Week 1 - Kigali and Nyamasheke

Week 1 saw a number of challenges. For many, arriving in East Africa was a major culture shock. The temperature, the people, the food, the roads...everything was different. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the road was, then shocked at how poor anything but the main roads are.

Our first day was spent in Kigali, visiting the Genocide Memorial. This gave us all a better understanding of the struggles the country has been through and the struggles it continues to face. It truly is incredible how the country has been rebuilt after such a horrific event. There was a notable sense of sadness and pain as we travelled through the country but this was overshadowed by an incredible sense of optimism and purpose. Everyone was proud of their country and keen to share the successes they have seen and the plans they have for the future.

I was also surprised at just how friendly and welcoming the people were. As our busses drove through town after town we were greeted in the same way. People would stop and stare then a shout of "Mzungu" would ring out. People would wave and children would start to chase the buses cheering, smiles the width of their faces.

Eventually we arrived at our accommodation, Ishara. The view over lake Kivu was simply stunning. Our rooms were simple but we were lucky to have individual en-suite rooms with double beds. I say en-suite: water was intermittent and we regularly resorted to using jerry cans of water for washing etc. But as time went on it started to feel like home. Many people made friends with the local wildlife with fellows sharing rooms with geckos, spiders, frogs and bats! I was lucky to only notice a small cricket.

During our first week we spent time planning, having a language lesson and generally settling in and preparing for the weekend's conferences. We realised that Rwandan cuisine was a little less varied than at home and we grew accustomed to an evening meal of rice, beans, chips and goats. Much excitement happened one evening when peas were served!

Our first conferences went well. Over 200 hungry teachers arrived in time for breakfast of sweet tea and a bread roll. These teachers were so well turned out and cheerful. Some had walked over three hours to be at the conference and had willingly given up two consecutive weekends to take part. Rwanda teachers have a special enthusiasm and passion for their job. Their working conditions are not great with large class sizes (50 or more is not uncommon), little paper and pens and certainly no IT. Teachers work double shifts, often have no lunch and do all of this for a very poor wage. Yet these teachers had walked huge distances to work with us.

We all delivered our sessions, trying to adapt them so they would be as useful as possible, each of us feeling a heightened sense of responsibility to make the project work. Our teachers were thoughtful and receptive and many were willing to challenge us meaning everyone was able to develop. Unfortunately, for some, there was a language barrier as their grasp of English was poor but everyone adapted and found ways to overcome this. My first teaching mentor said that one of the keys to teaching is flexibility - she was so right.

On Sunday night we celebrated completing the first phase. By now the team was very tight-knit and we shared our tales over dinner, keen to get into schools the following week to see our teachers in action.