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Trip to Rwanda

Back in June I went on a trip to Rwanda. As a picture says a thousand words, here is a few thousand word essay.

This is a typical view from the capital Kigali.
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One of the people that I was traveling with
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The people we were staying with, for the first week, were a little better off that the average person in Rwanda. Here are a few shots from around their house.
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Showering out of a bucket, interesting.
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Kigali street at night
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A mud brick building and an outhouse. The outhouse scared me.
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Some local kids.
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Us learning to wash clothes African style, or so we are told.
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Random people on the side of the road.
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A church we were in, as a carpenter, the building methods scared the crap out of me.
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Sunset shots.
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More to come.

lowsound
 
Some artsy shot of my bible.
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Another sunset shot.
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The genocide memorial. One of the most sobering experiences of my life. The big cement pads are mass graves, they are constantly digging up bodies and bringing them there. There is an estimated 800,000 bodies buried there now. I actually met the architect that designed it. When the flame in the first picture is burning, it means that it is during the 40 days when the genocide took place.
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Kigali University.
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Downtown Kigali and a crowded bus.
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This place was always closed when we walked past.
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A rasta that was selling pot in downtown Kigali
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A few shots to break your hearts.
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Enjoy.

lowsound
 
Thanks for those pics. There's a real charm to Africa that you just can't describe. You see poverty, broken sidewalks and very warm people. Good for you.

My daughter will be spending part of her summer in Kampala as part of the program she's in at university.

Thank you for posting that.
 
Thanks for those pics. There's a real charm to Africa that you just can't describe. You see poverty, broken sidewalks and very warm people. Good for you.

My daughter will be spending part of her summer in Kampala as part of the program she's in at university.

Thank you for posting that.

I have found that any 3rd world country that I have been in has been like that. Very welcoming people, we should take a lesson or two from them on hospitality.

I have the opportunity to go to Kampala in August for two weeks then back to the same part of Rwanda for a week. We will see how it plays out, but I doubt that I will be able to go. I don't think that I can afford it.

lowsound
 
Lowsound is not Lowsound without the dreads and beard. Period.

My best friends dad just went to Africa, not sure where though. Said it changed his life for the better. Doesnt take anything for granted anymore.
 
Great pictures. Reminds me of a trip I took to Ghana in 2000 with a group from my church. Similar gorgeous countryside, simple structures, cute kids, and hospitality that was off the charts. It is amazing that the country has been come so far after such a terrible experience.

It may be a cliche that travel can change your life and that mission work tends to do more for the missionary than the missionee (is that a word :confused:); but I can testify that both are soooooo true.
 
Great pictures. Reminds me of a trip I took to Ghana in 2000 with a group from my church. Similar gorgeous countryside, simple structures, cute kids, and hospitality that was off the charts. It is amazing that the country has been come so far after such a terrible experience.

It may be a cliche that travel can change your life and that mission work tends to do more for the missionary than the missionee (is that a word :confused:); but I can testify that both are soooooo true.

Both of those statements are 100% true. I have been on 5 or 6 mission trips now and each one impacts me in a different way. Rwanda has been through so much, but the people and the government are working hard to work through those differences, put them behind them and look forward.

lowsound