The reversed advent calendar

Our children are lucky and spoiled. That is a fact. They have lots of toys, books, plenty of clothes, go to a good school, have a beautiful home and always plenty of food on the table.

Lots of children in Africa aren't that lucky. Living in an African capital, the difference between rich and poor is very, very visible.  

In November, Thorsten and I saw the movie Queen of Katwe, a touching true story about a girl in a slum of Kampala who, through a game of chess, brought her family out of the poverty (and absolutely must-see!).  As you can imagine, the story lingered, it stayed with me for some time. I realised how lucky our children are. Actually, they are so lucky they don't always appreciate it. When the milk is finished, we just go out and buy new. When the glue is finished, there's always spare in the house. Their shoes are too small, don't worry, tomorrow you get new ones. Every birthday, family visit, Christmas they are overloaded with presents. 
I wanted the girls to realise not everyone is as lucky as they are. We are living in a city where the division between the rich and the poor is very strong and visible. Everyday we walk to school, we look out over the slums. I do want them to be happy and have all the things they have. But I also want them to realise not every child is that lucky. 

So we decided that they, as every year, will get their shared advent calendar. But, this year, we will also do a reversed advent calendar. Everyday, when they open a door get something new, they will take one thing of their own (toys, clothes, etc) and put it in a box. In the New Year, we will then give those things to children who are not so lucky. 

This weekend we met with Lisette, Jara and Lisa's Dutch teacher, who is volunteering with Hope, Care and Love Uganda, an organisation that works in the slums. They sponsor kids through primary and secondary school, do activities, etc. We drove to one of the slums where she's working and knows the children and the families. 

Even though the visit wasn't entirely as we imagined it would be, it did leave an impression on the girls (and us). 
When we arrived, lots of kids ran to the car (nothing new here, that happens everywhere) and they know what's coming when Lisette comes to the slum with muzungus (white people). So it did feel a bit like being father Christmas. We expected the organisation to take care of the gifts but it turned out that we gave away all the things ourselves. And as we have only girls for example, very few boys got clothes. 

The families living in that slum will not be able to live there forever. It is in the middle of the city and with the building boom happening right now, their houses will no longer be there in less than 10 years. Already now families are losing their homes and just go and live with another family in that one tiny little room. 

Looking back, it was a good exercise for the girls. Especially the picking-out-things-they-would-give-away part. I am happy I made the girls consider their lucky situation but without making them feel guilty about it. The fact that they really thought through how much they have and what can they miss/share made this event a success. 

440 days later...

... we moved to Uganda.

After 6 months in limbo, not knowing if and when we'd return to Burundi we decided to bite the bullet and look for alternatives. By the time it was March 2016, we had a confirmation that Thorsten could start in a new project in Kampala working on land titles and rights, still with the GIZ.

So here we are. We arrived just over a week ago and are happy to be here. Thorsten and I both visited Uganda before so we knew what was coming. Although moving from "the village" Bujumbura is, to the city Kampala is an adjustment.
Home - work commutes are very traffic dependent, and/or related. Leaving 10 min earlier or later can make a difference between getting home at 5.30 or 7 pm.  Shopping malls and supermarkets where you can find absolutely everything (although we haven't found something that matches the bread from Café Gourmand).

The girls are doing well, especially Jara seems to love being back in Africa, enjoying every minute of it.

Mangoes are to be attacked, devoured, enjoyed in every possible way!

Initially we were going to send the kids to the french school - they know the language and the system. The English they would learn on the way (and in school). In the mean time, however, we decided to put them in an English speaking school. The bad traffic going to the French school versus the 15 min walk to the English school not being an unimportant factor. Add the excellent reputation of the English speaking school as well as the fact they also teach French at the individual's level and we were quickly convinced to change our minds.

While we are still staying at a friend's place (the joy of moving often is to have friends in many places) we hope our stuff will arrive from Burundi soon. Paperwork!

But once it's here, we can really start our life which was on hold for 440 days. The girls and I enjoyed living in Belgium and being close to family and friends. But it was hard being separated from Thorsten, both for him and us.
At least the kids had their biggest wishes fulfilled that year: seeing snow (which we were lucky to have in Germany), going to school with the bicycle and going to school in Europe (which, they realised, wasn't so different from going to school in Cameroon or Burundi - still homework and tests to be done!)

Evacuation: the immediate and urgent movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard (Wikipedia)

A lot has happened since the last post. Which was, I just saw, from January!

2015 started promising, with the beautiful trip to Rwanda (see previous post) and a visit from Griet's parents in February/March.  In short: It included lots of snails, tambourinaires (traditional drummers), zebra's, monkeys, beach, off roading and warm beer.

After the Easter holidays, things were different. The president decided to run for the third time in the presidential elections. This is in breach with the Arusha Accord, signed in 2005. This led to a lot of protest, demonstrations and the school closing early. Between mid-April and mid-May, the girls have been to school 1,5 weeks. We were given tasks and exercises to do at home, but it's not the same. 

