The Spirit of Giving

So we survived Africa and its crazy drivers driving recklessly at home seems so sedate! We spent the last week in Rwanda chasing down the Prison's Inspector to investigate the plight of 438 children who were born in Rwandan prisons and kept there without any prospect of an education, freedom or experience of the outside world. We were close but our time ran out and it was likely that she was stalling us as we ran around the city! We visited a few more cooperatives up in the east of the country near Akagera National Park. We also visited Lake Mhanza where the President lives. It was so good to swim and to be in water that hasnt came out of a jerry can! Driving back Jumavie cleaned a guy on a bike as his wing mirror exploded the guy seemed unhurt and ran off before Jumavie could kick his ass!

Leaving Rwanda was hard. Vincent was silent and could barely look at us as his eyes welled up! The local kids had given us pictures of themselves and we gave some of us but we hope to be back to see them soon especially Vincent who was such a lively friend who always made us smile and laugh! We jumped onto the bus and watched as we left Justin and Kigali behind. The rolling hills passed us by as some awful films like Crying Freeman, From China with Lova about chinese girl getting circumcised in Tanzania and Army of One were played on the bus. It felt really surreal watching a film like I was at home and then looking out the window as an elderly woman carried a jerry can through the jungle.

We arrived at the border and Mark gave some cheek to the Ugandan customs officer as he was asking for another $50 for entering Uganda even though Mark had paid $50 for entering Uganda when he arrived less than three weeks ago and had only stayed in Uganda for twelve hours - rage! I waltzed in handed my Irish passport, my British in my other pocket, and got into Uganda for free again! Mark on the other hand got his money and passport thrown back at him and was told to re-enter Uganda through Entebbe!

We finally got sorted and headed up to Kampala took another 7 hours of painful driving on dusty bumpy roads - and I mean painful on one bump I was thrown out of my seat so hard I hit the roof more than three foot above me. We finally arrived in Kampala and headed to our hostel in the west side of the city.

Next couple of days we spent in the city meeting up with friends and travelling around before heading to the Ssese Islands in the middle of Lake Victoria to chill and to get our heads around the last couple of months.

After a few days we headed back to Kampala. Mark was loving that people in Uganda didnt call him mzungu so he didnt have to respond with shut up black man in swahili! We visited a slum full of refugees from the Congo, Sudan and Northern Uganda. We met a man Patrick who was from the Congo and had his son killed in front of him because his wife was a Tutsi and his three year old daughter had been raped in the slum a few days ago but thankfully wasnt HIV+. Joe's place Hands for Hope was a really breathe of fresh air for aid work as he encouraged mzungus to come out to assess what was needed then ensure their help would be sustainable once they left which seemed to work weel with a school, library and coops set up. Other aid agencies we met and seen seemed to be focused on securing contract for white people to work and drive around in fancy white jeeps while the people around starved to death and were raped the camp in Goma, DRC was a clear example of this.

On Ssese we met alot of 'aid workers' one French guy was working for MSF in Bunia, in northern DRC which was the heart of the conflict a few years ago and still receives refugees but MSF is closing the massive concret hospital which the built and sacking all their workers what a waste for a country which has little or no hospitals. A group of English teenagers were out building a school with no experience of building work instead they fly out half way across the world to build a school which can easily built by the locals. The one thing that has impressed me the most has been the craftsmanship of Ugandans and Rwandans alike in wood work its really impressive what they can do without any mechanical tools!

For a long time I have been questioning the role of aid in Africa. It has become consumer aid we give a little in order to help ourselves get a t-shirt or hoodie that says Uganda '09 or I saved Africa when in fact these people spend thousands of pounds to do a job which a local with far more skill can do for a fraction of the price! Even sending clothes to africa is a waste of time never give any clothes to appeals that come through your door as it never gets handed out to the people who need it rather it is sold in the local market!

Think its time aid workers got out of africa or at least we train locals the means to support themselves including ensuring good governance and security as a priority.

