What's that white stuff on their heads?

When walking around the village, two things are common to see on children: white spots on their head and bloated stomachs. 

The white spots on their head come from poverty, but not directly from poverty as it relates to nutrition.  Bloated stomachs are due to malnutrition, pure and simple.  But the white spots?  What causes that?

The white spots are a fungus (basically a ringworm) that begins with a lack of bathing among the general community.  This causes a very small amount of people in the village to get the ringworm.  The main problem arises from the close contact that village people have with each other.  Rwandans generally sleep five to a double bed, so the close proximity of people sleeping to each other at night combined with sharing sheets and towels makes spreading the fungus much easier. 

You rarely if ever see this with Rwandans in the cities or of Rwandans with any means.  The white spots on the head are a direct marker that these children live in third-world poverty.   

Leaving Peace Corps, but staying in Rwanda

            Over the summer I was at a hotel with friends in Gisenyi and met an ex-pat working on the Kigali Convention Center.  We were discussing being engineers, and I must have made an impression because he called me shortly after about a job position.  After a lengthy interview and negotiation process, I decided to take a job with his British engineering/architectural firm.  As of October 4, I am no longer a Peace Corps volunteer.   

            Don’t fear!  I still live in Rwanda, and will continue to keep the blog going on a bi-weekly basis.  I thought the job would be a good in-between point.  I would still be in Rwanda, which would mean that I could still visit and help my village, while at the same time getting a different vantage point of Rwanda.  I will be able to see how ex-pats and Kigalians live while still having the view of a Peace Corps volunteer.

            The decision to leave the Peace Corps was difficult.  I have really enjoyed my time in the Peace Corps, but was growing tired of having so much free time.  During my Peace Corps tenure, I read 40 books and have watched more television in the past year than in the past ten years combined.  I still wanted to be in Rwanda, and I wanted to travel, grow, and develop.  I also wanted to be active and more centrally located.  This job seemed to be the answer to those desires. 

            With this new job, there are almost no rules to what I can do in my off time.  I still am required to conduct myself well and be non-political, but otherwise I am free.  This will give me the ability to discover a lot more about Rwanda and go see places I would have not otherwise done.  You might notice a few small changes to the blog, and those reflect changes now that I am a civil engineer and not a Peace Corps volunteer.  However, my inquisitiveness and attitude have not changed.  I still want to help Rwandans, and teach you about Rwanda and east Africa. 

            The next blog will be in two weeks.  Stay tuned…