Into the light

One thing I am noticing about Rwanda, is that it is developing so rapidly.  On several occasions, I have stopped with friends to marvel at a new development and found myself asking “What will it be like at the end of our placement?”

In December, I was away from the country so had a few weeks away from Kigali.  When I returned, it was to discover that a new shopping mall had opened in Kigali.  Inside there was a South African clothing chain store; an Apple store; a French cosmetics chain; a “fast food” branch of a local Indian restaurant...and many more.  This seemed like such an example of Western civilisation that I was slightly over-whelmed by it on my first visit!

Since arriving in Rwanda in September, I have watched the steady march of the electricity pylons out into rural areas.  Villages I went to in my first weeks to visit schools, which had no electricity, now have pylons and wires stretching out through the air in all directions and brand spanking new cash power boxes gleam on the outside walls of most houses.

Electricity has been in Kibungo for some time, but this week I have witnessed the digging of incredibly deep holes along one side of the road.  These holes began as rectangles sketched out in the dirt.  The following day, these rectangles had been dug and were up to a meter deep.  By the end of the week they were all getting closer to 2 metres, with the heads of the men digging the holes barely visible as you passed by.  By the next morning a range of branches and warning items had been erected over the holes to alert pedestrians to the deep void that existed (rather a nice touch – I have had many friends fall into deep and dark drainage holes in the streets of Kigali where they are not so kind as to cover them up or warn of their approach!)

I suspected I knew what these holes were for, but I checked with Safari, my moto driver, one evening.  He confirmed that they were for street lights (although, actually, since the word for light is also the word for fever, fire and electricity – who knows??!).  So, street lights will soon arrive in Kibungo.  They will light up the dark streets at night time and probably obscure the beautiful view of the night sky above and eliminate my need for a head torch on the walk to and from St Joe’s in the evenings (unless there is a power cut).  And so development marches on in Rwanda – a country in a hurry.