I'll End You

So Mark, Gerry and Justin disappeared into the Congo on Wednesday and Thursday and they were supposed to meet with the UNHCR to talk about them doing piss all to help the 1.1million refugees in North Kivu alone. UNHCR didnt turn up theyre on holiday lucky them! But we delivered aid and my concoction to combat cholera ie salt and sugar! So far six kids in the camp have died from it the UNHCR remains adamant that there is no cholera!

Anyway Mark managed to get us into a party at the British Embassy through one of his friends so we Brited up though we thickened our accents and turned up late like true Irish and pretty much slagged everyone we talked to. We turned up it was a pub in the embassy called the Gorilla and the Goat drinks were cheap and the brochettes were awesome. The party was an eclitic mix: Rwandans who thought they were white and rich were in one corner but no white people talked to them then you had the tourists who had came to see the gorillas and had came to the embassy with their bumbags and rucksacks then the squaddies either mercs or private security, couple of volunteers, embassy staff and some white colonists relics from a time gone by still harking on about the empire.

We got talking to a couple of Norn Iron folk one guy called Ronan from Randalstown and Paul from Ballyclare - culcy as! But Paul was working for one of Bill Gates trust funds encouraging coffee cooperatives across east Africa. He made the mistake of trying to slag us and we ripped into him saying that he didnt go to Queens for "agricultural economics" but Greenmount and he was a glorified culcy.

We then got talking to his friend Kirsty who is the Rwandan Prime Minister's advisor ha mistake talking to me! I started off with what does your job involve then asked does the prime minister have any power considering its an authoritarian state. She used to work for Tony Blair so I asked her what it was like moving from democracy to a dictator her answer was 'interesting'. I asked her a few more questions on Congo 'its complicated' or 'I cant answer that' so I got bored and Mark and I tried to find another person to harass.

We met this expat, ex SAS claimed he worked on the Collateral and Bourne Ultimatum films said he served in Norn Iron and Iraq for six years and he is not working for a private security firm. His backers where Libya apparently and he was trying to get work in Congo. Though he said we were insane going to Congo - 'they eat people there you know' and 'Ive been is some shitty countries but I wouldnt go near Congo'. Love the old imperialists who dont trust Rwandans in their house or even to talk to. They were so racist it was crazy but after a few drinks I was advising him on the Congo ah me working for amnesty advising a mercenary that the Congo is where the real money is!

I managed to redeem myself by the end of the night by asking one of the embassy staff who works with the President if the whole justice/gacaca thing is going to work out and will Kagame survive considering that his predecessors died horribly - one starved to death and the other had his plane blown up and land in his house. She said it was a pretty big gamble and depended on the government showing that with out much electoral support they can achieve real results such as pulling people out of poverty etc which is happening in parts of Rwanda but that its gamble and if they lost it would be bad.

A fun night though most expats seem to stick together and they let bloody americans into the embassy! Most people went there every week and it seemed more of a pick up joint. Mark wanted to get his foot in the diplomatic door but nearly ended up in a fight with the SAS guy after he slagged Mark which Mark replied "I'll end you!" lol what a legend!

Thnks fr th mmrs

So its been another crazy week in central Africa!

Last week we had the luck of being in Kigali on the 4th of July National Liberation Day and it was the 15th anniversary so Museveni, Nyerere and Zaweri were all there plus Kagame! We arrived after eight to find thousands of Rwandans around the gates waiting to get in and we were right at the back! Luckily waiting for Justin we found a side gate for white people with invititations however our invititations must have got lost in the post so we didnt have any. However after a while a large group of rwandans had spotted the gate and another crowd grew so much that the guards at the gate couldnt hold them back. So started the stampede for the gate people were falling everywhere but we managed to slip in before the gates were closed in front of the pile of bodies which were strewn on the ground. One woman was screaming in pain and rubbing her foot which was clearly broke I told some guy to stop massaging it and tried to get the medic 3m away to help but he just smiled!

