JumpSuit Electricians

I apologize in advance for the brevity and lack of editing on this post. I have a few minutes, but want to communicate my last weeks experience. We havent had electricity at our house in Bugesera for the last few weeks due to the rain that is constantly shorting the cables. We decided to hire a “local” electrician who proceeded to tell us that our house was wired wrong and that the negative was in the neutral and some other electrical talk. My question was why it had worked for all that time before, but he didnt seem to comprehend my english. He went ahead and re-wired everything only to blow out all our light bulbs and my computer just happened to be plugged in. How is that for faith. Once we got the power back up and running I realized that my computer wasnt working anymore…. Long story short we tested the charger and it seemed to be giving power (according to the electrician) so I knew that my motherboard was shot. Instantly I wanted to go home just thinking about the horrible unproductive last month I would have here without a computer on top of losing some really important data. However, after a morning at the computer shop with the help of Access Project we found it was only the charger and they repaired it for me… the best 25,000 RWF I ever spent….

P.s. This was titled Jumpsuit Electricians because I think anyone can put on a blue jumpsuit and become an electrician in a matter of minutes in this country..

Next Post: Aesthetics and the Poor… Does it Matter?

 

SuperBowl and Shelter from the Storm

No that is not a Bob Dylan reference… I was walking home from the hospital the other day when we began to have a heavy downpour. Since Nyamata is one of the dryest parts of the country, I never expected to get caught in the rain for an extended period of time. As I realized that I was carrying my laptop and it wouldnt be a good idea to proceed, I ducked into the local high school where there was a small shelter for the security guard. Needless to say he was very suprised to see a foreigner standing under his shelter with him. His shelter is a small makeshift corrugated iron building where these guards sit all day and are paid a huge salary of $30 USD per month. Unfortunately, it was pretty hard to communicate, but the 30 or so minutes I spent there were another reminder of the dramatic poverty of this country.

On a brighter note… some of the local missionaries invited me and Eric, another Brandeis student in Rwanda, to come watch the SuperBowl. Unfortunately, the game started at 1:00 AM. By the time the game was finished it was 6 AM and I was completely exhausted. Also, due to the fact the game was being broadcast here we didnt get any commercials, but rather saw ads for the World Baseball Classic over and over and over and over…. It was a great game though, but the next day I was really shot.

Last week I decided that I wanted to go see the school where Jimmy, our former houseboy, goes to school. Jean-Marie, my roomate, and I went to the school to meet the administrator and see the school. We arrived to a very orderly well maintained school that has recently been ranked the best school in the country outside of Kigali schools. All of the instruction is now in English as the President recently made this a mandate due to their blatant hatred for the French. We met his teacher and took a few pictures, while thoroughly embarassing Jimmy.

I am up in the North of Rwanda this week doing an audit of health centers here. Eric and I are giong to Gisenyi this morning which is a border town of Goma, Congo. It is on Lake Kivu and is supposed to be one of the most scenic places in Rwanda. Sorry for such a random update, but I had internet for a half-hour and wanted to try it.

 

Surgery in Rwanda

Well it is a good thing I have good health insurance because otherwise I dont know if I could have gotten surgery today… oh wait it was about 5 dollars to go under the knife. I had an ingrown nail that was infecting my finger and it really hurt. As I was waiting to go in for the procedure this old man who had been in a motorcycle accident came in unconscious and bleeding. I waited with a few other patients and tried to chat it up.

As they were about to give me anasthetic I realized that they werent going to poke a small hole and drain the puss, but rather they were going after the nail. However, I wasnt really ready for that and I got a little bit dizzy. However, it would have really hurt if they didnt give the anasthetic. Also, when he was about to give me the shot I touched the syringe so they had to get another sterile one. I was impressed and also reminded that I dont know a lot about medicine. I should stick to public health and health systems.

Anyway, they yanked the hangnail out and bandaged me up. I am home now with a throbbing finger and I am going to take a nap. Otherwise all is well in Africa…

 

Is anything important happening in the world?

Since being back in Rwanda I am reminded of the luxury of instant and constant connectivity in the States. However, now that I am back in Nyamata I am essentially disconnected except for the occasional French news on the radio that I strain to understand. As an aside, why do new brodcasters speak so quickly? So today I am at the office and am connected to the internet and I dont know where to begin with trying to catch up. I obviouslly heard that Obama was inagurated which I am increasingly optimistic about; the economy seems to be in a continual tailspin; the rebel commander in the Congo was captured; and the Cardinals are in the SuperBowl (Did I read correctly?).

Being disconnected for these last few weeks hasnt been the end of the world and I think that I am ok with not knowing what is going on. I am going to go buy a copy of the New Times on my way home to make sure I keep up with the latest positive propoganda on Rwanda, but other than that I am content to be uninformed.

