Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara National Park

A cheetah tries to blend into the tall grass of Serengeti National Park.

The "endless plain" of the Serengeti.

Giraffes in the Serengeti National Park.

A typical scene (especially when spotting a cat) in Serengeti National Park.

The family in front of their tent in the middle of the Serengeti, which they all hated.

An old, solitary elephant in Serengeti National Park.

Wildebeests in Ngorongoro Crater.

Black Rhinos (typically very hard to find) cross the road in Ngorongoro Crater.

Lions try to beat the heat in Ngorongoro Crater.

Babboons in Lake Manyara

            When you think Africa, when you think of safaris, you think of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.  Connected to Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, this park is home to all the African animals: black rhinos, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, baboons, elephants, hippopotamuses, crocodiles, elands, impalas, etc…

            Tourism continues to flourish at Serengeti National Park due to several reasons: the wildebeest migration, political stability (unlike Kenya), good roads, and a park connected to Ngorongoro Crater.  Most tourists come from the nearby town of Arusha, and take one of the many guides out to see the “big five:” elephants, buffaloes, cheetahs, lions, and rhinos. 

            The Serengeti is Maasai for “endless plain,” which you can tell by the pictures.  However, there are several different types of environments here aside from the classic savannah that we think of Africa.  Most of these animals flourish in the different environments that encompass the park.

            Our family spent four days in Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Lake Manyara National Park.  Enjoy the pictures.

Imbabazi orphanage

In the kitchen cooking with the kids.

Cooking for the Canadian group with the orphans.

The grave of Rosamond Carr.

A view of Mt. Karisimbi from the orphanage.

The orphanage where the children sleep and eat.

Devon (left), the director of Imbabazi, and Ashley (right) a Peace Corps volunteer helping with the orphanage.

           The American Rosamond Carr spent most of her life in central Africa, particularly Rwanda.  She made a living planting flowers for sale or pyrethrum, even at times squeaking out a living as a hotel manager in Gisenyi.  When the genocide happened in 1994, Rosamond left for America to escape, but returned soon after to rebuild her home. 

            Ms. Carr never had any children.  Living out in the farms of rural Africa leaves little chance to find a husband and raise children.  When she returned after the genocide she found her vision, purpose, and finally got her children: the Imbabazi orphanage near Gisenyi. 

Post-genocide, Rwanda was teeming with orphanages and people taking in children that weren’t their own.  Orphanages are a common site here, but Rwanda is moving away from an orphanage based child care to foster care system as the children of the genocide become adults.  Furthermore, Rosamond Carr wanted the Imbabazi orphanage to house orphans from the genocide only. 

            Currently, the orphanage houses approximately 60 children (all above the age of 10).  Imbabazi is not accepting any further orphans but will raise these orphans until they become an adult and leave the orphanage.  It is unknown what will happen to the orphanage after the last child has left, but there is a board of directors debating how it will be put to public good afterwards. 

            I spent a day at the orphanage walking around with the orphans, viewing the gorgeous landscape that sits at the base of the volcanoes.  We cooked for a Canadian group and I got to know the American staff better.  The pictures are from my rainy day visiting a place I had wanted to see for quite some time.

            To learn more about Rosamond Carr’s amazing life in Africa, you can read her book “Land of a Thousand Hills.”  If you want to donate to the Imbabazi orphanage, go to http://www.imbabazi.org/ 

Project 2020

A sign in front of my neighborhood showcasing that this area was built in the Project 2020 vision.

A banner in Gisenyi advertising an upcoming forum on Project 2020.

            In an effort to pull itself from a struggling, third world impoverished, World Bank loan taking country, Rwanda has decided to implement a program to pull itself from the constant cyclical Africa issues and create a middle class.  This is by no means an easy task, but the government of Rwanda has paved an outline of their plan to achieve this goal: Project 2020. 

            Rwanda struggles with a myriad of issues: high population density along with a high birth rate, 90% of Rwandans living off farming along (mostly sustenance), an underdeveloped government, lack of diversification in exports and GDP, low education rates, and high unemployment/underemployment.  (I estimate that Rwanda has an unemployment rate of 80%, so the next time we complain about things in the USA, we can be reminded that we are doing well for ourselves even in a major recession.) 

