By Cat Gelderloos
It was slow Thursday morning (26 January). Most of us woke up around 10, and breakfast arrived at 10.33. We had the morning off and took advantage of it. Some went to a market, some to a different part of town, some were doing some work or reading a book, and some went to sleep again. The past few days have been tiring, and we're all starting to be overwhelmed by the experiences and each other, so it is good to have a chance to rest and clear our minds.
With a delicious smoothie from a place across the street, we set off on our journey to Transparency International Rwanda to meet with their executive director, Mupiganyi Apollinaire. This is an NGO that holds the powerful and corrupt to account by exposing systems and networks that enable corruption. Because of an idea that (as they say in Rwanda) if you keep the cattle, you drink the milk (if you have power, you have the right to benefit from that power), corruption was a big issue in Rwanda. Now, there exists a zero-tolerance for corruption. It has helped to almost fully get rid of corruption in the public sphere but privately it is still difficult, as cultural change is a long process. Rwanda's CPI (Corruption Perception Index) is now 53/100, also thanks to Transparency International. TI-RW tries to educate people and engage them in discussion, thus empowering citizens. Through helping citizens gain a voice, they guide them to be the drivers of change. Mr. Mupiganyi Apollinaire closed off with saying: "If you want to achieve something, don't fear the big people, don't fear," thereby inspiring each one of us.
After the first meeting, we immediately went to the Ministry of Youth and Culture to talk to the Director of Youth Empowerment, Solange Tetero. We have talked to some women, but very few were in such high positions. It was good to hear her perspective on the inclusion of women in society. Rwanda has guided women to power but position does not mean contribution, and they are focussing on that right now. She says that more effort is needed at the grassroots level, the more you go down the ladder in decentralisation, the fewer women you see. She and the ministry are working to engage youth in decision making, including the vulnerable groups of youth. As young people, it is very powerful to see the effort the government puts into including young voices by educating them, creating jobs for them and being in dialogue with them. Young voices are needed for a sustainable future.
With my project group, which includes Berber and Francesca, I rushed to the rehearsal of the Inganzo Ngari troop we saw at the Milles Collines the other day. It took us a while to find them, as they were on the basketball court at a school. We entered the school while it just ended, so we were met with many kids looking at us, confused as we followed a school staff member through the fields and gates. The whole troop is way bigger than what we saw on Friday, I think around 50 people were standing together on a basketball court. They were accompanied by people having personal training work-out sessions, running up and down the stairs, and a church choir singing in the background. It was so special to see the troop without it having to be a performance. The joy the dance brought connected each and every one of them. When the musicians entered after an hour, it came together as a whole. Dancers who were not dancing joined the musicians huddled up together in a corner. Screams of encouragement, rhythmic clapping on all sides, and genuine smiles of joy. This is how music should be shared, spontaneously, from the bottom of your heart.
We arrived a bit too late for our last dinner at the hostel, offered to us by the manager. As it was the last night, we asked some of the staff to join us for dinner. We have grown attached to the place and the people, so it was a very special night with speeches and a lot of gratitude. We ended up bowling at the bowling alley in the hostel (the only one in the whole country) with some people, including the boss and the manager of the hostel, Robert and Desi. We were nothing compared to them, their smooth moves compared to our clumsy tries were like art. In the end, every one of the students lost with everyone missing all the pins more than once. We ended the night sitting on our balcony sharing stories and crying from laughing. Safe to say it was a great last night.
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