CASH POWER

Welcome to the new economy…pay before you use it.

You must buy electricity credits before you use it. This was news to me until the power went off (not a system blackout) but my meter was dry. Stores sell electricity credits just like they sell minutes for your cell phone. You buy a card and punch the code into your meter. People who do have electricity conserve it though power strips and keeping all non-essential lights and appliances turned off. One night I forgot to turn off the front light after I drove in and the neighbor’s guard came to the gate to ask my guard to have me turn it off…amazing.

In the documentary, FLOW, it showed several parts of the world where the water was privatized and people had to buy tokens before they could go to the local well. It seems that in the “Developing World” the people least able to pay are charged up-front and at premium rates (because they can only buy small amounts and there is a price break for the more you buy).

This experience has taught me to place more than monetary value on the resources I take for granted at home.

Umuganda in Rwanda

Umuganda is a unique Rwandan experience...it is compulsory community service on the last Saturday of the month from 7:00-Noon for everyone over the age of 18. All businesses are closed and EVERYONE participates. It took place last Saturday and my local cell planted trees, cleaned the community garden and put up playground equipment.

Rwanda is, and has been a highly organised society. The country is divided into administrative regions called prefectures (the equivalent of counties); these are divided into districts which are divided into sectors then into communes which are finally divided into cells. This organisation, and the officials who control each region, pass on instructions from Rwanda’s leaders that are quickly carried out by ordinary people. This is how the genocide was able to spread so quickly.

Umuganda is a tradition which dates back to before the arrival of the Europeans. Some Rwandans return to their home cell (for many in Kigali this means going back to the village they were born) to receive instructions from the cell leader. They all carry out whatever type of community service has been decided on for that month – for example picking up trash, planting trees, clearing fields, fixing roads (I have not seen any improvement!), building houses, etc.

No one is exempt from this community service – the President, Ministers, Members of Parliament and even foreign diplomats participate. I will participate on July 25th and give you a first person account.

I found an interesting Opinion article on this subject in the English language newspaper The New Times. It talks about how much more powerful this tradition could be and gives examples of how to improve it.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200806030466.html

Can you imagine the impact if we all gave five hours for Community Service a month in our cities or towns? Would Americans embrace this idea and give up one Saturday morning a month? Interesting questions…

Powerful Message for 2009 Graduates

Jeffrey Hollender, the Chief Inspired Protagonist of Seventh Generation sent us an email containing the Commencement Address by Paul Hawken to the 2009 Class of the University of Portland.

Paul Hawken is a renowned entrepreneur, visionary environmental activist, and author of many books, most recently Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming.

Reading the speech had a significant impact on me and more than it would have a few months ago. Being in the "Developing World" and seeing so many issues first hand, it touched me personally. I am changing every day due to my experiences, new knowledge and being exposed to diverse perspectives and opinions.

You can find the speech on his website and it is well worth the five minutes if you have not read it yet.

http://www.paulhawken.com/

Star Gazing

I attended the final ceremony of the Film Festival last night and met Danny Glover!

He spoke very eloquently about his thoughts on Africa, being a Good Will Ambassador for UNICEF and how important it is for everyone to tell their story and preserve it in any means possible…film being the best way.

He explained that he was invited to come to Rwanda in 1997 as a UN Ambassador for a previous Development program (after the genocide) and did not come. He said many of the issues addressed in the documentary FLOW For the Love of Water were things the UN was addressing at that time but are no longer priorities.

http://www.flowthefilm.com/

The film asks the question “Can anyone own water?” and discusses the tug-of-war between public health and private interests. Interviews with scientists and activists outline the next biggest political and environmental crisis for our planet. I did not know that Water is the third largest industry in the world. I find that having the luxury of time to read, watch films and diverse TV programming, I have learned more in the past six weeks than I have in quite awhile.

FLOW tries to awaken and galvanize the viewer and gives some practical solutions that do not involve multi-billion dollar loans from the World Bank. Just as I recommended WAR CHILD, I think many of you would be very interested in FLOW.

I have included a few other photos and Helen, I think my friend Barbara (Nurse Practitioner) could be a relative and she is with Eddie the PAO (both from the US Embassy). Since the Festival started earlier, I was able to get a good photo of the inflatable screen they use to take the Festival into the Hills and how we watched FLOW under the stars last night.

