Feedback and Clarification

This entry is just to say thank you for all the feed back we have received about the blog, we really appreciate your comments, and value your opinions about our style of writing. Due to a couple of recent concerns raised we feel it is necessary to clarify a few things about our intentions behind writing each entry. Firstly our aim has never been to follow the generic codes of an Oxfam advert. While Rwanda is clearly a ‘developing country’, desperately poor and in need of resources, it is also doing an amazing job of progressing and we believe it shouldn’t be portrayed purely on a basis of its suffering.

The pace of life here is no longer based on emergency, and development work is not as simple as seeing a problem and finding a solution to it. Our job at Centre Marembo is our number one priority to us and the also thing that brings us the most happiness while here. However, like any job, we have a routine that is repeated weekly, therefore we feel that solely focusing on the ins and outs of our work would make a bit of a dull read. Our motto while here is to ‘work hard, play hard’ and naturally we want to get the most out of being here so we pack as much into our free time as possible. We believe for example that to sit and dwell on how difficult a morning at the orphanage has been simply wouldn’t be productive. The aim of writing this blog is not a declaration of the suffering we witness here. While we could go into detailed descriptions of shoeless or skin diseased children, this would paint them purely as victims and ignore their independence and unique personalities. To focus the blog on suffering would do the people of Rwanda a great injustice and to be quite frank would be incredibly patronising.

As for those of you who very generously donated to our fund before we left we would like to make it very clear how essential your donations have been to the centre and how much we appreciate them. We can assure you that on a weekly basis your money is put to good use, an abundance of art equipment has been purchased, along with daily expenses such as photocopying of English work sheets and the card we use during our art lessons. We have also recently purchased £150 worth of furniture that the centre was in desperate need of. We have also been able to contribute towards taking the boys swimming to celebrate some excellent exam results and Marembo’s first anniversary of being officially open.

If you would like a breakdown of our expenditure feel free to email us but be sure that the purpose for your contributions are being fulfilled, and know that we would never abuse your good will to fund an ‘extended holiday’. Many of you will know that we both worked long hours to be able to finance this trip ourselves in terms of our flights, accommodation, food etc and have made a conscious effort to keep the fund and our own personal finances separate.

Our love for this country is quite immeasurable and although we have witnessed real hardship, we have also witnessed real happiness. The children at the centre have nothing in the way of money or possessions yet they are rich in friendships and personality. To focus on their neediness would in no way reflect our experience of meeting them. Our main intention for this blog is simply to note the funny little everyday differences between here and the UK and a few quirky anecdotes of the things that make living and working here so unique. To paint a picture of a quintessential African country based on poverty and arid landscapes simply wouldn’t represent reality. We hope this has clarified any concerns you may have had about our representation of our time here. No doubt we will have many conversations with those of you that are close to us about what we have found difficult and troubling while here but for now we will continue to write in a style that we hope will make you smile.