Reflections on my trip to Rwanda—Connecting with the Motherland Again
As the UC Berkeley Mastercard Foundation Scholars Representative, one of my duties is to represent the scholars at UC Berkeley at any Mastercard Foundation meetings across the globe. This time, this year’s meeting took place in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, from January 26th to 29th, 2024. It’s always been a dream to travel to East Africa and this presented a great opportunity. The annual meeting brings together scholars from all Mastercard Foundation partners around the world. The objectives included fostering transformative leadership mindsets and skills among the members; promoting a sense of community; providing a platform for the Scholar Reps to collaborate; sharing knowledge; strengthening connections; and enhancing the brand and ethos of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program among the scholars’ community. More important is the opportunity given to me to serve, to impact positively on others, and to be a role model for youth around the globe. I hold that dear to my heart.
During my flight to Kigali, I slept almost the entire way. There were stops at Doha, Qatar and I also made a brief stop at Nairobi, Kenya upon my return. I don’t know if you feel this way, but there is something about being in the clouds that makes me want to sleep every time. Looking out the window, I see the clouds floating majestically, foaming, folding away as the jet zoomed by. The white underbellies of the clouds spread vast across the horizon as far as my eyes could see. The angelic patterns were different each time I looked. There were swirling clouds and some like dotted points. Some clouds were like a toddler’s attempt to draw zig zags and others mixed with blue views which reminded me of Nigerian primary school kids in their pretty white and blue pinafore dresses. Some stood like hills, dwarfing other cloud formations. The winds will rock the jet once in a while to bring me back from my daydreaming. And the sunrise, that morning, came in installments, first like a little yellowish-red dot that continually grew into a big ball of golden light. The white clouds kept rolling past, unfolding before my eyes. The ambience that followed this natural presence I am yet to find the words to explain. The jet turned mildly at some point, and then the sun was directly on my face. The sun followed the jet ride glowing gold. Once again I checked the flight map and discovered that we were above the skies in Africa, I went back to my poetic daydreaming:
Oh, beautiful clouds welcome me, let the golden sunlight shine upon my face once more for I am home again! Nwa gi-your child, Africa is back. I hail you, land of the Lion and Elephant, the Cheetah, and the Giraffe! The land of the Iroko, and the Oak. This land of the Zulu, of the Igbo, of Niger and Congo rivers, of Kilimanjaro and Lake Chad, of the quasa quasa drum, of heroes and warriors, of sweet palm beer, the egusi soup, and unconditional love! Africa, my homeland—my dreamland, I am back and now I’m visiting beautiful Rwanda!
The airplane jolted me back to reality. We have flown lower into the clouds and I can’t see anything but mists. As the plane started to descend, I could see the organized city of Kigali come into view. The pilot’s soothing voice came on to welcome us to Kigali’s International Airport. The city landmarks started appearing down—there were rivers, woodlands, roads, buildings, people, and all. In no time I went to check in with immigration. After that, I was chauffeured from the airport to the hotel where the meeting was held. The ride to the hotel was a few miles. Interestingly, I learned from the driver that Rwanda was known as the land of a thousand hills. He invited me to look through the window to see for myself. Indeed, I did look and there were hills everywhere. The green spread across as far as I can see. The hills rise and fall. On them were houses of different hues and structures. Then the ride advanced towards the affluent parts of Kigali. The Chinese Embassy and Kigali Marriot came into view. The venue for the meeting, Four Points at Sheraton Hotel was a short drive down the road. My hosts welcomed me and I was checked in. The first thing I did after refreshing was lay down to stretch my bones. I took a long nap. Before my rest, I noticed the real-life-sized sculpture of a gorilla at the hotel’s entrance. Rwanda is known to have made important strides in conserving mountain gorillas from going extinct. There is the Mountain Gorilla Sanctuary, a gorilla conservation project in the country. As someone interested in wildlife and art, I spent some time observing the collections and sculptures showcased at the hotel galleries. From the sixth floor, where my room was located I could see the swimming pool. Few people at the hotel swam as it was cold during early mornings and evenings. Fun fact: my hotel room number was 616 and this was my room number during my first year at International House.
The gorilla sculpture at the entrance of the Four Points Sheraton and the art works found in the hotel
The following days were full of activities and learning. The city of Kigali, in my opinion, is the cleanest city I have seen in the places I have been to so far. The people have a culture of cleanliness reflected even in the life of the Rwandan people I met at International House. What strikes me most is how orderly and organized everything was. The traffic lights functioned, people and vehicles obeyed them, and all bikers had helmets. The green verges are trimmed and the ornamental trees are well groomed. I barely saw dirt buckets along the way yet there was no single dirt on the streets. Kigali city management plan is a project many city administrators across the globe should study. We can learn a thing or two from the city of Kigali.
Mastercard Foundation: Group picture of Scholar Reps from different universities across the world
To end, I invite you to visit Africa, if you haven’t already. Don’t take my word for it, come see this beauty for yourself. If you have already been to Africa, I invite you to share your experiences. Until then, my friends, stay safe. So long Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills.
Notes:
*Nwa gi: In Igbo language means “Your Child”
*Iroko tree is a gigantic tree that grows across the forest belt of West and Central Africa.
*Quasa Quasa drum is native to the Southern African people.
*Egusi soup is a Nigerian delicacy eaten with pounded yam or cassava.