Work on the data for our research is going well and we have almost finished all of the data cleaning and will be able to move forward with the analysis. I am getting a little concerned about my thesis and PhD applications, but there isnt a whole lot I can do besides worry. I am working with Access Project doing audits of the health centers they provide services to and will be pretty busy until Katie gets here in March and then we do some traveling.

I look forward to hearing from any of you.

 

Coup d’etats and Dissent— Welcome Back!

I arrived back in Rwanda on Monday and there has been relatively little notable events in the country over that week—or so I thought. While Rwanda is often praised as one of the most secure Africa countries, we are surrounded by wars and instability. The DRC to the West is in civil war that constantly threatens the borders of Rwanda, Burundi is recently out of a 20 year war and the American Embassy evacuated all personnel last week, Kenya recently had election mayhem and Uganda is soon to come whenever Museveni is up for re-election again.

One night after I had returned home, I settled in by the radio to listen to the BBC World News in English and was stunned to hear that 18 military leaders had been sentenced for treason. What was their crime you may ask? These men attempted a coup d’etat bringing in grenades and guns from the DRC, but they were unsuccessful.

I wondered why no one here had heard anything about this so I went to town the next day and bought a paper where there was no mention of the coup attempt. I wonder how much of our peace and stability is an illusion or if the Rwandan government is suppressing this story because of the possible negative repercussions from the international community’s investment in Rwanda. However, for a democratic society that is lauded in the press around the world, this suppression of the story as well as the completely one-sided elections give me cause to consider the merits of having a military leader—democratically elected or not.

Other interesting things:

Gas Is 9+ dollars in the village for a gallon and 5 dollars in town. So much for 40 dollars a barrel huh?

The U20 World Cup Qualifier is here and I am going to see Mali and Rwanda play today

Our Houseboy Jimmy is going to school

 

Kenya Airport

Some of my best inspiration comes in this airport….

London Heathrow airport is always quite an experience. I love the fact that it is always full of people from all over the world who are stuck for endless hours in that hell of an airport— no heating was a nice touch. My night consisted of me trying to lay across chairs that have built in arm rests, listening to a Chinese guy snore at random and really loud intervals, watching a Muslim couple trying to sleep sitting upright and the BAA people always walking around to make sure everything was in order (eg. to make sure we were uncomfortable). Also, during interminable time in London I hung out with a man from Bogata who insisted on speaking to me in Spanish and he was sure that I understood all he said. Unfortunately, I was only able to learn that he was going home and had a longer layover than me. However, during the 20 hour hiatus in LHR we continually bumped into each other and with a  collegiality that you would swear was built over years of relationship we would meet, exchange a few excited words and then continue on our way. In the isolation of an airport it is always nice to make airport friends.

I also took the plunge and entered Europe for the first time in my life. I went into the city and walked around looking at art museums and going for aimless bus rides in loops around the city. My initial goal was to see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, but I ended up hanging out at a McDonalds that was heated. At the end of the afternoon I wandered into a bunch of Israelis waving flags and I knew that the Palestinian protesters must be near. I found them and observed for a while not even realizing that I had on a Brandeis sweatshirt. After this I went back to the airport for my 9 hour flight to Kenya. I havent really slept very well in the last few days so I am really excited to get in my bed in Rwanda.

 

Is America a Christian Nation?

“In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is easier to acquire wealth and power by this combination than by deserving them, and to effect this, they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer for their purposes”

-Thomas Jefferson

“It is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be read. By the same test the world must judge me. But this does not satisfy the priesthood. They must have a positive, a declared assent to all their interested absurdities. My opinion is that there would never have been an infidel, if there had never been a priest”

-Thomas Jefferson

What influence in fact have Christian ecclesiastical establishments had on civil society? In many instances they have been upholding the thrones of political tyranny. In no instance have they been seen as the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to subvert the public liberty have found in the clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate liberty, does not need the clergy.

-James Madison

 

This is why I dont like Christians….

Here is the latest rant from the fading power base of the religious right which is represented by Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson. Fortunately, this powerbase is waning and the old guard is changing to guys like Jim Wallis and Shane Claiborne.

JD decided to write a fear-mongering letter predicting the end of the world if Obama is elected. He basically calls all of us who would dare to vote against him (JD and the Religious Right that is) as heretics who dont care about life and have lost the biblical message. It is unfortunate that he uses fear to try to motivate people to do what he wants and fortunately he didnt succeed. Here is the link to 2012 — Hell is coming… or something like that..

http://focusfamaction.edgeboss.net/download/focusfamaction/pdfs/10-22-08_2012letter.pdf

In response I thought Jim Wallis wrote a note that gives me a little bit of hope in Christians around the world to not blindly follow vocal leaders like JD.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-wallis/james-dobsons-letter-from_b_139253.html

 

My first iReport Story for CNN

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-126198

 

Wisdom from Warren Buffett

Loosely paraphrased….

“Be afraid when investors are greedy and be greedy when they are afraid.”