Ten amazing things that will surprise you about Rwanda

I started this blog intending to write about 5 amazing things that surprised me about Rwanda. The count eventually went up to 10! (and more!). I suppose it gives an indication of how amazing my experience in Rwanda was! And yes, how much I genuinely admire this small landlocked African country.

Before coming to Rwanda, my ‘impression’ of Rwanda was a third world country ravaged by the Civil war and the horrific Genocide – barely 25 years ago! (1994). The only thing I knew it was popular for was the fascinating Mountain Gorilla tracking experience and I was looking forward to the much talked about Kwita Izina ceremony.

I admit I did read about the impressive gains in HDI (Human Development Index). Even then, I was genuinely surprised by what I saw as ‘visible’ evidence at the ground level of the tremendous achievements by this small but determined country.

Here goes!

1. Clean, Clean, Clean everywhere!

The first thing that hits you the moment you are out of the Airport is how clean all the streets (and everything else in Rwanda is!) are. See some of the photographs below to see it for yourself.

One would imagine that this ‘cleanliness’ is merely restricted to the affluent parts of the capital city – Kigali.  After all how would you expect a third-world country to be so clean? To my surprise, when I visited the old town section (the less affluent part of Kigali), while the houses and structures were very ‘poor’, the roads and the area in general was very clean with not a single piece of rubbish visible anywhere!

 

Again, when I visited the other parts of Rwanda, even the smallest of villages are clean of rubbish!

It was so astounding for us to believe this – that we engaged in a ‘game’ of who would find out the first ‘dirty’ place in Rwanda during our travel there! Surprise, Surprise!! Nobody won! We failed to find a single place with ‘rubbish’ strewn! Kudos to this culture of cleanliness – Impressive to say the least!

 

2. Plastic Ban – focus on environmental sustainability

The first thing I was asked at the airport was whether I had any plastic bags with me! In fact, the airport authorities have the right to inspect all luggage to search for any plastic bags! All single use plastics are banned (fully!) in the whole of Rwanda in line with its goal to eliminate all plastic waste. Audacious – and commendable! I spent 10 days in Rwanda and realised how how easy it is to live without plastic!

All other plastic that is used in Rwanda e.g. water bottles etc are all recycled. Check out the label on plastic water bottles – which will indicate the ‘recycled’ logo.

 

3. Personal Safety

When I am in South Africa, I am constantly warned against walking around in the cities especially late evening. But no such warning in Rwanda. In fact, my local friend told me that it is completely safe to walk even at 11 in the night! He proudly said that he would never worry if any family member of his comes home alone late at night after a party.

Apparently, even the Army helps in security in the country; but they keep their presence discrete and inconspicuous! He mentioned that no police / soldier will every ask you for your visa / passport; they are concerned only about safety and are not bothered about your immigration status!

 

4. Great Roads

While Rwanda does not have the best roads in Africa (that achievement goes to South Africa – which has absolutely fantastic roads!), it is definitely pot-hole free and very pleasant to drive! Being an Indian, this part was particularly pleasant while I was driving (self-drive) across the country!

 

5. Community Service – Umuganda

This one came as a special pleasant ‘shocker’. The concept of ‘Umuganda’ is absolutely beautiful! On the last Saturday of every month, from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM, businesses close and traffic halts as citizens across the country take to their neighbourhoods and assist in a select ‘community’ project. The project can be assisting in building a road, cleaning streets, cutting grass, trimming bushes alongside the roads, planting trees, and repairing public buildings etc.

Read more about this amazing initiative on our blog:

Umuganda – the community building initiative in Rwanda 

6. Reconciliation village

This was a little ‘difficult’ surprise. Difficult because it reminded me of the horrific recent history of Rwanda and difficult because it was hard to believe that forgiveness for horrific crimes is actually possible in reality.

We went to a ‘Reconciliation’ village – one of the initiatives by the Rwandan government post the genocide, of ‘Unity and Reconciliation’. In this social community experiment, repentant ‘perpetrators’ of the genocide are resettled in villages of the ‘survivors’ of the genocide. We heard about the ‘forgiveness’ process from both the perpetrator and the Survivor. It was very moving to say the least.

I still find this experience a little disturbing as well as moving. I find it hard to believe that such horrors can be forgiven. Left the village with a sense of ‘hope’ in humanity; the ability to forgive and move on towards unity and progress.

Read more about the ‘Reconciliation’ Village social experiment in our blog:

Reconciliation Village – the Unit Experiment in Rwanda

 

7. Governments efforts to rejuvenate Wildlife tourism

Internal strife has wrecked Rwanda for long, even before the genocide. And post the genocide, the focus of the state was on rehabilitation and resettlement of the displaced people who had returned back from the neighbouring. Would you then blame the State if it put humans ahead in priority of wildlife or the environment? Environment rarely gets the importance in times of acute human needs.

e.g. Akagera National park was one of the areas for large scale re-settlement of refugees in the years following the genocide.. Nearly 50% wipied off – it had reduced to merely 1,200 sq kms and species like the Lion, Rhino, Giraffe etc.. were all driven to extinction.

