Rwanda Safari in Akagera Park

Zebras in Akagera Park

I am pretty sure that you’re not allowed to leave Africa without going on a safari. Seriously. It’s part of the border control interview when you’re boarding the plane home. 

Border Control Officer: “What were you doing in Rwanda ma’am?”

Me: “Working for World Vision in Kigali”

Border Control Officer: “And when did you go on a safari?”

Me: “Uhhhh…”

Border Control Officer: “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to step off the plane…”

In all seriousness, Africa is host to some of the most spectacular views and impressive wildlife I’ve ever seen, and much of the countryside and landscape is unspoiled by human development. The safari was also my first opportunity to travel outside of the city of Kigali and see some of the Rwandan countryside, including the extremely impressive hills that are spread throughout the entire country.

Six of us met up at the un-Godly hour of 5 am on a Saturday morning to travel to Akagera National Park, a 1200 km park in the north east of Rwanda, located along the Tanzania border. The park was established in 1934 to protect animal and vegetation.  It is named after the Kagera River, which flows along the east boundary and feeds into several lakes.

The safari team included three Rossers, myself, another WDI intern Therese (working for Nuru Energy this summer) and a recent ross graduate Russell (currently working at a hospital in a small village called Ruli), along with three Canadian journalism students that Therese and I met during our first weeks in Kigali. We packed into an all terrain vehicle with a removable roof, perfect for taking pictures of animals that we saw throughout the day.

The trip to the park took around 3 hours, during which time I saw my first glimpses of the Rwanda country side. The lush, rolling hills covered in green trees stood in stark contrast to the usual flat landscape of Michigan that I’d become accustomed to over the last two years. 

So many hills!

During the trip, we passed through a number of villages. At each village, children would stop and wave at the huge car full of “muzunga”s – the all encompassing East African term for foreigner. Seeing the villages was the first time that I could see people living in poverty. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Kigali is extremely developed and has most of the modern conveniences that I’m accustomed to having back home. However, as we passed the villages, I could see firsthand some of the people that World Vision is working to help.

Once we arrived in Akagera, we were briefed by the park guides on what to expect and some information about the park. Following the war in Rwanda, many refugees returned to Rwanda and settled in the savannah area of the park and converted it to farmland, reducing the park size from 2500 km to the current size of 1200 km. The farmers then killed off many of the animals, including Lions, to protect their animals. However, the park will reintroduce eight Lions from Kenya this coming August and black rhinos at another time in the future. However, the guide assured us that Akagera was home to many animals that we might see, including giraffes, zebras, buffalo, impala (a species of antelope), hippos, and over 500 species of birds. There are even a few elephants that live in the park, though they hadn’t been spotted in four days, so the probability of seeing them was very low.

Starting our safari!

Finally, around 9 am we started our safari. The dirt road was very bumpy, but our driver and guide expertly maneuvered the curves. We were lucky to have such a knowledgeable guide; he was able to bring us to many of the sites where animals were resting. He was also able to point out and explain many of the animals we encountered. For me, the highlight of the trip was the huge Hippo colony that was relaxing out of the water. It even looks like they were cuddling with each other. From a far, they looked friendly peaceful, though our guide warned us that they would love to make us into a tasty snack if given the chance.

These Hippos look like they're cuddling... but really they're planning how best to prepare some Tourist stew

Yep those are Monkeys!

This antelope was just chillin, completely unconcerned about our presence

The safari took four hours, and we were able to see Zebra, Giraffes, Monkeys, Impala, Hippos, and countless birds of various colors and sizes. I’ve included some of the pictures that I took, though they don’t even begin to do justice to the number and frequency of animals that we encountered. Even when we didn’t see animals, the views of the lakes and mountains were so spectacular that there was never a moment that I wasn’t completely engaged. We even got out of the car and had a break for lunch in the middle of the savannah, which our guide assured us is completely safe to do.

Unfortunately, there were no elephant sightings on our safari, but for me, the up-close views of the Hippos more than compensated. I’m looking forward to many more adventures in Rwanda in the coming weeks!

 Hippos and hills... welcome to Rwanda!

Karibu - “You are Welcome!” to Rwanda!

“Karibu” is the Swahili word for “Welcome”, and it definitely describes how I’ve felt in my short time here in Rwanda.

 The land of 1,000 hills at dawn

I arrived in Kigali on a late Sunday night in early June. As I descended in the darkness, I began to see the outline of the many hills of Rwanda in the distance. Rwanda is appropriately called the land of a thousand hills – and as some people like to add, a million smiles. The people that I’ve encountered in Rwanda have been extremely friendly and welcoming. 