We left the madness behind and tried to get into the stadium but there were presidential guards and metal detectors everywhere so running the guards wasnt a plan! There was a white gate again so we waited but didnt have an invitation so had to wait but it paid off and we managed to get into the VIP area n front row seats score!

There was a media section to our right with a massive army contingent beside that with some conspicous white people beside generals at the front! there were a few americans there too all dressed up for some reason we were rough looking literally rolled out of bed with all our water!

Kagame, Museveni and yer man from ethiopia all arrived in big jeeps n mercs only two meters from us got out and waved. The stadium floor was full of soldiers and police men who marched around and looked right which the crowd went crazy over - easy crowd. Then two red beret MPs marched around with the flags literally like duracell bunnies it was hilarous! Museveni looked like a turtle and barely smiled until he started speaking and he started cracking jokes and was quite funny. Somehow ethiopian troops had fought in 1994 surprisingly and Museveni and Pauly must have made up after Pauly killed his friend then tried to fight the ugandan army in the congo for the last few years over gold.

Then the attack helicopters which had been flying over our house the last few days flew over all ten of them would hate to meet them in the Congo! Kagame spoke in english then some itora dancers came out with like three dozen drummers it was awesome! We as the army was moving out but couldnt leave and so had to stand surrounded by soldiers and all the top guys in Rwanda and at one point we were standing beside a couple of generals they didnt want a photo with us harsh!

We left the stadium and had the worst lunch ever in the Le Banjo just down from the stadium we ordered some chicken n chips and the chicken came out and you couldnt eat it it went everywhere as we tried to split it then the fanta got spilt a few times by the time we finished we were covered in orange sauce and were still so hungry!

Most of this week we have been writing up testimonies and our report and newspaper article it has been so long and boring but we got it done!

Yesterday we had to meet with human rights commission to get permission to visit the prisons were children are being held but we ended up get half a dozen different buses to four different ministries to get permission and in the end we were told we just had to write a letter rage! but we somehow ended up in the defence ministry which was fun mark was taking sneaky photos but his camera is so bloody noisy that the guards at the front armed with aks nearly caught us!

Then yesterday afternoon we were in the amazing market near our house were you can buy anything and mark started teaching the locals irish dancing it was hilarous! Then last night with the locals we had a wee concert singing and playing the guitar it was alot of fun some guy came up in the dark took the guitar and started playing the house of the rising sun in kinyarwandan it was excellent!

Now we are chilling this afternoon then heading to an ethiopian restaurant beside our house! food here is amazing and so cheap!

Probably heading to congo on wednesday I have been in contact with the UNHCR about how the children in the camp we visited are now dying in droves from cholera so they want to meet but they say that no children have died my arse! they also say they feed everybody in the camps and there have people working in the camps and are surprised I didnt meet any of them!

The Laws have Changed

It has been one crazy week going from nearly getting lynched for playing with the kids to nearly getting lynched for not giving $200,000 to build a church because were rich americans!

We started off the week by working in local cooperatives in and around kigali. We visited a place where they raise rabbits and crops down in the valley. The goverment owns most of the agricultural land - handy I know - and it only lets people use it if they come together as a group or association. It is a good way of building community and supporting each other and it definately works. Most of this week we have seen numerous coops were people are coming together to work despite the past.

On Tuesday we visited a farm outside the city it was twenty minutes or so down a dirt road which didnt seem to far. We saw a field full of aubergines and of course we apparently became farmers as we helped pick the latest crop which was loads so much that they gave Justin a massive bag. After we looked around talked to a few people and were taken up to somebody's house. There was some honey being made and banana beer making place thing ie a wooden bath with a stick! Banana beer is em well different we first had it in Gisenyi I asked some Congolese guy to get us one and we cracked it open it was dark so I took a large gulp not realising that banana beer is 14%! And it doesnt taste too great! Anyhoo we were told to go up to the next farm yea Im back to tuesday again keep up - they did the old trick of its not too far! It was really hot as we walked up this hill like four miles in the heat of the day 30C it was a brute! But we got to the top and found a lion - well a drawing of a lion but a lion none the less and a pig you would think Rwanda was Jewish or Muslim with its lack of pigs like whats wrong with bacon or honey cured ham! I missed both and was considering killing these peoples' only pig and source of food but luckily by the end of the week I was porked out! But talking to the people was good alot were widows and survivors of the genocide.