Driving in Kigali

I have had the car for five weeks and driving in Kigali continues to be a challenge for a number of reasons:

• No Maps
• No Street Names
• No House Numbers
• Speed bumps everywhere
• 100’s of Motos (scooters that carry people and things)
• People always walking in the roads (major problem at night)
• No Street lights
• Very few traffic lights and several congested roundabouts

When someone gives directions they may use local names of streets or roads that a newcomer has no idea where they are. They also say things like “travel about 1 km until you see a utility pole and dirt road”…well there are hundreds of those and nothing to distinguish them. I am ok on the main roads and have even found a few shortcuts on the dirt or brick roads to save time and speed bumps but not having a 4-wheel drive makes those roads difficult to traverse.

I was invited to dinner and left when it was still light so I could follow the directions I wrote down. After three phone calls, my host had to come and pick me up at a gas station (asking someone to talk to him on the phone to tell him which Kobil station I was at, was also a great experience). Dinner was an hour late but everyone took it in stride. I am sorry to say I got lost driving home that night as well.

The photos are of a few interesting sights I have seen on the roads of Kigali: a truck full of live chickens hanging by their feet and a man on his bike with a 20 gallon milk container hitching a ride up a hill.

Power outage offers a different opportunity

The continuing issues of power and water struck again last might when Eddie and I went to the Film Festival Showing of the "Iron Women of Libriera". We went to the restaurant (photo of screen) and ordered our dinner while we waited for the movie to start.  Then the power went off and Chez Robert was in total darkness.  I used my cell phone flashlight for some light until they brought out a few candles.  It lasted about 15 minutes and during that time one man deicide to leave and took a header off the top step.   It took him about 5 minutes before he could sit up and finally stand (we wanted to call an ambulance but he said no he was just a little shaken up).

When the power came back on, the equipment did not work so they postponed the movie and eventually moved it to another venue.  We finally got our dinner (not the best) and decided to attend the opening of an art exhibit instead.  I am very glad we did because the artist had some fantastic work and Eddie and I each bought a piece.  The paintings are an invitation to look through (Umutima w’Urugo); the heart of the family.  The faces are expressive and sometime haunting.  She captures the simplicity of life by placing women at the center of all activities.  The Artist, Arlette Vandeneycken came to Rwanda 16 years ago with her Rwandan boyfriend and stayed.  I looked for a website to show you but she does not have one, only a Facebook page.



This beuatibul painting is hanging in my living room in Rwanda and they will pack it when the time comes to get it back to California.  In a way, the power outage “opened another door” and I found a beautiful memento of the trip. I would still like to see the documentary about three female ministers in Liberia and how they will determine the fate of the country, but it interferes with attending a debating society event on Sunday afternoon.  I have become a social butterfly!

A few thoughts on Rwandan TV

I have a total of 26 stations: 4 French, 2 Chinese, 2 Arabic and about 10 in various African Languages that sometime provide English programming and the rest in English. When I do turn on the tube, I generally watch Al Jazeera/English. I am very impressed with the scope of coverage and professional reporting. To me it is more informative than the BBC Africa (I do not get CNN International). I find they spend more time on each story so it is more like PBS due to in-depth reporting. They also are not as repetitive as the 24 hour stations in the US. Their investigative reports have helped me to understand some of the issues facing nations and people that I knew little or nothing about.

I also get a geography lesson each time they do the weather. I try to memorize 5-6 new cities and make the change from Celsius to Fahrenheit as my daily brain teaser! One of their major Bureaus is in Doha and I had to look up where that is (in case you don’t know either, it is the Capital of Qatar).

I recently watched a report on the tunnels being built in Myramar with North Korean support and how the missiles they will house will change the balance of power in the entire region. I am sorry to say that I know nothing about this until I watched the report. It made me realize that I need to broaden my list of new sources everyday to be better connected with the world and not just the US and our issues and politics.

I have also watched a portion of a Chinese soap opera with English sub titles that was too difficult to follow all the characters and interconnections and a two Bollywood films. Needless to say I do not watch much TV (the same in the US) and thank God I downloaded over 50 books on my Kindle before I left. I just started Crime and Punishment last night. I intersperse a classic in between novels and business books.