 

On 12th May, the school opened up again, only to close early again on 13th May. After hearing the protests and demonstrations coming very close and in fear of not being able to get to school that day, we took the girls out early. Nothing too early though. By the time we came home, the radio announced a coup d'état. Later we heard that there were children stuck at school till late because their parents couldn't get there. 

The days that followed were surreal. There was a constant noise of guns, granates, shouting. There was heavy fighting between the putchists and the president's loyalists. The strategic points (airport, radio station, presidential palace) were going back and forth.  All private radiostations burned down, journalists weren't allowed to enter the press house. When a stray bullet landed in the garden we realised we were more vulnarable than you first think. 

So we put the kids (with lots of comics and movies) in the hallway where there are no windows and stayed indoors as much as possible. The putchists (or some of them at least) were captured in the end and the president announced the coup foiled.

On Sunday 17 May Griet and the girls were evacuated to Belgium. 2 days later the girls were back at school. They have been remarkebly flexible and adapted well to the situation.

Now, 4,5 months later, we are still in Belgium. Thorsten has been able to come over for most of the holidays, but he had to go back to Burundi early September. Griet and the girls however are still waiting for permission. Although (superficially) things are much better now (much less shooting, granates etc), it is not yet back to normal. In August several highly influencial generals were assasinated (including the country's nr 2 and president's right arm) and the human rights activist survived an attempt. 

The girls are happy at school here, they have good friends and enjoy the perks like cycling to school, going to the swimclub, library etc. On the other hand, they miss Burundi and their friends there. They are really torn now.   

The situation is getting frustrating, not knowing when we can return. We can be given an all-clear to travel this week (Yes pleas!!!) or we can still be here with Christmas (No please!!!). But apart from a few logistical issues (Should I look for a french teacher for the girls or is it not worth anymore? Do I need to invest in winter clothes and shoes or not?) we are doing fine. We are able to stay at Griet's parents (thank God they have a big house!), have a good roof above our head, have food, heating and the girls are able to attend school. 

Christmas in Rwanda

Months and months we've been looking forward to this holiday. Finally we have the time to explore some more of this beautiful region. Because Burundi and Rwanda are (at times very) hilly countries, we decided to take it easy on the driving. All the girls, some more than others, get car sick. And who wants to start their holiday throwing up in the car?

So with plenty of stops and several nights in one place, we set off to Rwanda just before Christmas.  

After a night in Kirundo, close to the Rwandan border, we arrived in Akagera National Park in Eastern Rwanda. In the course of the 3 days we spent there, we saw all the animals there are to see. One day, in search of the elephants, we could hear them in the bush, saw one tail and saw a big one going at the trees. The suddenly, this elephant started charging and coming really close to the car. Luckily it stopped before it stuck its tusks in the windows but nevertheless, it was very impressing. When another elephant started to hoot at the other side of the road, we realised we were in the middle of a family that was divided over both sides of the road. They didn't like to have a car in their midst and neither did we... 

On another occasion, in search of the buffalo's we went down a plain. The day before, we had tried to reach that plain via the other side, but were discouraged by another car who said the road was too muddy. That day however, we came down no problem, and saw the beautiful animals up close. But then it started to rain and suddenly we were in the middle of that mud, with no other option but to keep going. The thing is, you don't know how long you will be driving, sliding in the mud, there was no way to see where it ended and Thorsten just kept going skidding past bushes, buffalo's and deer, on and off the road. One thing is sure: if we had driven any other car which is slightly lower, or had arrived there 5 minutes later, we'd been stuck. Back at the lodge, we enjoyed a warm lunch, played some games and the girls made friendship with some other children to keep themselves busy. 

After that experience, we decided to hire a ranger to accompany us all the way to the north of the park. We panned to exit the park there and if we'd get stuck on the way, nobody would know as we didn't have a phone. 

It was a beautiful ride, with lots of changing nature and all the animals much closer by as in the south. 

 

We had a picnic on the way with a stunning view.

After Akagera National Park, we had a couple of days in Kigali, where we realised we like Bujumbura more and where we met up with friends from Cameroon. 

On the way to Kibuye and in Kibuye, we were confronted with Rwanda's genocide past. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and everywhere you find memorials to remember. It is impressing to enter a church when you know 20 years earlier 11400 people have been killed. Now, this church is completely renovated and masses are held every week. 

On the way back to Burundi, just past the Rwandan border, a truck had fallen over and was barring the way. We decided to go back to Butare, spend the night and try again the next day. We took an alternative road, a small and bad "piste" but with beautiful views, along the ridge of the mountains, through small villages and banana plantations. It was worth the diversion. 