On wedneday we travelled to another cooperative which was made up of hiv positive people and survivors of the genocide who were really struggling to survive. Luckily CJ has invested $1000 into building a bakery for them but they still need $400 to start work. They told us stories of their lives during the genocide how groups of killers used to haunt their town seeking their blood from a piece of paper which had their named scralled on it for many it was their effective death warrant for the rest it destroyed their lives and families. We struggled to understand how these people did survive and were still able to get up in the morning and even smile. one girl told of how her mother had been raped by seven men in one night and now has HIV. How does a country which has been damaged, hurt and lost so much continue? I suppose it really shows the resilience and strength of humans but with most if not all of the survivors their strength comes from their faith in God like in Goma at times of hunger and hardship it is Him who helps them through and is a real testiment to their own faith even after the horrors and atrocities they have lived through.

For the weekend Coeur Joyeux had organised a crusade to do some healing and reconciliation! For the Crusade I had prepared my red cross tunic, sharpened my sword and was waiting to get the next flight to Jerusalem to take back the city for Christendom! Instead we headed down on the bus 6 hours of back sweating and leg debilitating journey down to Cyangugu on the border with the Congo and the notorious Bukavu.

Bus drivers in africa seem to defy the logic of self perservation, common sense and the laws of the road as they hurtle down the road at 60-70mph tryin their best to throw the whole bus into the nearest ravine. Maybe when I was on the plane the laws of common sense changed! Not looking forward to next bus trip to Kampala the brutal 11 hour journey over every hole in the road!

Chris preached at the crusade opening with the great 700 year struggle that Ireland has faced dissident repubilicans would be proud first an irish passport now this some people! but his preaching on reconciliation and healing and forgiveness really touched alot of people and definately was God led.

I have been getting random reports of various human rights abuses in Rwanda. The first being that the army are summarily executing people found in Nyumwe forest trying to gold dig apparently there have been so many people who out of desperation have died this way because the park is supposed to be protected for environmental reasons.

Secondly Janvier has been telling me that children who are born to mothers in prison become prisoners themselves its crazy! But hopefully we will meet with the justice minister next week to start a program to help these children or least give them an education! it seems the whole convention of the child doesnt apply here!!!

Anyway this month has flown Mark finally arrived after I got a flat in the taxi to pick him up and Chris and Dave leave tomorrow! We are heading back to Goma next week to deliver some aid and kick the UNs ass! Had a flock of attack helicopters (think its that or a gaggle) fly over our house yesterday was cool n made the house shake!

Going now to sleep siestas here are awesome probably the only one partaking but nonetheless awesome!

Goma

So we travelled over to the Congo on thursday and friday. It took just over three hours to get to the beautiful resort town of Gisenyi on the shores of lake Kivu which glistened a turquoise blue with the rolling hills of Kivu in the near distance. Behind us was the Virunga range and the massive volcano Nyiragongo loomed through menacing clouds across the border.

We crossed the Rwandan border without hassle and within a few minutes. Proceeding through the Congolese border was somewhat different. Justin our hero was called into a dark back room and soon after we were too. In a tiny room which was taken up mostly by a table and the fat congolese Commissioner behind it we squeezed in with all our bags to be questioned. He was a short well dressed many with a old bullet wound on the back of his head and his round focused face never betrayed a smile or any sign of hope. He asked me in French what we were doing here I acted like I didnt understand because I didn't know what we were supposed to say so he got frustrated and Justin took over. Justin continued the conversation in Swahili but we could tell from his face that it wasnt going well. In the end we got out alive but ended up paying $50 each per day to be in the Congo normally it should be $35 or cheaper.

