Kigali at the bottom of the hills

Jeannine's house

I visited one of my student's homes on Friday.She lives in one of the poorest part of the city, that is at the bottom of the hills (it's terrible when it rains because it gets really muddy and you always have risks of mudslides.Her house consists of one room divided in two by a curtain.On one side you have a mattress for her and her dad (her mother died a few years ago and her sister left the house and got married) and on the other side you have a wooden bunk where they eat and cook.That's it in terms of furniture.They hang their belongings on the wall (clothing etc) No kitchen whatsoever, no electricity, no windows.It's just dark and very stuffy.Jeannine is doing quite poorly at school and you kind understand the reasons when you the her study environment.
The house is situated at the bottom of one of Kigali's hills: and the place is like new world, separated from the rest of the city or what is up the hill.Own little world.It has a small market, a few bars, little shops, hairdressers, etc (nothing fancy, just barracks).To get to the city center you have to go up to hill (very steep) and take a bus.I think mostly people stay down there, except for the kids who go to school.It's a really strange place but people all know each other and greet each other.They have very little yet, as cheesy as it sounds, they have each pother and neighbors help neighbors.Also, there are A LOT of kids down there, which is quite disheartening because jobs are already lacking and I don't see it getting any better any time soon.Rwanda's population is already very large considering the country's size and it is still growing.
I hope her and her dad some groceries because it really seemed like they had absolutely nothing.
Most of the kids and women I work with live in that area.I'm visiting another on Thursday.

Belgian memorial

There's a small memorial for the 10 Belgian UN soldiers in Kigali.The memorial (old military barracks) is actually situated where they got killed so you can still see the bullet holes, grenades and even some blood.It's pretty grim, especially since I've seen the barracks in documentaries and movies.In "Shake hands with the Devil" you see the bodies of two Belgian peacekeepers on the floor.This is where it happened.The memorial was established with the help of the Belgian government and there's also a little museum attached to it.The families of the victims came not long ago and wrong some angry words against UN General Romeo Dallaire and Belgian Military Officer Marchal.. They hold them partly responsible for the death of the 10 soliders.While I understand their gries, I believe Dallaire and Marchal shouldn't be held accountable.Dallaire sent a telegram to the UN warning them about growing tensions and killings and asking for troopps but the Un refused.It was chaos over there and I thinkn he was trying his best considerting the situation.He was pretty much alone and I don't think he could have known his men would be killed.

On another note: I only have one week left!So much to do still.