Weird Weekend

Kigali Institute of Education

5.2 on the Richter scale apparently, 35 miles North of Goma. So, it's moving up the fault lineI guess. February's was right down South in Bukavu. No one at the gig felt anything lol

Doesn't seem to be any significant damage done as it hasn't hit the international press.

Thursday was most excellent. Started training my two new apprentice Funding Officers: Felix & Victoi. Both wonderful people and I have great hopes for them. We did a three-hour Introduction to Fundraising, preceded by an introduction to the organisation by its Director. Was excellent.

The only thing is that these two are university students on holiday. They can't go back to their families until my course is over, and the uni don't pay their accommodation whilst they're here, so they've asked if they can do two sessions a week - to which I said yes. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for the next fortnight. This week we'll start by tackling Project Planning, which is probably the largest of the units I'm giving and may overrun a little as there's so much to pack in.

Saturday was also most excellent. It was their organisation's annual conference, which they held at KIE (Kigali Institute of Education) up the road from me. Alicia (who was staying at mine) and Cathryn turned up. Just to reiterate, this organisation (KW) doesn't have a VSO volunteer of its own, but VSOs who have spare time invest it in this organisation. VSO is helping it to run independently and they've just got NGO status :)

I rolled up for the afternoon at the conference, where they had an open mic session with members showing their stuff: poetry, music, stand-up, stories. It was totally brilliant, and some real talent there. Makes my job as a Funding Officer easier - they're a very marketable organisation. Apparently the conference made the front page of the New Times today :)

Thanks also to D & S (my CouchSurfers) who have donated a substantial amount of money from their fundraising pot :) Really appreciated guys!

Also got approached by one of the members, who is a student at a school in Butare, with a group of around 15 guys trying to set up a radio station. They want me to go and give them the funding training, so I said yes to that. Need to work out financial logistics, but I'm well up for it.

Also had to stand up in front of everyone and give a speech! Thanks to the Director for the (lack of) warning! Heehee.

Love this group. So much potential and so motivated.

Afterwards, me, Cathryn and Alicia went to SoleLuna with Amanda (volunteer), Giudi, and Jo (my new American friend stranded en route to Chad). Had a great meal, then decided to go to the Petit Stad as Rafiki, who is a big Rwandan coga star (D interviewed him for Eyecon), was playing. D joined us at the concert around 10:30.

It was an awful gig. Supposedly started at 8pm, but we rolled up around 9:30. Rafiki didn't come on until about 1:30am. For the entire four hours we were subjected to the most dire karaoke-style rap. It was truly painful. Lots of people left - lots of empty seats - some booing. No beer, food, heating. It was crap. There was even a security guy chasing people away from the stage if they dared to dance! More like a concentration camp than a concert.

Finally, after everyone was bored to tears, Rafiki came on... horribly mediocre. Cathryn and I just looked at one another and exchanged a glance that said 'we spent four hours waiting for this?' then went home. Alicia and Amanda said it got better but, uh, no, thanks. First and last concert at the Petit Stad, thank you very much.

Got in around 2am and had just sat down to check my e-mails when the earthquake struck.

Alicia, Amanda and D, who were still at the concert, didn't even feel it! Rafiki must have got better - that or he'd sent everyone to sleep.

Alicia and Amanda stayed here the night and headed off next morning. I was looking forward to a disgustingly lazy Sunday, eating peanut butter & honey toasties and drinking endless cups of tea whilst watching movies, and piddling about on t'internet.

Not to be.

"Tried to put the kettle on," Alicia says as I emerge, somewhat groggy, from my room. "No electricity."

"No worries," says I. "Will probably be back on in a few minutes."

Four hours later my laptop battery is long dead and still no electricity. I'm getting a bit peeved by this and, for want of a toastie and a cup of tea, I go back to bed for a nap.

A couple of hours later I wake, hoping the problem has just gone away... no such luck. So I begrudgingly put on some almost presentable clothes and brave the outside world. I head to the place that sells electricity over the road and ask if there's a power-out.

Nope.

Thanks.

What's worse is my phone wasn't charged. That died on me, so I couldn't call anyone - like my landlady.

Slightly worried now, I walk back and bump into my next door neighbour, Dr. Felix - cancer specialist. He comes to take a look, saying it's the box not the fuse, and lets me charge my phone at his house whilst also kindly calling my landlady and telling her about it.

She's on her way back from Gitarama so gets here around 7pm, by which time my house is a romantic array of candles. I so rarely have electricity cuts that last more than half-an-hour that I don't have any kerosene kicking about. I'd been to Kobil over the road, and they didn't have any either.

So, she calls an electrician. He says only Electrogaz can fix it, so they'll have to go there tomorrow.

Oh, well.

I ended up walking up towards Amahoro. Epiphanie, my landlady, took me to a little back-street shop to buy kerosene, then showed me her house, which is right next to Programme Director Mike's. Her son and his friend walk me back home and dropped me at Ndoli's, where I picked up ice-cream and Belgium waffles. Comfort binge.

So, lugging this jerrycan of fire lighter and my goodies, I get to my door, creek open the gate, and discover... my electricity has come back on!

Something like a twelve-hour power cut - just at my house.

*sigh*

Felt like a right twonk phoning Epiphanie to tell her. I thought it had to be a power cut, but it was going on so long and no one else was out. I couldn’t understand and thought it must be broken. Oh, well. Sorry Epiphanie!

Gave me a real chance to bond with my neighbour and landlady though. They are lovely people. Epiphanie speaks about as much English as I do French, but we do pretty well in broken French and Kinyarwanda. Mum's French tapes are certainly helping loads. I understand lots, I just can't quite make it come out of my mouth yet.

So. Strangely successful, odd day. Water is sort of on again. She had to get a guy to fix that as the guy I'd called messed up a bit. But, even then, the tank wasn't filling. Seems I can either have running water or electricity - not both.

Fingers crossed it all keeps working.

And back to work tomorrow.