept slipping over which whilst wearing a rucksack is easily done. I then feel a hand on my rucksack and a voice that said I will help you, talk about a brown trouser job, this he did when I was in an area that I could see he was gone (maybe it was the hand of god ha ha!) with the help of the first guy I arrived at Mark’s house. Neither the girls nor Mark were there as they were watching a game of rugby at the school.
When they returned we had an evening meal which had been beautifully cooked by Mark’s houseboy, then retired to bed.

Day 20
Friday 7th March 2008

Today we were off to a very early start, we went to see a piece of potentially good land on which to turn into a rugby pitch.
We travelled quite a distance and turned up the inevitable dirt track road arriving at a plot of land that had been tilled (dug up) and had banana trees along one of its sides. The land had been worked and the soil pushed up into a plateau away from the road. To level the land will require the use of bulldozers as there is a large quantity of soil to move, at the potential cost this seems (according to Emma and Deena) a good proposition. Within travelling distance for a number of the schools and the walk along the track isn’t too far by Rwandan standards. There are further negotiations to take place.
We returned to Gitarama where we caught the Express Bus into Kigali.
We stopped at some friends’ of the girls Des and Jen to watch a rugby match (Super 14s).
Des is over in Rwanda with a company developing a rice production plant.
We were made extremely welcome in their beautiful house and for the next two hours enjoyed the luxury of sofas whilst watching the rugby.
I left the girls and booked into the Chez Rose the hotel I usually stayed at whilst the girls went home.
Later in the day I met up with the girls at Jo’s after which I walked to the girls house to get some more clothes that had been beautifully washed by the house boy who worked for the family that owned the house that the girls lived in.
I was quite proud of myself I walked to their house and back to my Hotel carrying a rucksack and clothing a distance of approximately a mile without gasping for breath. When I first arrived I struggled to walk up the hills near their house and the girls had to carry my belongings.
I went to the local eating place for brochette and chips returned to the hotel read and went to bed.

Day 21
Saturday 8th March 2008

To-day was a day of rest, nothing required on the rugby front so I had a leisurely breakfast, egg omelette but today I had tomatoes(yahoo) in it plus three slices of bread and coffee.
I met three very interesting people, all doctors one from Egypt, and a husband and wife from the states, they are all over here working for different agencies concerned with the health and welfare of the Rwandan people.
I spent most of the day writing my blogg and reading.
I tried to get on the net at the internet café but unfortunately there were no free computers and I refuse to use my own due to the viruses that I have been informed about.
I would have loved to have watched the Six Nations, but unfortunately this clashes with premier league football and that is an absolute priority to the Rwandans, they are charged an entrance fee to watch the games.
I went for a meal at a place called High Noon and had the inevitable goat brochette (no fish) and chips with raw onion and mayonnaise. Returned to my room to watch a DVD on my computer and went to bed.

Day 22
Sunday 9th March 2008
Rugby tournament
Today there is to be the Schools Rugby Final which has been extensively advertised on both radio and television.
Later there is to be a tournament between three Universities namely, Butare, Ruhengeri, and KIST.
The tournament is due to take place at 10.00hrs on the Red Cross ground (a football pitch) formal permission had been requested, and promised, that the ground would be available at the times requested.
We all arrived at the ground before 10.00hrs to find a ladies football team marking out the pitch, discussions were held and it was agreed that they would play for thirty minutes each way, unfortunately Rwandan time and Western time have no bearing on each other. This meant that they played for at least forty five minutes per half, thus putting the rugby programme back.
Eventually the school’s final between APRED Ndera and St Joseph’s Kabgayi got underway the referee being Deena.
It is very difficult in Rwanda to age the players because some people attending the school are around twenty one, they carry identification cards that must be produced before they can play. No card no game.
The standard of rugby by the two finalists was very good and made an entertaining game, I hadn’t seen either of these sides before so I was therefore pleasantly surprised, at one time the rain came and everyone dived for cover nobody here has raincoats.
St Joseph’s school were the winners by 28 to 5.
Rwanda television recorded the final and afterwards interviewed a member of the Rwandan Rugby Federation and Emma.
Whilst the final was in progress the team that I had helped coach in Ruhengeri arrived and I went to greet them it was lovely the reception that I got (this makes the cost and the trip well worthwhile) they were saying Mr Mike which was fantastic to me. This was to be their first competitive game of rugby.
The first game was between Butare and Ruhengeri who played very well considering this was their first game and had only trained in the past.
Butare are a well organised side who play against the senior sides in Rwanda. They also have three of the national side within their ranks, it was easy to see which ones these were.