Rwanda by Rancid Rwanda yeah your moon shines bright Rwanda over planned genocide Rwanda, won't you be strong like a lion Tune in the transistor And listen to the news Cause once a week it hits ya Heart broken and blue It's the voice over Africa so stop peregrination So listen very closely to half a million dead souls Rwanda yeah your moon shines bright Rwanda over planned genocide Rwanda, won't you be strong like a lion It's complicated when facts come slow Mass destruction mass confusion Whats the difference to the orphan Orphans of the dead When no more machine guns strike and there's silence instead Rwanda yeah your moon shines bright Rwanda over planned genocide Rwanda, won't you be strong like a lion

Would you like your Fanta hot or cold? – a traveller’s blog entry

So, not a particularly early start and when we did get out we were told there was no minibus to Kigali until 11am. We sat and

tried to order breakfast [omelette, omelette or omelette]. I had a Fanta since I'm not up to grease. On the upside, when the bus

arrived it was nice. We sat in the back for a while, waiting for it to leave and a child with only one leg begged to us through

the open boot. It's even more difficult than usual here in Rwanda, since you wonder about the history of some of these street

kids [and adults]. She didn't look old enough to be alive when the genocide happened though.

As I said, Rwanda is a tiny country, so it didn't take long to get to Kigali. We tried the Auberge again, but they had no rooms.

We then flagged down a taxi to take us to Hotel Gloria. This provided endless amusement all day with conversations like

this:

"Hotel Gloria, please."

"Hotel Gorilla?"

"No, Glor-ee-ah."

"Gor-eelah?"

"G-LOR-ee-ah!"

ad nauseam

We'd always get there eventually, usually with the aid of the map and a lot of pointing.

For lunch we happened upon an awesome place. It did a buffet lunch thing for business people at the Terra Nova restaurant -

good food, good price.

Then, as we were in the area, went trawling through the stalls looking for souvenirs. Found a couple of masks small enough

to put in our backpacks, and some really nice batiks.

In the afternoon we got motos across to the Genocide Memorial, but we'd left it too late and it was shut.

We decided to stay in Kigali an extra day and spend tomorrow going out to one of the Genocide Memorials out of town as

well [these ones are actual scenes of massacres, as opposed to the Centre in Kigali which is more of an informative

museum.]

For dinner we headed out on motos to get pizza at Havana Club. It was shut too! Instead we found a Chinese which turned

out to be very nice. My appetite is almost back. And when we got back my tummy was fine. Yey!

A mental day in Rwanda – a traveller’s blog entry

Caught a shared taxi instead of the minibus for the 80km to Kilgali. First as a big surprise the driver told me to buckle up!

They would laugh at you in Uganda if you did that! Next they drove on the right - must be that Belgium influence, it did take

me a while though to figure out me driver wasn't truly suicidal as the steering wheel was on the right also.

All the way to Kigali the scenery was much the same as southern Uganda, people picking in tea plantations and high terraced

hills. Regardless it is always a bit thrill and always puts a smile on my face when I arrive in a new country.

Kigali looked like an interesting place, perched upon a hill with greenery all around. After booking into the Hotel Gloria I

headed off to the Gorilla Park HQ to book a gorilla trek. A grand total of $375 + $50 for transport for a total of no more than

one hour with the gorillas. They take $US cash, Mastercard. You can pay in Rwandan Francs, the currency all the locals use,

but this incurs a 10% surcharge! You can also pay with travelers cheques but again there is a $20 surcharge. Not too friendly

when you're shelling out such a big chunk of cash!

I wanted to conserve my cash and travelers cheques so I went to get a cash advance on my Visa. Well that turned into an

exercise in complexity also. They would only give it in Euros, they then had to change it Ugandan francs. To not be hit by

the 10% surcharge I wanted them to change it into $US - they could not do this though! Next I had to go out in the street to

get this done! What a palaver, who knows how much commission I paid to the various money traders!

I'd been told the next available date for treks was 6 days time, after pushing for an earlier time once I got back to the park

HQ I was told there was a cancellation and if I wanted I could go the next day! I said yes and I was on my way.