However, to the credit of the Rwandan government, once the immediate needs of the people were taken care of, the focus turned to the environment and the wildlife. Afterall, once cannot have long-term welfare of humans without a sustainable environmental policy. There have been concerted efforts to rejuvenate wildlife areas by re-introduction of species, expansion and protection of parks by working with the local communities and long term private contracts for sustainable management of parks. E.g. the re-introduction of the Giraffe, Lion and Rhino in the now expanded and protected Akagera. The Rugezi wetland in the north has been restored. Forests such as Nyungwe, Gishwati and Mukura have been upgraded into national parks and are in the process of being restored.

Looking at the success of Akagera, where we spent a night during our trip, the future looks bright for wildlife and wildlife tourism in Rwanda. No doubt the benefits of these conservation efforts would trickle down to the Rwandan people in the long term.

8. Kwita Izina Ceremony

Kwita Izina is more of a ‘wonder’ – rather than a surprise. The importance given to and the focus on the event was a pleasant surprise. The impact of this event on conservation efforts in Rwanda is significant and commendable. Rwanda holds the Gorilla naming ceremony – “Kwita Izina” jamboree on an annual basis. Modelled on a tradition of naming babies (human)that has been part of Rwandan culture for centuries, Kwita Izina is a smart strategy by Rwanda to create awareness of conservation efforts for the endangered Mountain Gorilla.

Kwita Izina includes a highly respected conference on conservation and sustainable tourism and workshops. The highlight, of course, is the naming ceremony for the gorillas born in the country’s Volcanoes National Park over the past one year. In this grand ceremony, invited celebrity guests name each gorilla with a carefully chosen name according to the baby’s behavior and unique character traits. Rwandans believe that the right name will encourage good fortune and play a prominent role in shaping the infants’ futures.

The final festivities near the town of Kinigi, at the foothills of the Virunga Massif,

include traditional music, dancing and performances from local students and artists. It attracts thousands of visitors each year, with conservationists, rangers and communities; international celebrities, dignitaries. The fact that the Head of State, the President – Mr. Paul Kagame himself attended the event highlights the importance of this event.

 

9. Progress on HDI indicators

The HDI (Human Development Index) model highlights that it’s not all about money! The welfare of its people and how able they are to contribute to this economy also need to be measured – not merely its financial indicators. The HDI index considers measures for household income, life expectancy and education into a single development score, which gives a holistic sense of how an economy is doing on a human basis.

Are HDI parameters in Rwanda the best in Africa or the world? Surely not! Rwanda, being a landlocked country without any major natural resources, lags behind Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, South Africa on a variety of economic indices.

However, when you consider two aspects of the progress, you realise the scale of the conscious effort and the achievement.

1. Progress since 1994: If you look at the state of affairs in 1994 just after the Genocide and compare it to the current trends, you will find that the index numbers has improved more than doubts in the last 25 years i.e. from .228 to .536 as of 2018! Now that is an achievement! E.g. Life expectancy has increased from 31 years in 1995 to 68 years today!
2. Other parameters: In some parameters like Gender Equality, Rwanda in fact is better than most developed countries of the world. No wonder than the Rwandan parliament has nearly 64% women!

Of course, the above is in addition to the tremendous achievements on the economic front e.g. Rwanda has the 38th rank on the  “Ease of doing business” index issued by the World Bank.

Read the following articles for more information.

http://africabuzzfeed.com/which-african-country-is-the-most-developed-rwanda-kenya-nigeria-or-angola/

Slightly dated: http://africa-me.com/rwanda-tops-the-un-human-development-index/

I think the other elements in this blog attest to the on-ground achievement of the progress made as reflected by the indices!

 

10. Source of the River Nile

I had visited the Uwinka Visitors centre in Nyungwe Forest to experience views from the top of the rainforest canopy – the suspension bridges in the Rain forest. Here, I found a surprising revelation in the information section. Recent expeditions and data has actually indicated that the source of the longest river in the world – the Nile is actually in the Nyungwe forest in Rwanda!

Curious to know more? Read our blog here:

Journey to the Source of the River Nile

 

Rwanda is truly an amazing destination. There have definitely been more than 10 surprises that I came across – the above are merely the top 10! E.g. did you know that you can enjoy tropical beach holidays in Rwanda? This is possible on some of the islands on Lake Kivu with beaches (albeit quite small) of golden sand under the tropical sun!

Experience and see for yourselves all these amazing things in the small country of Rwanda. Contact us to make a plan to get to know this fascinating country better!