Rwanda as a country, and Africa as a whole, have a strong tradition of sharing - especially and mainly between family members. Food, clothing, money, phone minutes - are generally swapped with very little consideration. If you are a richer family member you are expected to provide for less well off family members, and their children. The system, understandably, comes from the limited number of resources often available in this part of the world. As time passes here I am pleased to see the trainees, myself included, exhibiting this trait more and more. It is definitely a positive aspect of Rwandan culture that Americans could learn a thing or two from. For example I got to go into Kigali (the capital) this week for a minor health issue and while I was there I got to stop at a supermarket. For no real reason other than that I knew everyone would appreciate it, I stopped and grabbed a loaf of bread and a pack of cheese and fried up 12 grilled cheeses to take back to training and share. The response was overwhelmingly positive and I knew that I had done it just because I could and it would make other people happy.
*I do however still hoard the hot sauce sent to me in care packages, because it is vital to life and I am still American after all.
Thanks so much for keeping this blog. my wife and I are headed to Africa in may and Rwanda is a possibility. This was doubly cool to read, since we both graduated from SUNY ESF in '09. Small world. Thanks for a great 'on the ground' perspective, if we're sent to Rwanda, I'll be sure to bring extra hot sauce.
ReplyDelete