April 2012
13 posts
5 tags
Day 5 - Gorillas in the Wild
This post was published on Opportunity-UK’s travel blog at opportunityinrwanda.wordpress.com.
As we have a lack of internet access today, we’ve only got one post for you, written by Dorthe and sent via text message. Today, we hiked into the mountain and had an encounter with a whole pack of gorillas.
A knock on the door at 5:30—wakeup call! Today is the day.
We got organized and were...
9 tags
Day 4 - The Genocide Museum
This post was published on Opportunity-UK’s travel blog at opportunityinrwanda.wordpress.com.
Today, we visited the Genocide Museum in Kigali before heading to the Virunga Mountains. We are miles away from an internet connection so have texted these entries to Mark at Opportunity-UK. We’ll post photos once we get reconnected.
Dorthe:
Today has been filled with all kinds of emotions. We started...
14 tags
Day 3 - Trust Groups
This post was published on Opportunity-UK’s travel blog at opportunityinrwanda.wordpress.com.
Today, we spent time with one of the Opportunity International Trust Groups. Here’s the first in a series of five posts by travelers…
Dorthe:
The thing donors look forward to most on insight trips is meeting the clients face to face, experiencing a “Trust Group” meeting and seeing...
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9 tags
(Day 3) Elizabeth:
Woke up to a wet and cloudy morning. We visited a longstanding Trust Group who were meeting to make their loan repayments outside a local cafe in a rural area outside Kigali. I was struck by the professionalism of the group and the meeting.
(The Trust Group president, treasurer and secretary. Photo: Anne Grafe-Buckens)
They have a president, treasurer and secretary, all of...
4 tags
(Day 3) Julie:
Today was another one of beautiful Rwanda and beautiful Rwandans. Two in particular struck me. The first was Francine, a lovely, softly spoken woman, wearing a stunning yellow head dress, in the “We Trust Each Other” Trust Group.
(Rwandan client Francine. Photo: Anne Grafe-Buckens)
She shared how her first loan had enabled her to buy more salt and sugar and increase...
9 tags
Day 2: First Impressions
This post was published on Opportunity-UK’s travel blog at opportunityinrwanda.wordpress.com.
Five of us have taken time to write today. As you’ll see, Rwanda has made a big first impression! Here’s the first in a series of posts from travelers, written by Dorthe.
Rwanda – indeed Africa’s pearl. The land of 1,000 hills has captured my heart. We started our day in Opportunity’s Kigali...
4 tags
(Day 2) Julie:
When I first moved to the UK last year I was surprised by the number of times the media, and the people I met, would refer to the War. Nearly 70 years after the conclusion of World War II it still impacts the way people live. Here in Rwanda, with only 18 years to distance the pain of war, not many talk about what happened but you can see it affecting nearly everything they...
6 tags
(Day 2) Elizabeth:
What an incredible day. Beginning with the most amazing coffee I have ever experienced at breakfast—working on a way to bring a supply of beans home with me! We arrived at the bank in time for the devotions, a lovely service which takes place every Monday and Friday to begin and end the week. The music and singing was so beautiful and the service created a great feeling...
8 tags
(Day 2) Veronique:
Dorthe mentioned the coal lady; I believe her name is Valentina. The image of her posing for our photographs with the young bank staff member will stick in my mind. Her batik wax print, dirty from the coal, contrasting with his smart tailored suit; both under 30, seemingly a world apart; yet, I would like to think that they represent the future of Africa, or at least Rwanda....
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(Day 2) Anne:
As Dorthe said, we started our morning with the main branch devotions… Back to basics: “Why should we save?” The answer was of course: “For the day when we won’t be able to provide for ourselves.” The whole notion of wealth gets back to this. When we sit and listen to these people, I can’t help thinking of our consumer society… Well, watching them and witnessing their...
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Day 1
(Four of our travelers in transit in Amsterdam, en route to Kigali.)
Julie:
We’re here! Our plane touched done in Kigali Airport just after dark so our first impressions of Rwanda have been by night. Initial observations—it’s so clean!! And the traffic is incredibly orderly. After my time in Asia I was expecting a similar level of craziness but apart from a slight running of a stop sign...
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Our journey starts here…
Our party sounds a bit like the start of a good joke—a Belgian, an American, an Aussie, a Frenchman and a Dane walk into a bar…
But we’re not walking into a bar, we’re flying into Rwanda. And it’s not a joke. Over the past few months, in anticipation of this trip, I’ve learned so much about this wonderful African country. I’ve shared some of Rwanda’s story with my children—the story...