I quickly went to a foreign bookstore that sold English books before I left - I was desperate to get something new to read. It

was just passed 2 and as I knocked on the door the lady kept shouted we don't open until 2! I kept telling her it was after 2

already in my best French before storming back to the hotel and then off to the bus station. The driver here said the bus

would leave at 2 also - it was 2:45 by now! At this point I realized Rwanda was an hour behind Uganda - what a plonker!

Rwanda – a traveller’s blog entry The people are friendly and helpful. In terms of travel, it's a great country since it's so small. Getting from one side to the

other does not take a mammoth journey. It meant we could spend the morning in one place and leave for another place and

still get there by the end of the day. Or leave early and have the afternoon to explore. None of those silly o'clock starts like in

Ethopia.

Rwanda is heavily populated and agriculture is everywhere. It's hilly - as the name suggests - and the patchwork of terraces

and fields make the countryside colourful in shades of green and yellow. But it's not natural beauty, which is a shame.

Obviously the Volcanoes National Park has some stunning montane forest, and the gorillas... I don't need to tell you how

amazing seeing them is. Go. Run, don't walk!

Lake Kivu is pretty and I believe a trip over the border into the DRC is worth it, if you can cope with the $50 visa for half a

day. I was ill there so my time wasn't so memorable, but it is a nice place to relax.

Kigali itself is a nice little capital. The hills make it appear smaller than it is, and though it makes walking around a bit of an

effort, moto rides are fun.

I can't recall any notable toilet escapades. With the shorter journeys there is just no need to stop in the middle of nowhere

and use horrific bathrooms.

Useful Kinarwanda Useful Kinarwanda Useful Kinarwanda

Hello – muraho Hello – muraho Hello - muraho

How are you? - amakuru? How are you? - amakuru? How are you? - amakuru?

Fine - amakuru/ meza Fine - amakuru/ meza Fine - amakuru/ meza

Thank you – murakoze Thank you – murakoze Thank you - murakoze

Yes – yego Yes – yego Yes – yego

No – oya No – oya No - oya

Bye – murabeho Bye – murabeho Bye - murabeho

How much? - angahe? How much? - angahe? How much? - angahe?

Where? - hehe? Where? - hehe? Where? - hehe?

Toilet – umusarane Toilet – umusarane Toilet - umusarane

KANS by Benjamin Sehene

I am always overcome by a sense of hopelessness when I think of all those things I will never know; the lovely sunsets I will never see;

the enigmatic thoughts I will never think. It frustrates me to think that somewhere, there exists a city I will never ever know. Yet, in the

life of every man and woman there exists such a city; a city he or she will never know. Lets call it the city of Kans.

Kans is a city which defies all definition, even that of the noun city. For to define Kans is to confine it in place and time; to limit it to the

intricate structures evoked by the word. Kans is much more than a city, it is a state of mind; a vast and impossible concept.

Given that someone somewhere will always be ignorant of a certain city, Kans is all cities.

Kans is also the compilation of all those neighbourhoods, in our own cities, we will die without ever knowing. And for he who may

pretend to know all the cities in the world; Kans is the sum of all the winding alleys, in all those shabby quarters where he will never set

foot; the architecture of all those buildings he will never see; the uncountable cities that fell into ruin long before his birth; the hundreds of

inhabitants he will never meet; the odours he will never smell; the happy moments he will never live; the meals he will never savour; the

words he will never utter; the melody he will never hear; the dreams he will never dream; the thoughts he will never think; the nostalgia,

the melancholy, the grief, the regret, the jealousy, the despair and misery he will never endure.

Kans is the ignorance of being ignorant of Kans. The ignorance of the probable, of that which could be but will never be, the limit of

knowledge: the infinite.

The object of travel is not so much the cities or the sights which define it, but the sentiment they inspire. A traveller anticipating the next

city along his route wonders what that city will be like. From the elements of his imagination, he constructs the city of his anticipation.

Not a sum of arbitrary elements distinguished from each other, but a consistent whole. He fills it up with the fauna and flora, the

buildings, the thoroughfares, the history and moments of his desire. But on arriving at his destination, the traveller finds a city entirely

detached from the city of its inspiration. That other city, the city of his anticipation however, does not cease to exist, but remains as solid

and as vivid in the traveller’s imagination, as the city at his destination. It remains a city he will never see; the city of Kans.