After that blow we got some boda bodas, its worth noting here that boda bodas in Congo are completely different from anywhere else mainly because they are dodgy as and two the roads are insane. A few years ago Goma was completely covered in lava from the Nyiragongo volcano this wasnt the best thing for a road. To make matters worse my boda boda ran out of gas leaving me behind the rest of them strangely I wasnt worried I was just hoping I didnt have to walk but we got gas and caught up with the Justin, Dave and Chris. It kinda hit we were in a war zone when a attack helicopter with all its weaponry flew over our head was so surreal.

We arrived at the Mugunga refugee camp a couple of miles outside Goma. The camp holds over 8,000 refugees mostly children probably 6,000. There were dozen of children at the gate to meet us and quickly swarmed us. We walked over to the camp leader's unhcr clad tent and he told us a bit about the tent. We then went outside and talked to the people in the camp and they told us of the horrors they faced. Most are starving to death, some our wounded from the conflict, all have lost family, and all are deeply traumatised one girl couldnt even speak after the horrors she saw months ago. Now there is seven camps around Goma holding roughly around 100,000 refugee most face starvation, no medical facilities and deeply traumatised.

What was the most shocking thing about seeing the camps was not the dying children but the fact the there was UN and aid agency trucks everywhere and yet these people were dying right in front of them. One UN peacekeeper was lounging on the back of a pickup as other white aid workers drove around in $30,000 jeeps. It almost seems its not their job so what the hell are they doing? it is so frustrating yet it is so humbling to see the people in the camp praise God and to be able to smile and laugh after the hell that they had been through.

We got a min taxi back to the border was unbelievably bumpy. Some guy tried to pick pocket dave as we got boda bodas to border but his pockets were empty. Got back to the border through the ash and the haze we thought it was near dusk but when we crossed into Rwanda the sun came out it was like coming from hell paying off the passport Commissioner as purgatory and Rwanda was so like paradise the fruit bats, the fanta, food, beautiful lake and the safety. The Rwanda passport officer actually said to us "Welcome home" and we were happy to be home.

Our plan was to go back in on Friday but because we were ripped off we had no more money left on us but Justin wa able to go back in and get supplies and food for some 200 people in the camp. Its so little but will probably save a few lives the question is what the hell is the UN, UNHCR and the dozen of other aid agencies doing except lining their own pockets?

Kigali

So we finally made it to Kigali after a nearly twelve hour bus journey with our driver travelling at nearly 80mph in an old coach, dirt track roads and potholes galore my dernier has yet to recover! thankfully when we arrived in Rwanda it has some of Africa's best roads they put NI roads to shame!

Crossing the border was interesting it was pretty much a bridge with a few buildings and shacks and had a hard time explaining that we had dual nationality but we got through! After customs we had to empty our bags to stop the dreaded plastic bag from entering Rwanda which was really annoying because we needed them to stop stuff leaking everywhere! but we got through and arived in Kigali three hours late realising that Justin the guy who organised everything for us didnt have our number or we his! luckily after ten minutes we found him and he brought us round to our house its pretty sweet right beside the amaharo football stadium!

Justin and the director of Coeur Joyeux Janvier brought us to this african bbq place food here is just awesome even bananas are great cost only 5p its crazy! the markets are a bit crazy too there is so much selection and dirt cheap prices. Chris of coursed needed to get a shrit and instead of just bargaining normally him and Justin had about twenty vendors haggling with him for half an hour around the market was hilarous!

Saw the President he drove past but he didnt wave he must not have recognised us! he will be getting a strong worded letter from amnesty about that!

With Coeur Joyeux (CJ) we have been travelling around the country to see and document all their programs. Yesterday outside Kiglai we visited the ACCORDI cooperative whcih alongside CJ provides money and training to local vulnerable and poor people such as genocide survivors and widows. I will write more on this later. Tomorrow we are heading to the DRC into Goma and staying overnight on the Rwandan side in Gisenyi then back in on Friday to work with refugee camps. We have been taking notes, photography and videos of all the projects so that we can use them to fundraise and raise awareness at home!

