Monday's Blog - we're catching up! Another deep breath......and off we go.

Hannah began the day by collecting a bucket of water from Isobel’s plentiful supply, as she and Paul had a state-of-the-art shower cubicle, with one crucial omission - water!  The envy of us all, they have the only shower cubicle with a door instead of a massive gap, but as Hannah pointed out, this is simply because it has never been used!  But Hannah and Paul have now devised an effective bucket and jug shower double act which they enact as their morning routine.

Just before the Byumba Pastors’ Conference was about to begin this morning, one of the organisers, Pastor Juvenal, threw the proverbial spanner in the works, suggesting an entire reschedule of the timetable.   There is disquiet over the planned finishing time at the end of the second afternoon, as rain is expected soon.   It has been unusually chilly since our arrival in Byumba, the sky is dark and storm clouds are gathering.  We were told that it rains on the Assumption Holiday, 15th August, and with this in mind, and the rainy season approaching  there was a desire to alter the timetable as it is unsafe for pastors to be travelling home along the mountain dirt tracks in torrential rain or after dark.  Byumba diocese covers a large area of mountainous terrain, where transport is very challenging. 

After some discussion and compromise, Pastor Placide stepped into the conversation and  in his characteristic calm nature, came to the rescue, agreeing the proposed new schedule and after a brotherly embrace expressing relief from Andy, the conference was back on track!  Wonderful harmonious choruses were already issuing from the large meeting room across the courtyard from our rooms, as the pastors and wives were congregating for the beginning of the conference.

After the initial introductions, the 3 ladies in the team left the men at the conference and went to visit King Saloman Academy, a school, which is currently being established by the diocese.  This in direct response to a visit from the President of Rwanda to this region several years ago.  He was disturbed to find out that people in this area were sending their children to school across the border in Uganda because the schools in Rwanda were of too low an academic standard.  Hearing this, the President challenged the church to set up their own schools, and so Byumba diocese is establishing this primary academy.  The diocese has a great vision for this project and is adding another year group to the school each academic year.  It was encouraging to see significant building development over the past 12 months.  Three additional classrooms, a staff room, a head teacher’s office and an accountant’s office have all been completed and a class of Primary 4 children have been added to the school role.  A library and computer room are also under construction, which the Bishop was inspecting after he drove us to the site.

We were greeted by the head teacher Arsene, who spoke to Grace about his vision for the school.  Isobel was warmly greeted by Bless, the English teacher whom she had met last year, but who looked quite different with extensive plaited hair extensions, woven intricately around her head.  This morning Bless was teaching Primary 4, the 9 - 10 year olds as they orally revised the grammatical terms ‘adverbs’, ‘possessive pronouns’ and various types of nouns, all of which would have been quite a challenge for the average native speaker on the streets of the UK!  Their grammatical knowledge was good but it was  their eagerness to respond to the teacher which left the greatest impression.  They were quick to put up their hands and there was an audible buzz of “Please teacher, Please teacher,” and a clicking of their fingers as they waved them in the air, which we would most likely misinterpret in the UK classroom as rude and thus discourage, but here in Rwanda it was a strong indication of their zeal to learn.

Grace enjoyed spending time in class with Jean-Paul, the maths teacher.  He spent the lesson working through the children’s homework in a predominantly revision lesson.  Grace couldn’t resist reverting back to her former teaching days and lending a hand marking some of the children’s work, surrounded by fascinated students.

Out on the rather barren school field, the little tots of Primary 1 stood in a long line to practise their compass directions.  Isobel soon joined them as they turned to face north, south, east and west.  Some of these little ones were wilting, squatting on the bare ground.  The teacher questioned them asking if they were too tired or too hungry to participate.  Their fatigue was understandable since it was approaching noon and they had been in school since 7am.

Hannah, our team photographer was flitting from room to room to capture her impression of the school.  She had deleted a photo she’d taken of a cow, being led along scrubland on a bank above the school field, thinking this was simply passing traffic, independent of the school.  She was surprised to learn that this was in fact the ‘school cow’ leaving the school kitchen.  The school meals are prepared in a very simple building, currently under renovation at the edge of the school field.  It appears that this has enabled the meals to now be prepared inside, whereas last year the children’s porridge was cooked in a large vat over a fire outside on the bare earth, only in the rainy season cooking inside in a hut, with walls blackened by woodsmoke.

We had hoped to return to the King Saloman Academy on Tuesday but were informed that, having started the new term today after a 2 week break, tomorrow the school would be closed again for the Catholic Feast of the Assumption.

Back at the diocesan meeting room, Andy’s teaching was well underway.  During the afternoon the team led seminars as in Gasabo, whilst Andy and Isobel interviewed the pastors, whose parishes are supported by partners through Damascus Trust.  After fluffing her lines and many video retakes, even the interpreter Wilson, lent forward with encouraging words, …”And you were doing so well!”  Wilson is a pastor of a very remote parish and he was keen to tell us all about this plans to open a school.  He already has 42 3-5 year olds and a couple of young people lined up to teach them.  We wish to encourage him in this project and hope that he will have the capacity on his moped to carry some of the school resources we’ve brought to Rwanda with us, donated by friends in UK.

During our ladies’ seminar this afternoon,  it was interesting to note that there were no ladies wearing headdresses, quite different to the delegates in Kigali last week.  There were however many ladies with babies strapped to their backs, so as her ice breaker, Grace invited one of them to demonstrate how they secure the baby so it doesn’t fall out.  It always fascinates us how folds of knotted cloth create such a safe pouch.  Grace commented that she’d suddenly realised the benefit of plank bench seating in this country, such as in the cathedral, because chair backs are such an incumbrance to mothers carrying babies on their backs.

In the final teaching session this afternoon, Paul broke ranks and played with a tottering toddler in a bright red romper suit.  Unlike many of his peers, this little baby wasn’t phased by the alien appearance of mzungus and squealed with delight as Paul threw an empty water bottle for him to retrieve - much like playing ‘fetch’ with a puppy.

For us the day was more-or-less over, but for the pastors, it was a different story… But that’s for tomorrow.

Good-night.

Grace, Isobel, Hannah, Paul, Jonathan and Andy