Peyton's Memoirs from Rwanda

What a ride…

// April 23rd, 2010 // Uncategorized

My goodness, it has been a while since I’ve updated you on life here in Rwanda. I assure you that I am still alive and kicking! Life is good. And here is the latest reason why…

This past Wednesday morning, I got to do one of the coolest things I’ve done since my arrival in Musanze/Ruhengeri. Take one trip through the countryside that surrounds the town, and you will surely count 10x the number of bicycles than vehicles crowding the roads (10x is a gross understatement by the way). Rwandans use bikes for EVERYTHING. They are a huge part of the culture here, necessary for life in fact. Bikes are used for self-transportation, business (taxi-services – people literally dangle off of a small seat behind the rider), and moving cargo and important goods. People will stack anything and everything to their bikes, strapping it down with lengths of rubber rope if need be. I’ve regularly seen men pushing bikes loaded with gigantic sacks filled with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, anything, six feet off the ground. I’ve seen a bike with twenty foot long metal poles strapped to it. Ten feet ahead, ten feet behind. Heck, I’ve seen a man riding a bike with another guy on the back, holding a goat. Rwandans may know how to use their heads wisely, but they know how to utilize two wheels even better.

Many of you get into your cars every single day and drive to work, the grocery store, whatever. It takes you what? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? 30 minutes? Big deal. Men, and women alike, will push their loaded bicycles a good 5-10 miles, maybe more, to the market here in town. That’s also without the promise of even selling any of their produce that day. Some of these loads probably weigh a good 100-200 pounds, easy. If that weren’t enough…there’s a reason that Rwanda is referred to as the “land of a thousand hills”. They haul and ride their bikes up and down these hills the entire way. Oh, and they have to make the trip twice…back to their respective villages and houses.

A little history lesson for you, also. In the past, and still very much in the present day, Africans have created bicycles from carved wood, bamboo, etc. If it is pliable and sturdy, they can use it. Well, the bikes they created were used for all of the same purposes. But, as you can imagine, a wooden bike has no mechanical parts. No gears, no breaks, nothing. They can be very dangerous, which is why they are outlawed in Rwanda. So, as a Rwandan citizen living in a remote village, what can you do if a bicycle isn’t within your means?

One totally awesome organization is out to solve this very problem – Project Rwanda. In an article from their website, Doug Grant writes, “Project Rwanda takes the dream of a farmer owning a bike with an extended strong metal chassis, brakes, a seat, gears, and modern wheels and makes that dream a reality. The bike is ordered from a company in South Africa and shipped to Rwanda. In Rwanda, the bike is assembled and tested for quality. The farmer arrives to pick up the bike and a loan officer arranges a micro-loan with the farmer. A mechanic instructs the farmer how to properly care for the bike. The farmer enjoys the reality of having a vehicle to transport products, goods and people. And the world of that farmer and his family is transformed. When the micro-loan is paid off, there is money to buy a new bike and another dream becomes reality for a new farmer.”

Check out the rest of the article here.

Check out the Project Rwanda website from my links|sites of interest located at the side.

Mark and I got to be a part of this incredible mission. Project Rwanda has distributed bikes to the village, that our crew frequents often, through a micro financing program. The role that Mark and I got to play? Delivering the bikes!

We were to deliver two Project Rwanda cargo bikes to the village. So, Mark and I woke up, put some fuel in our bodies, a little water in our bags, and headed out for an unforgettable ride. We departed from the house at 7 am. The weather…perfect. The scenery…unreal. I mean UNREAL – clear blue skies, fluffy white clouds, the sun out in rare form, volcanoes (Muhabura, Sabyinyo, Karisimbe) on our left, each with a halo of cloud around their peaks, green hills, fields of banana trees, and beautiful people. The ride in total was about 12 miles and took about an hour or so. I admit, I had to stop to push the bike up a few daunting hills (it is heavy…and I’m out of shape…there, I said it!). About two miles from the road leading to the village road, we spotted Christophe (the head of the village). I stopped and he hopped on the back of my bike and we headed down the road! I felt like a bike taxi! Once we reached the road up to the village, it was another story though. I say “up to” the village because the rocky road literally winds up the side of a mountain. There were a few stretches of riding, but for the most part, we pushed the heavy bikes up the two miles of rocky terrain. We made it, delivered the bikes, Christophe signed the contracts, he showed me his cow, and then we began the trek back down the mountain to the main road. Christophe accompanied us, it rained on us a little bit, and my-oh-my was it beautiful. The village is the most beautiful place in the world. The view in one direction is the volcano, Muhabura. In another direction, valleys of green farm land. Another, a breathtaking overlooking view of Lake Burera. After making it back to the main road, we walked about a mile before a taxi bus (that had room) picked us up. We crammed into it with 19 other people and made it back to town. Happy. Exhausted. Grinning. Fulfilled. Blessed to get to be a part of something great….