Amazing Rwanda

Rwanda with her verdant hills

For the holidays, I chose to visit Rwanda because it had the cheapest visa fee at USD30 compared to USD50 of other East African countries... and visa application can

City centre:  no litter

be done online and

Bus terminal:  no litter

obtained within 3 days.  While Rwanda is poorer than Uganda (GDP rank #209 and #203, respectively), she is richer in so many ways to the eyes of a visitor.  Kigali, the capital is a super clean city (and so are the environs).  Use of plastic shopping bags is illegal.  Every last Saturday of each month is a national cleaning day from 7am to 12noon.  Buses don't ply until 12noon on that day.   

Helmets:  a must

Drivers of commuter motorcycles (called boda-bodas in Uganda) wear protective helmets and carry a spare for the passenger.  Policemen are visible in almost every corner of Kigali, and I understand that crime rate is very low.  Rwandans speak French more than English and drive on the right side of the road (Ugandans on the left side).  Traveling around Rwanda sheds no blood, sweat and tears as buses are clean, leave on time, are located in one central station in Kigali - and there are no potholes.

with Josefa (standing) - a Twa pygmy

Rwanda has a beautiful and well-curated National Museum in Butare.  It was awesome to see the men, women and children in

Off to the fields

rural Rwanda walk to the fields before sunrise, carrying their farm implements.  Every arable land seems to be planted with crops.  With a population of 11 million, small can indeed be beautiful.   Go visit Rwanda - her landscape is a great feast to behold.

Lake Kivu

Small victories

Our office is on the ground floor, almost fronting the reception desk.  By way of example, I introduced the open-door policy.

Before

Out of 10 rooms on the floor, I managed to infect only 3 doors.  It can't be helped as those who could not keep themselves busy for the entire working hours read

After

newspapers or daydream.  I took it upon myself to be the patroness of aesthetics in the workplace - to the best I can.  I showed them how to use blue tack instead of

Before

masking tape for posting notices on the wall, and make somethings more presentable and orderly.
I also act as a receptionist by asking people in the lobby how I can help them and direct them to the right places.  The telephone manners that I never practiced in my corporate life back home, I

After

have applied them here by saying  "Hello, good morning.  This is Eve speaking.  How may I help you?"
That's  one thing volunteers can do: use the power of example.

Rubbish no more

But one thing I enjoyed most was when I saved my few days' allowance to buy a full-length mirror for the comfort room.  What encouraged me to donate the mirror was the sight that every time my colleague arrives in the morning, the first thing she does is open her laptop and use the monitor as mirror.

After the laptop ritual

Now the comfort room is experiencing heavy traffic.  Staff from other floors and guests of the building use the comfort room on the ground floor because of the mirror  - strategically hanged to serve both genders.

It is a hit and a home-run.

Common sign in water closets