Likewise, the city whose monuments, parks, streets, desires and memories grace the pages of a guide, is never the city a traveller

encounters at his destination. A guide to a city, attempts to exhaust all aspects of its subject. However, a city confined to its description is

an inevitable temptation for conjecture. In describing a city each aspect described yields an alternative city. If described by the

disposition, the shapes, or the proportions of its volumes, an alternative city emerges from the pattern of its voids. And when described by

the ruins of its past, a succession of superimposed cities, each with its particular customs, architecture, art, theatre, literature and form of

government emerges.

Therefore, to read about Kans, is to simultaneously read about several cities. The reader realises these numerous cities, as he drifts

through its various descriptions, he realises that each instant that goes by adds a new Kans to the succession of Kanses he has been

accumulating from the beginning.

They say that as one lies on his deathbed, he will think of the many things he has yet to do, of the cities he has yet to visi t, the tender

words he never said to a loved one, of the hundreds of books he has yet to read, the two hundred pages of Joyce’s Ulysses he was unable

to complete, the secret he never confessed, of the promise he never kept, of the millions of men whose hands he will never shake, this is

Kans.

Rwanda: Kwita Izina Ceremony to Celebrate 18 Baby Gorillas

Network News

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 01:00

The gorilla naming ceremony was initiated in 2004 to put the country's biggest tourist attraction, the endangered mountain

gorillas, in the spotlight. It was later branded Kwita Izina after the traditional child-naming ceremony. Over four years, it has

attracted more than 20,000 participants.

Gorilla tourism has had a great impact on conservation and on communities. (courtesy photo)

This year's event will be held on June 20, at its traditional sites in the shadow of the Virunga Mountains at Kinigi in Musa nze

district, under the theme of "Celebrating the international year of the gorilla." This refers to the fact that 2009 has been

named the Year of the Gorilla by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) to promote gorilla protection and the conservation

of their habitats. Currently, three of the four gorilla subspecies, which belong to two species, are listed as "Critically

Endangered" in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

In Rwanda, however, gorilla tourism has had a great impact on conservation and on communities as well. For instance,

poaching has significantly reduced, and the number of gorillas is on the increase.

The deputy CEO in charge of tourism and conservation at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Chantal Rosette

Rugamba, remarked that the fifth Kwita Izina will be preceded by ten days of activities, among which a two-day

international cycling race.

"We will be celebrating the birth of 18 baby gorillas which will be given names," she said, adding that names will be chosen

from proposals made by park wardens, since they are most familiar with the character of the animals.

The ceremony comes at a time when tourism has become the number one foreign exchange earner, with 980,577 visitors

bringing in US$ 209 million in 2008. Investment in the sector also continued to grow, according to George Mulamula, the

RDB principal deputy CEO. Last year, the number of hotels increased to 163 (148 in 2007) and the number of hotel rooms

rose from 2,391 in 2007 to 3,552 in 2008.

This obviously has had an impact on employment in the sector, which increased by 26% in 2008. The number of tour

operators and travel agencies also went up, from 34 in 2007 to 48 in 2008.

Local communities too are benefitting, with some Frw 460 million having been invested in Northern Province in 2008 to

build three health centers, rehabilitate and equip 11 schools and construct 4 water tanks with 15 water spring taps.

http://focus.rw

Rwanda: Kwita Izina Ceremony to Celebrate 18 Baby Gorillas

Network News

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 01:00

The gorilla naming ceremony was initiated in 2004 to put the country's biggest tourist attraction, the endangered mountain

gorillas, in the spotlight. It was later branded Kwita Izina after the traditional child-naming ceremony. Over four years, it has

attracted more than 20,000 participants.

Gorilla tourism has had a great impact on conservation and on communities. (courtesy photo)

This year's event will be held on June 20, at its traditional sites in the shadow of the Virunga Mountains at Kinigi in Musanze

district, under the theme of "Celebrating the international year of the gorilla." This refers to the fact that 2009 has been

named the Year of the Gorilla by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) to promote gorilla protection and the conservation

of their habitats. Currently, three of the four gorilla subspecies, which belong to two species, are listed as "Critically

Endangered" in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

In Rwanda, however, gorilla tourism has had a great impact on conservation and on communities as well. For instance,

poaching has significantly reduced, and the number of gorillas is on the increase.

