Last Tuesday, March 13, my 17-year old son and I flew KLM via Amsterdam to meet my husband, Zain Khan, in Kigali, Rwanda. He has rented a McMansion here and is very excited about this very progressive African country. We want to be part of the Information Technology roll-out. Of course, once on the ground here, I can see some of the challenges. For example, high-speed Internet is 'not'. At least Google is making this blog site possible and MTN, a local service provider, is transmitting this connection from a 'stick' in the side of my laptop as I sit at a solid wood dining room table.
It's early in the morning while 'the west' is sleeping. Our grounds person, Chuma, is washing the front steps. He lives in a small apartment on the side of the house. His main job is to let people in and out of the front gate and to keep up the landscaped yard. He knows more English than French which is surprising since most regular Rwandians I've met prefer French. Chuma is a young man, very hard working. We share our evening meal with him and he seems to love our exotic combination of Canadian and East Indian cuisine.
My son, Yusuf, is completing his secondary school education online with the Ministry of Education based in Toronto. His priority is to train in soccer here African style. Yesterday, he went for a trial with a local league and came back smiling. During the three-hour practice, the first hour was spent running 48 laps around a track. Needless to say, he had to drop out part way through. During the exercise session, the boys had a routine that they put to rhythm. For example, they were literally dancing as they moved their legs and ankles in some kind of exercise formation. Part of this involved raising their knees and clapping their hands under the thigh. Yusuf had difficulty keeping the rhythm and they all laughed with him. More later today since at least he was invited to return to the try-out for the team.
Today, Zain and I must visit the Rwanda Development Board to inquire about extending our visitor visas beyond the initial 30 days which Canadians are normally granted online when coming here. Our business will focus on various Commonwealth African countries while we use Rwanda as our base in Africa. Zain has travelled extensively throughout Subsaharan Africa for the past ten years while providing Telecom Management training and consulting. During this time, I have supported this business from Toronto while raising our boys. Now, the older one, Idrees, is staying at our house in Toronto while attending business school. We expect to return to Toronto in early July at least to visit.
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