            The government wants to create a vibrant private sector economy along with a burgeoning middle class.  With the average Rwandan making approximately $300 per year, the economy would have to grow at a rate of 7% per year for the next eight years in order to have the beginnings of a stable middle economy that equates to the average Rwandan making $900 per year.  Remember, wealth lies heavy at the top.  When the average is $300 per year, it actually means that for most Rwandans their income is $100 per year.  To have a burgeoning economy, government and middle class, Rwanda needs to develop these concepts:

1.       Good governance and a capable state

2.      Human resource development and a knowledge based economy (basically, moving away from a completely agrarian economy as Rwanda has today)

3.      A private sector-led economy

4.      Infrastructure development

5.      Productive and market oriented agriculture

6.      Regional and international economic integration

According to top economic analysts in developing countries, democracy and development prospers when people have a livable wage (minimum $1000 per person per annum).  Rwanda believes that it can have a stable, healthy country that can free itself from the typical African cycle of problems if it creates a self-sustaining, aid free government.  Furthermore, this will remove Rwanda from the ghosts of the past where ethnicities and genocidal flare-ups have haunted this country post-colonialism.  Only time will tell if this plan will work.

Democratic Republic of Congo - Nyiragongo Volcano

At the base of the volcano getting ready for the hike.

The "bungalows" at the top of the volcano where we stayed for the night.

At the top of the volcano looking down into the lava lake. 

The lava lake at night (at the top of Nyiragongo Volcano).

A closeup view of the lava lake.

A view down the volcano to Goma.  Lake Kivu is on the right.  In 2002, the lava blew from the side and filled up this crater with lava, then flowed down to Goma (in the distance) and destroyed a big portion of the city.

A view of a church destroyed from the 2002 eruption. 

The Congo is dangerous, but also gorgeous.  Mt. Mikeno (still active) is on the left and Mt. Karisimbi (dormant) is on the right.

A typical street in Goma.  The city is built on lava rock and is extremely poor, but based in a beautiful setting. 

            

            This past weekend I traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to visit the major Congo city of Goma and to hike one of the most active volcanoes in the world – Mount Nyiragongo. 

            Nyiragongo is famous in Rwandan history for two major recent eruptions – 1977 and 2002.  The 1977 eruption had lava traveling at speeds up to 60 miles an hour killing thousands of residents in the nearby city of Goma, while the 2002 eruption killed few people due to the slow speed of the lava and readiness of citizens from previous eruptions.  However, Nyiragongo has erupted over 30 times in the past 100 years, and is considered very active and dangerous.

            The trip takes about five hours to get to the top.  It’s a difficult, steep climb comprising mainly of loose lava rocks.  At the top there are bungalows to sleep in for the night, but the top of the volcano is extremely windy and cold.  The big attraction to this volcano is the lava lake at the top.  You can see lava in a sort of mesmerizing, natural state exploding and moving in a random fashion. 

            After the hike we took a tour of the devastation that Nyiragongo did to Goma in 1977 and 2002.  Over 50% of the city has been taken by lava that has caused much of the city to exist 8 feet higher than it historically has sat.  Congolese now live on top of lava rocks in a slum-esque style.  The Congo ranks 187 out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index for good reason: there are no paved roads, education is terrible, health care is non-existent, and women are raped at an unparalled rate.  The Congo has huge obstacles to overcome to have a stable, forward moving country.  Nevertheless, it was great to travel to the Congo to see the beauty of the countryside and travesty of everyday life. 

Kigali Convention Center

The hallway at the top floor of the hotel, where all suites will be situated. 

The large building in the back is the hotel, the small building in front is the convention center, and the dirt area (soccer field) will be the IT center.

Excavation of up to 50 feet was done to place these large rain water tanks for the convention center.

A view of the convention center from the top floor of the hotel.  The circular area is the base of the dome.

Standing at the top of the hotel in front of the Kacyiru roundabout. 

A view inside the hotel from the roof.  The hotel pool will be placed where the crane currently sits.

At the sewer plant with Leo, my collegue from the Chinese construction firm.

The architct's rendering of the hotel, convention center, and IT park upon completion. 

Last October I left the Peace Corps and began work with a British firm to help project manager the Kigali Convention Center.  The center is planned to be a crux of the Rwanda and the East Africa Community for events and conferences.  Currently all major conferences and events (including President Kagame’s state functions) are held at the Serena Inn in Kigali, so the Kigali Convention Center would replace the Serena Inn as the go-to place for high profile events.