 The view from my office window over Rwanda

One of the biggest cultural aspects of Rwanda that I’ve noticed is how people greet each other. Often in the US, especially in New York where I’m from, I greet people briefly as I’m rushing from one thing to another with a quick “hi, how are you?” often without waiting to hear the answer. Here in Rwanda, people make sure to take the time to greet everyone in the room personally, often by grasping hands in a loose handshake, slapping hands, kissing cheeks, or even hugs, accompanied by a “Mwaramutse” (Good Morning), “Mwiriwe” (Good Afternoon) or even “Muraho” (how are you). It’s extremely refreshing to see people slow down and take the time to actually have conversations – something that I’m not always cognizant of in my daily life back in the States. However, I’m still trying to figure out what to do in greeting each person – my go-to is generally to say “muraho” and offer my hand and let them take it from there, which sometimes ends in awkward fumbling as someone is expecting a hug or a kiss on the cheek – or three? It really depends on the situation, as I’m learning.

  The children of Rwanda

 I’ve also been extremely blessed that everyone here is so willing to teach me words in Kinyarwanda – the local language. I’ve been having a great time trying to learn the language, which is becoming more and more familiar each day. I’ve had conversations with coworkers, bus drivers, moto drivers, security guards, and almost anyone that will talk to me, and usually end up picking up a new word or two along the way. As an introvert who is normally a bit more reserved around new people, I’ve found myself struggling at times to come out of my shell and attempt to speak in the local language, but each time that I attempt to speak Kinyarwanda, people are extremely encouraging and supportive. My goal by the end of the summer is to have some semblance of a conversation in Kinyarwanda. I’ll let you all know how it goes!

 Country music singers from Tennessee in Kigali

During my time in Kigali, I’ve been living in what feels like “Africa-lite”. My apartment provided by World Vision is one of the nicest places that I’ve lived in my entire life. The streets are clean and orderly, well-lit, and safe enough that I have no problems walking around by myself. We have restaurants with all of the international cuisine that I’m used to in the US – though admittedly, often with interesting interpretations. There are taxis to take me where I want to go, supermarkets to buy groceries, movie theatres, bowling, and even clothing stores reminiscent of H&M. Basically, it’s very similar to any city in the US, which demonstrates the impressive strides in development that Rwanda has taken in the 20 years in the 1994 genocide.

Bowling at Mamba Club

Once you travel outside of Kigali, you can see some of the struggles that Rwanda faces to provide for its residents. The country had a poverty rate of 45% in 2011. Currently, only 16% of the population has access to electricity. 12% of children under the age of 5 are underweight. Children suffer from malnutrition, no access to clean water, and lack of educational opportunities in many of the rural areas of the country.  Access to health care is still a challenge for many Rwandese.

Many of Rwanda’s challenges are a direct result of the genocide of 1994 in Rwanda, one of the biggest atrocities in modern human history. The Rwandan genocide was a mass slaughter of Rwanda citizens by members of the Hutu majority. During the approximate 100-day period from April 7, 1994 to mid-July, an estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed, while millions others fled their homes and became refugees in neighboring countries. Millions of children were left orphaned and families were shattered.

This summer, I am working for World Vision Rwanda, a Christian organization with a worldwide headquarters in Seattle, Washington. This is a special time to be joining World Vision Rwanda, as the organization celebrates its 20 year anniversary of serving the people of Rwanda. In July 1994, following the genocide, World Vision began working in Rwanda to provide emergency help to displaced refugees, assist orphaned children, and provide assistance with resettling. In the 20 years following the initial start, WVR has expanded its mission to working with communities to find long-term solutions to solving poverty and injustice. There is a special focus within WVR on providing education and nutrition to children.

Leading a process improvement meeting with the Supply Chain team

My project is focused on teaching and implementing process improvement techniques in the Head Office in Kigali, and potentially expending to some of the field offices by the end of the summer. This will be a new and exciting challenge for me, as I have worked with small manufacturing operations and utilities where you can easily see the processes as they are happening. However, in a service environment, it is much more difficult to observe the processes. Luckily, I have been extremely blessed to have the kindest, patient, and dedicated coworkers here at WVR to allow me to learn and grow in this new role as I try to make a small impact on a great organization.

 

 My coworker Robert and I

 

 My coworkers that I share an office with

I look forward to sharing more of my adventures in Rwanda, my work at World Vision, and my every day struggles of trying to pronounce words Kinyarwanda.