Heroes And Transport

As our bus pulled into the taxi park in Kigali I was ready to pour myself into the lives of these six young people for a few days and learn as much as I could about their families, the challenges they would face back home, and the possibilities for their future. We were met by an older African Children’s Choir member from a previous choir who had just finished secondary school. We all piled into a taxi (mini van) and made our way into the city to one of the two orphanages where our 16 Rwandese students at the school come from. It was dark as they all unloaded their belongings and were given rooms. There was no power as the orphanage had been late in paying for the last few months. We then found a special hire (regular taxi car) and made our way to our guesthouse. During these last few events I have left out details about the driver who was high on something and the fight on the street that almost turned into a brawl… No need I guess as we ended up in the guest house safe and sound.

As morning came I bounced out of bed a lot quicker than usual and took my regular shower. Soon we were back at the orphanage by boda, boda (motorbike taxi) and greeted by our special six and many others. The man who runs this orphanage is a national hero in Rwanda as he saved the lives of over 300 people during the genocide. Whoever arrived at his gate during that time was hidden in different places within the walled compound and when soldiers came time and time again they could find no one but little children.