The center will be a 300 room, 5 star hotel connected to a convention center and IT park.  There is currently proposed a museum that will bring further tourism to the center.  The convention center is designed to have a clear dome (similar the Reichstag in Berlin) that will become the iconic image of the country.

At $360 million, it is also one of the largest projects in Africa too.  The entire project is slated to finish in 2014, and is being design by German architects and built by a Chinese construction firm.  Due to the variation of cultures on site (Germans, Chinese, Rwandans, Brits, Americans, Indians) the business language on site is English.  This is due to the contract being written in English.

My role is project manager, where I overview the construction site daily and report to the board of directors and client on the progress and any potential issues with the project.  Due to the size and complexity of the project, it is a great job to learn about various aspects of engineering, design, and procurement.  

Volcanoes National Park



The intore dancers and drummers before we head out for the hike.

One of the many gorgeous trees in the rainforests of Volcanoes National Park.

The dangerous buffaloes watch us from a safe distance.

Time to eat!

The big silverback looks over the Kuryama group of gorillas.



Eating in the trees.

Being herbivores of a prodigious size, gorillas spend a lot of their day eating.



When people think of tourism in Rwanda, the number one destination is Volcanoes National Park.  It has a lot of the elements that make a successful park: only two hours on a paved road from the capital of Kigali, located amongst gorgeous tropical volcanoes, and (most important of all) has some of the last rare mountain gorillas in the world. 

Volcanoes National Park is an extremely small park, and shares a national park boundary with Virungas National Park in the Congo and Bwindi Impenetrable Park in Uganda.  These three countries have combined with various other organizations around the world to preserve the last mountain gorillas in the world.  Current estimates state that there are less than 800 mountain gorillas left.  If it wasn’t for the efforts of Dian Fossey’s studies and conservation efforts between 1967 and 1985, it is possible that the gorillas would be extinct today.  Most of Fossey’s time was spent in Rwanda at Volcanoes National Park, at a camp between Karisimbi volcano and Visoke volcano (the camp name was a combination of the two volcanoes, called “Karisoke”).  She raised awareness through her research and book “Gorillas in the Midst” which details her time and research with the gorillas.  Her death changed her novel into a movie about her life, and (combined with the poaching of other gorillas) raised further awareness for conservation efforts of these amazing animals.

The conservation is a daunting task for several reasons: poachers, land encroachment due to gorillas living in a country with a density of 600 people per square mile, and gorillas having 97% of the same genetic makeup as humans.  When visiting the gorillas, tourists can only stay for one hour due to the stress of humans being in the gorilla’s natural environment.  Tourists cannot take flash photography, must turn away and sneeze due to the fear of transmitting viruses/colds to the gorillas, and cannot eat, drink, or bring anything unnecessary around their habitat. 

My family and I visited the gorillas at the beginning of January.  It was a long climb through villages and rainforests to get to the “Kuryama” group (“kuryama” is Kinyarwanda for “to lie down”), but was well worth the $500 ticket, harsh dirt roads, and long hike.  We had a great time, but were exhausted afterwards.  Attached are pictures of our day which took place on the west side of Visoke volcano.

African proverbs

You better be running!

Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten.  – Nigerian proverb

Every culture has words of wisdom, metaphors, philosophies, and proverbs.  I thought I would share with you some famous Africa proverbs (parentheses indicate where this is generally said):

Health is the body of prosperity.  (Africa) 

A village without elders is like a well without water.  (East Africa)

If a child washes his hands, he could eat with kings.  (West Africa)

Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough.  (Zimbabwe)

You think of water when the well is empty.  (Ethiopia)

A hippopotamus can be made invisible in dark water.  (West Africa)

Who digs the well should not be refused water.  (East Africa)

One who loves you, warns you.  (Uganda)

Every morning in Africa a gazelle awakens knowing it must today run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten.  Every morning a lion awakens knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve.  It matters not whether you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun rises you had better be running.  (Africa)

He who loves money must labor.  (Africa)

If relatives help each other, what evil can hurt them?  (Africa)

It takes a village to raise a child.  (West Africa)

What an old man sees while sitting, a small child cannot see even standing on top of a mountain!  (Nigeria)

Knowledge is like a garden: if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.  (Africa)

Don’t insult the crocodile until you cross the water.  (Africa)

Not everyone who chased the zebra caught it, be he who caught it chased it.  (South Africa)

Until the lion tells his side of the story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.  (Zimbabwe)

 In the city of the blind, the man with one eye will be king.  (Nigeria)