Adventures in East Africa (Part Three) Kigali to Bujumbura and back again.....

border crossing between Rwanda
and Burundi

After finishing off our work with Every Life in Kampala we said goodbyes to Emma, Anna, Tim and Jonathan, as well as Drea and Teagan who'd all hosted us so well and also John and the wider Every Life team, we met up with our friend Richard, a local Ugandan who had been our guide when we visited the mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable forest in April, who was now going to drive us the near on 500 miles from Kampala to the Burundi capital, Bujumbura.

This was only our third visit to Uganda but we had already learnt that leaving the crazy Kampala traffic is always a good feeling and as we headed south west the road opened up, big skies welcoming us as we ventured over the equator and on towards the Rwandan border.

The border crossing between Uganda and Rwanda was relatively easy and we were soon motoring on the right hand side of the road through vast tea plantations that fill the wide and luscious valleys set between the rolling hills that had witnessed so much tribulation in this tiny african nation just over 20 years before, read more on Tim's thoughts around that by clicking here.

Travelling in Africa is always a hair
raising experience, especially in a Tuk Tuk

We spent a cool night in the Rwandan capital Kigali, over 500 meters higher than Kampala, it would seem that there has been loads of international investment made into what was one of the poorest nations in the world and our first impressions was of a european city set in the middle of Africa, wide boulevards, working street lights and even traffic lights which were obeyed by drivers who respected the laws of the road. 

Tim training in Bujumbura

The following morning we continued south through some stunning countryside, again rolling hills with tiny hilltop communities, everyone busy with their daily chores. Although the roads in Rwanda are fantastic compared to those we have experienced in Madagascar they wind up and down the hillsides, where convoys of lorries can hamper the speed of the journey, however we never saw any litter and were overwhelmed with the beauty with valleys of rice and hills covered with tea, coffee and banana. 

Sights along the road

We crossed the border near Butare and then travelled onward into Burundi however had a bit of an issue at the border as our driver's girlfriend had forgotten her passport, not quite as dumb as it sounds as there is an east African agreement between Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda where one can move freely with a credit card style ID card, Burundi isn't part of that agreement which meant we had to leave her at the border on the Rwandan side as we continued onwards towards Bujumbura.

Leaving her wasn't ideal and before we had gone too far we had agreed for our driver, who had been paid to take us on the whole journey, to drop us in the next town for us to catch a taxi and for him to return to the crossing to ensure the safety of his girlfriend, which was the right thing to do given the issues she reported to have had with the money changers and other hangers on who frequent those border towns!

Maz training in Ngozi

Our transition between leaving our Richard, our driver, and percuring a taxi wasn't without incident but at least we were heading down, on less impressive but still passable roads, from the high mountains and down to the capital which sits on the northern banks of lake Tanganyika. Once again finding Simon and our agreed site for our rendezvou wasn't without its problems as the taxi driver had never been to Bujumbura and had no idea where he 
was going. 

All that said (and not said!) we were glad to arrive just after the sun went down and with further reflection on our time in Burundi we wouldn't have been in too much trouble as we found out that people were so helpful and friendly and the city certainly didn't have the edginess of South Africa! People roam the streets and line the roads in their colourful african dress and always have a smile or a friendly wave.

Tim training this time in Ngozi

Once we'd hooked up with Simon and Lizzie they took us to their home where we were going to be spending the next couple of weeks. They are amazing hosts, we enjoyed great food, very healthy, and time with their wonderful children. 

Simon is a great networker, having lived and worked in Burundi for over 20 years and with his young family too, he connected us with some of his contacts within the Great Lakes Outreach charity, including Acher, a trained pastor and university lecturer, who would be our translator as we shared the Emerging Leaders Leadership for Life programme to two sets of pastors and local leaders in both Bujumbura and the northern city of Ngozi.

leaders we trained in Bujumbura

Our two sets of training would be spread over a total of eight days with two days travelling between the two sites in between, it was full on with each of our planned three hour modules taking around five to six hours to deliver. The main reason for the extra time was to ensure that those who were receiving the leadership principles had full understood the concepts and also had time to feedback on how they had applied them to their own lives. 

It's always a highlight to hear how, after a few hours, people start to apply new mindsets to real life situations that they find themselves in, be that within their own lives, such as 'time keeping' or in how they treat their family, understanding that leadership starts with ourselves and that a leader, and we are all leaders in some form or another, exists for the benefit of others.

Walking home in Ngozi

Simon and or Acher made sure we were at our venues on time in the mornings but it was great to feel free enough to catch our common Malagasy transport home each day whilst in Bujumbura, that being our beloved Tuk Tuk which speed around the streets, allowing us to experience the daily sights, sounds and smells that make up life for some of the more fortunate Burundians who live in the city.

Leaders we trained in Ngozi

On the rare moments where we weren't training we enjoyed some time at a local hotel, with good wifi and a small pool, and we also met up and celebrated 'Thanksgiving' with some other expats who made us feel very welcome in their home up in the foothills of the mountains above Bujumbura, with stunning views across the lake to the DR Congo and a lovely and much needed cooling breeze!

Kigali skyline from the genocide memorial

Both of us were able to venture out to run around the sand roads near Simon's home, where we felt very comfortable and safe, even with the high presence of police and army who patrol the streets.

The training was very well received and we are already speaking with Acher about the opportunity to return to complete some follow up work and training of those we shared the programme with to become trainers themselves in 2018 and we are confident that the 140 people, both men and women, young people and elders too, will be using the Leadership for Life training to see transformation come to their communities, starting with themselves.

Sunrise over Lake Bunyonyi 

All too soon it was time to leave and seeing as though we'd finished our training in the northern town of Ngozi we decided spend some extra time in Rwanda visiting the genocide memorial in Kigali, once again click here for post around that, and a few nights in the mountains near Lake Bunyonyi and then Lake Victoria in Uganda, these few days gave us time to reflect on all that we'd seen and experienced over those crazy weeks before returning to England to enjoy Christmas at home with our family.

Sunrise over lake Victoria

It's been an exciting 2017 but for now we'll signing off and wish you a very happy New Year, we promise to provide further updates in 2018 from our next adventure back to South Africa which begins in early January!