The market is my best hope of varying my diet and finding basic household items.
From my house it is a steep downhill walk for 1 km to reach Ngororero.‘On foot’ is the transport of convenience. Rwandans (particularly the ladies) dress with style!The road to my house is a challenge, even for a motorbike.This group of eager Rwandans are having a flutter. The vendor has 30-40 SIM cards with varying amounts of mobile money loaded. All cost 500 RWF but can have as much as 10,000 loaded on them.Clothes shops. Bright colours and good value. Shirts for 5000 RWF (£5) and dresses for 15000 RWF (£15) but don;t forget to barter.The national pass-time in Rwanda is sitting.There is a bank (thank goodness). I am on first name terms with the Manager. He has been so helpful.Norororero high street. If the Beatles were to use this crossing they might need to move swiftly few buses or motorbikes actually stop.Every town in Rwanda has a memorial to the Genocide. They have done an amazing job of moving on from the tragedy but it is still an open wound for many!One of several homeware stores.The town is bustling on market day.Under this rugby scrum is a rare appearance of an electrical apparatus vendor. Music players, irons & kettles. Normally only available 3 hours away in Kigali.Lovely clothes available. The man in the foreground is the Special Needs Coordinator on my SLF team. A lovely man (with a good grasp of English). He took me on a tour of the market.This is the ‘wholesale market’. Huge amounts of sugar cane, cabbage, potatoes and bananas.I have found: tomatoes, avocado, green beans, kidney beans, soya flour, beetroot, spring onions, potatoes, cassava, cabbage, onions, pineapple and eggs (there are some meats but they are old and tough) . So that is what I cook meals with unless I take a 3 hour bus journey to Kigali. Beans are cheap, plentiful and nutritious but handle with care because there are small stones mixed in. Easy to break a tooth!The ‘fix it’ zone. These people will mend clothes, shoes, bicycle parts and pretty much anything you bring.Meat stalls. Despite the white tiles, I am not brave enough to buy, cook and eat meat.The Sewing shop. Ladies sit here and make clothes to order.At the market you can even buy new roof panels if your roof springs a leak.This is the only hotel in Ngororero. They struggle to maintain service. they are known for no running water, limited power, very basic food, low food hygiene standards and dubious characters wandering off the street offering ‘services’. I was much relieved when I was able to check out and move into my home.Every trip out ends with the long uphill walk home!
I am a retired deputy headteacher on a journey with VSO to help teachers in Rwanda develop learner centred approaches in the classroom. I will do this by leading a team of mentors who will work alongside teachers.
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Rwanda VSO Adventure Jonathan Heath