Justin the administrator for CJ have been brilliant he is so talented and has so much passionate and love and its been really good to see him work! he should be president someday! photos and videos to follow if we can get them uploaded!

Krazy Kampala

So we arrived in Kampala in rush hour only took us two and half hours to travel 50kms but it was awesome saw so much of Ugandans just get up and travelling to work and school! Some of the kids start at 7am brutal! Luckily we arrived at the guesthouse and we just crashed!

After a much needed four hour nap we grabbed some boda bodas down to garden city (a sanctuary for mzungos) boda bodas are awesome, so dangerous but the best way to see anywhere! Dandered around garden city for a while its so divided its like economic apartheid - most ugandans could never afford most of the stuff in the shops and when you see the golf course behind it and the slums not far away it boggles the mind. But kampala is still an amzing city after a devastating war twenty years ago and various brutal dictators its impressive how far it has come. We didnt realise its magnitude until we came over a hill in the muslim district which revealed the whole city far bigger than Belfast and taller buildings!

We took a walk about yesterday around fields of life beautiful scenery but unbelievably hot! Dave got propositioned by a prostitute and thankful said no before chris introduced himself! The food is really good somehow everything over here tastes so good fanta, pineapples, davids feet amazing I know.

Dave has been building up contacts for his research something I should be doing but Chris said boda boda and I said yes! What could go wrong! Randomily met a girl from Armagh and girl from Cavan who had just come up from Rwanda and had just met Joy McMullen its a small small world afterall! After we took a random stroll around the city found the parliament so blagged our way in then headed over to random govt building chris wanted a ugandan rugby t-shirt so obviously the ministry of education and sport would have one. Found a randomily open door so we went in started wandering around. Some guard spotted us and shouted at us asking what we were doing but said we were looking for the sports minister so the guard told us to go round the corner. We thought we would get out before we got arrested! But Chris and I still wandered around trying to get sneaking pictures of armed men what could happen!?

Our bus to Rwanda was full so had to get boda boda to another company on the otherside of the city so we used random boda bodas instead of the ones we knew - mistake. I dont know where they drove us but it was scary they flew, with two very close near accidents. Iit was crazy as chris disappeared for a good bit and thought we were going to be dumped somewhere but we got there after a few prayers!

Got our orginal boda bodas to pick us up was so glad to see moses didnt think those other guys would get us back alive!

Heading to rwanda in the loveable hour of 3am to arrive after 12pm fun!

Long Road to Kampala

So 24 hours in there has been alot happening for a start im writing this from Cairo with free food and coffee - awesome! though we nearly didnt make after we spent the night in the wrong terminal thinking our flight had been changed from 9am to 3pm and didnt realise the flight was with BMI an hour before our flight so lots of running fun! though the highlight of the night would have to be 1am races between chris and dave in the hallways of heathrow dave spun, bags went flying and trolley flipped and landed on dave all while i was videoing watch this space, youtube and facebook for the hilarity that is dave barr!

Anyhoo apparently Susan Boyle arrived before us at Heathrow we thought the Lurgan Mail had sent over few photographers for us but alas no! had a really comfortable night sleeping on the floor of a cafe with chris's feet hanging about me - nice! Chris is somewhere in Africa not really sure where but im sure he's chatting up somebody!

Arrival in Cairo was fun was like a scene out of 28 days later with ministry of health officials running around with masks and quarantine signs! dave started coughing so i screamed swine flu apparently not the smartest thing to do in a muslim country! its hot really hot thank goodness for aircon or I would be melted over this sofa! white people are so interesting its like we a rare breed and that when you seen one you just have to talk to them as if you somehow know them! surprisingly not starbucks were the first shop we saw coffee is now bad in three continents! loving bribing people got this guard to body search dave hilarous but TIA!


Were boarding final flight to entebbe so hopefully in twelve hours will be in Kampala when the real fun starts!