This is the greeting that I have heard over again today, my first day of work here in the Kigali office of the American Refugee Committee. The greeting is always accompanied by the warm smiles and embraces that I have come to love in this part of the world.
Arriving back in Rwanda feels to me very much like coming home and it is wonderful to be here. Kigali continues to modernize and improve and looks really nothing like what most people might imagine in an African country so recently at war. The streets are well tended, there are many new sidewalks, and the boulevards are filled with green grass and flowering trees. Thanks in part to a new law prohibiting the use of plastic shopping bags there is no litter to speak of, and the monthly community cleanup days have kept the whole population engaged in improving the appearance of their city.
I have started my work with a five-day workshop in Kigali with my wonderful ARC Rwanda IGP team. I also have the great good fortune of having a full-time assistant, a young American woman named Leah Elliott. She has already added a lot of energy to our work and seems excited about being part of the Income Generation Program.
No photos as yet, but will try to post some while I have a relatively speedy internet connection here in Kigali. I’ll be off to Kibuye on the shores of beautiful Lake Kivu next week.
Louise
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