As a briefly mentioned in my last blog, though my work has been productive, it has also been repetitive and not worth detailing. However, Tuesday began with an interesting meeting with Food for the Hungry/Rwanda (FHI/R) country director, and my boss, Dwight Jackson. Among the many topics we discussed, it also came to my attention that Emmanuel is no longer is charge of agriculture at FHI/R, but rather the environment sector. In his place, a British gentlemen named Stephen will lead the agriculture department while he and his wife Anne work in Burundi for the next three years. They both have living at the FH guesthouse here in Kigali while making preparations and waiting for Anne's foot to heal from an unfortunate slip-down-the-stairs accident. Though the injury to the foot is regrettable, it has been wonderful having them around. Technically as the agriculture intern, I quickly realized that I had a new boss. Stephen quickly gave me mini-research projects to do. Even though he is an experienced agriculturists, he is spending his time in Rwanda to learn as much about African agriculture before going to Burundi. So my research tasks were all agriculture-related, though diverse in nature. As I scanned the internet, I was hauntingly reminded of our Model UN team at Alma College. : )
After a morning of internet research, Stephen was gracious enough to take me to GAKO Organic Farm Training Center for some more interactive learning. Essentially, GAKO is an NGO that operates month-long training courses to promote efficient and sustainable organic farming, particularly for rural families with small plots. Admittedly, even I was skeptical about just how thrilling a farm training center could be, but I was truly impressed. The center had developed many innovative techniques for small and poor farmer. My favorites included the kitchen garden (a mound garden with compost-like core), sock cultivation (a vertical garden in potato sacks filled with rocks and dirt) and biofuel stove methane (processed from cow waste). The center also shared with the benefits of composting, natural pesticides, as well as the characteristics of particular plants and trees that can be planted in a garden. For example, one tree, known as Neem, is a natural mosquito repellent. I think we need some of those trees in Michigan, eh?
Wednesday I found myself continuing with research throughout the morning, but because of a faulty internet connection, we all went home a little earlier. However, five minutes after arrival, Karen invited me to join her for HIV/AIDS child home visits done through the organization she has been working for. My laziness caused me to hesitate, but thankfully I agreed to go. It was a splendid afternoon. Because the HIV/AIDS victims are given free medicine through the government and the NGO, none of the people we met with appeared to be terminally ill. They were wonderful people though, certainly undeserving of any ailment at all. They lived in a small village on the outskirts of Kigali, as if their living conditions had gotten them pushed out of the thriving and clean city. While scanning the walls in one house, I noticed a tapestry with a Kinyarwanda Bible verse on it from "Abagalatiya". Apparently, the verse had a list and each listed word was bulleted by either a orange or green fruit. Smiling, I pointed to it and recited "The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." They clapped, impressed by my reading of Kinyarwanda, when in truth, that annoying song from high school youth group is still stuck in my head.
Thursday, much to my dismay, the internet in all of Kigali did not work. Unable to research, I guiltily played Free Cell, which I've become quite fond of. After lunch, though, Dwight told me to talk to Brenda, his wife, with a task he wanted me to do. It turns out that Brenda, who is currently the headmistress for the nearby Kigali International Community School, was planning a parent's night to celebrate the end of the school's second year. Her and Dwight had thought it would be a good idea to give out next year's billing early, promising a five percent discount if the full tuition was paid before next Thursday. So my job, hours before the event, was to type of the billings. Fortunately, a rough template had been made up for me in Microsoft Excel, but none of Excel's formula features had been utilized, so I spent an hour setting that up. After that, it was simply a matter of typing in a few names and numbers, based on the school's scaled price rate, which was five times cheaper for locals than it was for embassy kids. All in all, as much as I hated Business Technology freshman year of high school, I must admit, yesterday it came in handy.
And that brings me to today, which consisted of a trip far into the Eastern Province of Rwanda to meet with the local leaders of the Ngoma District to discuss coffee production, among other things. Regrettably, most of the conversations were in French, effectively excluding me, but I did get a chance to the see the region as well as observe Stephen and Emmanuel as they conversed with potential partners. Though the district stated that they primarily wanted large private investors, such as Starbucks, to help with agricultural extension and development, my bosses did a good job convincing them that FHI/R may a role to play. We left with them satisfied in the outcome of our first meeting with the district. On the back, around 2pm, I realized that I had had no lunch. So, without whining, I strategically suggested that my stomach was imploding. We stopped at a guest center on a small lake, directly across from President Kagame's farm. However, due to a local convention, no food was available, so instead we were invited to enter their traditional Rwandan hut and enjoy some milk. To make a long story short, somehow I was given a huge glass and drank a pint of the thickest, richest milk ever. It was like whole milk times two. Needless to say, I felt queasy afterwards, but thankfully recovered a few hours ago after eating dinner.
So there you have it. Tuesday: farmer. Wednesday: HIV/AIDS social worker. Thursday: Financial Consultant. Friday: FHI/R non-Francophone representative. Not monotonous at all.
Thank you for reading, and before I stop for tonight, I would like to give two shout-outs to my adorable girlfriend Joye Kallgren, who is reading this sentence with a flushed face. One, because yesterday was her twentieth birthday and two, because today is our 1.5 year anniversary! How exciting! Joye, you given me happiness and purpose in more ways than you know, and I thank God frequently for blessing me with such a likable friend.
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