The deputy CEO in charge of tourism and conservation at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Chantal Rosette

Rugamba, remarked that the fifth Kwita Izina will be preceded by ten days of activities, among which a two-day

international cycling race.

"We will be celebrating the birth of 18 baby gorillas which will be given names," she said, adding that names will be chosen

from proposals made by park wardens, since they are most familiar with the character of the animals.

The ceremony comes at a time when tourism has become the number one foreign exchange earner, with 980,577 visitors

bringing in US$ 209 million in 2008. Investment in the sector also continued to grow, according to George Mulamula, the

RDB principal deputy CEO. Last year, the number of hotels increased to 163 (148 in 2007) and the number of hotel rooms

rose from 2,391 in 2007 to 3,552 in 2008.

This obviously has had an impact on employment in the sector, which increased by 26% in 2008. The number of tour

operators and travel agencies also went up, from 34 in 2007 to 48 in 2008.

Local communities too are benefitting, with some Frw 460 million having been invested in Northern Province in 2008 to

build three health centers, rehabilitate and equip 11 schools and construct 4 water tanks with 15 water spring taps.

http://focus.rw

Mwami = king

Basic Facts

Land Area: 26,340 square Kilometers.

Population: 11 million .

Rainfall: Rainy seasons: March - May and October - November(Average of 110-200 mm. per month).

Average Temperature: 24.6 - 27.6ºc. Hottest months: August, September.

Altitude: Ranges from 1000-4500m above sea level.

Main water bodies: Lake Kivu, Lake Muhazi, Lake Ihema, Lake Bulera, Lake Ruhondo, Lake Mugesera.

Vegetation: ranges from dense equatorial forest in the north-west of the country to tropical savannah in the east.

Main National Parks/Animal Reserves: Akagera and Virunga Volcanoes National Parks.

Highest point: Karisimbi volcano (4,507m)

Borders: Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south and Democratic Republic of Congo to the west.

Ikinimba is probably the most revered musical tradition in Rwanda. It is a dance that tells the stories of Rwandan heroes and kings. Rwanda is a landlocked country situated in central Africa. Also known as ’the land of a thousand hills’, Rwanda has five volcanoes, twenty-three lakes and numerous rivers, some forming the source of the River Nile. The country lies 75 miles south of the equator in the Tropic of Capricorn, 880 miles ’as the crow flies’ west of the Indian Ocean and 1,250 miles east of the Atlantic Ocean - literally in the heart of Africa. Rwanda is bordered by Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south and the democratic republic of Congo to the west.

A wide variety of musical instruments exists in Rwandan tradition, including such diverse instruments as a flute made from lobelia (umwirongi), horns (amakondera), the “iningiri”, which is a stringed instrument played with a bow, the zither (inanga), the musical bow (umuduri), instruments with metallic strings called idiophones (ikembe), the rattle (ikinyuguri), as well as the small bells that dancers wear around their ankles (amayugi). Some of these musical instruments are still being used today.

The Igisoro game is made of natural wood and comes with little game balls that serve as tokens (ubusoro). The aim of the

game is to accumulate as many of these tokens as possible. Towards this end, the players circulate them across the field,

following specific rules.

Here are two different versions of the Igisoro game:

a portable game board,

a game board inserted directly into a wooden table. The different motifs decorating the game board and table depend on

the respective artisan, his skills and creativity.

Top Ten Global Reformer

A series of reforms have been implemented to create a conducive environment for business. Rwanda was ranked one of the top ten global reformers in the World Bank Doing Business Survey 2010, and second global reformer out of 183 countries. Rwanda is

also the 9th easiest place to start a business in the world and the 6th most competitive economy in Sub-Saharan Africa according to the 2010 World Economic Forum global Competitiveness Report. These reforms have been made possible by Government of Rwanda’s commitment to a politically stable country with well functioning institutions, rule of law and zero tolerance for corruption.