We have been stuck inside all day - I know, a bit sad really on another beautiful day in Rwanda.
We have been preparing plans for meeting Callum and Paul on Tuesday, and we have some good news for both of them and that good news goes with lots of work. Anyway, thats why we have been in all day.
If you wait until Tuesday I hope to be able to share it with you.
Anyway, by the time we got to 5pm tonight we were stir crazy, and decided to go for a walk. You see at the bottom of our road there is actually a golf course. Now I need to speak to David McAdam about this, because there was no mention of a golf course in Kigali, and certainly not one 300 yards from Solace. If I had known a small bag of clubs might have come along - perhaps next time.
So Roger and I went for a walk, and very interesting it was. The golf course has 18 holes, and I have included a few shots of great golfers playing a championship round (bit suspicious you cannot see their clubs), but anyway the Irishman won.
Then we found the local lake where the kids go swimming and fishing - quite an art the fishing - but the fisherman was pretty successful as you can see.
The local village that is just below where we stay, is really poverty stricken, but you should have heard the fun the kids were singing in one of the houses - all afternoon the laughter and singing and drums rang out. We felt like going in and joining them, but just walked on past, tapping our toes and stubbornly refusing to dance - nothing changes.
Roll on Sunday services tomorrow - you never know, you might get a picture of Macfarlane dancing - heaven forbid!
6 days to home - but the really important memories will be the small villages we walked through tonight, loads of kids, seeking money, mums struggling to keep thinks clean, small mud houses in the middle of the city, just under expensive flats and private homes. Frustration that we cannot communicate, just have to smile and say hello, and be gentle and humble - knowing that we are privileged, can go home in a few days, but their lives live on here.
The key question - how do we provide help to support in their determination to rise above the enormous efforts of their just existing? What practical help can we provide? Will the College make a real difference to these youngsters?
Too many questions, and not nearly enough answers.
Frustrating that I do not have the answers, and that the problem seems so big. At least in Kigali there is a real sense of Government seeking to do something significant to make a difference, and there are loads of organisations working hard and achieving valuable improvements.
On Monday, the president is sworn in, its a public holiday, and a big party begins - should be very interesting.
Next time I will bring my clubs - saves us having to pretend to play, and should be able to beat Rog with real golf sticks, mind you the fairways were pretty tough!
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