Back home we enjoyed the last few days of the holidays in the garden. We painted the paillotte (small round hut) and while the guard was hurting himself wondering why on earth those crazy mzungu's would do that work themselves in stead of asking someone else to do it, we had great fun. 

And to close off the holidays, our turtle, Fleur, layed her eggs and we were very lucky to be part of it. This also was an amazing experience, to see her choosing the spot, digging a deep hole with her short legs and laying, very carefully, 7 perfectly white round ping pong balls in it. 

Bicycles

Last weekend, we went to Kirundo, a small town in the north of Burundi, the poorest region. But that is relative. Burundi is poor. Full stop. But it is when you're traveling that you notice it more. 

Some data from Worldbank, CIA factbook etc: 

The national income per capita (GNI) is less than $250 (that means that on average, a person earns less than $250 per year!!), there are 308 people living per square meter and a it has a population growth of 1,9%. Every woman gets an average of 4.1 children (more in the rural areas) and according to the CIA Factbook, Burundi ranks 190 out of 192 countries by GDP per capita. There is not a spot of land that is unused for agriculture. People are cultivating land that is almost as steep as a wall. 

One of the things that really struck me on our trip, in comparison to Cameroon, is the use of bicycles. In Cameroon, motor bikes are the common way of transporting goods. Here, it's bicycles. 

Bicycles in any state, are usually re-enforced in the front and at the back, to carry a load as heavy and big as possible.

Everything gets transported by bike. Often for many many kilometers. On top of that, in Burundi, it's all uphill or downhill. 

Downhill is easy. And for uphill, they often take a ride:

Below some pictures (taken out of a driving car and through the front windscreen) of what people transport on their bicycles:

Bananas...

fire wood...

cauliflower...

more vegetables...

roof tiles...

food for their livestock...

building/fencing materials...

corrugated iron...

more bananas...

charcoal...

... and many more. 

2013 ends with a lot of good-byes. And lots of new expectations. We have moved to Burundi which we will call home soon. We're still in transition but are enjoying the new country, new friends, new ways of living already. Soon we should be in our own place and get back in our routine.

Thorsten has taken on a new job with the GIZ in Bujumbura for 5 years. There should be less travel involved and more regular hours.  

Jara and Lisa seem to have adjusted pretty well. They are very curious to their new school so we had a peak earlier this week. They are excited and like the look of it. They have also been able to connect well with new kids around but miss their friends from Yaoundé a lot.  

Siri has had a couple of rough days. She was down with a virus (a lot of vomiting and diarrhea) and found it hard to adjust. But she's better now, is eating again and playing well. A pity we lost her chubby thighs on the way. 

I also enjoy the new place. I find myself comparing with Yaoundé a lot and am pleasantly surprised in lots of ways. Bujumbura is much calmer, cleaner, easier to go around in. The weather is hotter and more humid. Larger supermarkets are non-existent but there is a good bakery, good butcher and fresh milk products. Life starts earlier here (the housekeeper of the house we're staying at woke us up at 7 am this morning trying to get in) and the girls will start school at 7.30. 

But we also said good-bye to a lot of good friends too. After almost 6 wonderful years in Cameroon, saying goodbye was not easy. 

We made a lot of good friends, saw lots of people come and go and this time it is our turn.

We arrived with one toddler and a baby on the way and are leaving with 3 precious girls. Cameroon is a fertile place! Be aware!

Although I'm sure our paths will cross again, it may be a while at first. But our doors are always open for you. 

Have a wonderful time with your friends and family!

moving on

That's it. Our life in Cameroon comes to an end. By the end of December, we will be living in Bujumbura, Burundi. Same continent, different country. Same same, but different. A lot different I think.

Thorsten will continue working with GIZ, but within a different project. If all goes well, there should be less extensive travel involved. The girls, especially Jara, have always found it hard when Thorsten was not there.
I hope to return to work too at some point.

We're looking forward to the change. We have spent 5,5 beautiful years in Yaoundé and it will be hard to leave. But we're happy. We've seen so many good friends come and go and now it is our turn.
We told Jara and Lisa and they seem excited. Although when we told them they'd be going to the Belgian School, we realised they expected to return to Europe... I know, it is confusing for their little minds.

Until then, we'll continue our little life here.
Jara has started first grade, which, for German tradition, is a very big thing. It includes choosing "Schulranzen" (schoolbag, sport sack, pencase, folder etc all in the same theme), having a "Schultüte" filled with toys and sweets and having a party. Thanks to some good German friends we were able to have a real Schultüte party:

Lisa was very good not getting all the attention, but obviously is expecting an equal opportunity next year ;-)

Siri getting bigger and cheekier each day. She's walking, more or less, and enjoys the attention she's getting from her sisters, who adore her. And, for a change, she's a great eater! (Those of you who don't know, Jara and Lisa aren't the greatest eaters).

She's so full of love and laughter, it's amazing. I'm curious how's she's going to deal with the changes.