SCAW BLOG: RWANDA, 2026: SEPTEMBER 1

The traffic in Rwanda is really just a dance with cars, bikes and people twirling in different directions. Most horns are friendly warnings, “ I am close by. Make room”. The pace of the dance is fast and the moves smooth, only leaving a very small space in between. It is totally amazing how the dance goes on day and night with it’s never-ending rhythm.

It tugged at our hearts during a family interview when a beautiful mother nursing a small baby with two older children explained they only have one meal a day. Some evenings the kids are up late because the mother is searching for food. Yet, she was so thankful for their new bedkit. Hopefully the children can have a better sleep now with their new mattress and mosquito net and have a better start in the new school year with their new supplies.

Participating in a distribution is a wonderful opportunity to meet some local people and to see parts of the country that are difficult to reach. We have met lots of different Rotarians and Rotaracts (which are the young adults before they become Rotarians) with very good English language skills that help us have a deeper understanding of the people, their customs and the country in general. It is wonderful how hard our OVPs, the Rotary Club of Kigali Virunga, work. They start months before the distribution purchasing the bedkit items, organizing the sites and many other duties that are involved  such as dealing with government and children selection. The distribution of 5000 bedkits would be impossible without their many hours of hard work.

Tomorrow is Day 7 of our distributions so we are more than halfway. We have delivered 3000 bedkits with 2,000 bedkits to go. The above are a few of my thoughts and impressions of this wonderful opportunity to help in a small way to improve the lives of these beautiful people who have so little and deserve so much more. Thanks donors, you are big partners in making the delivery of 5,000 bedkits possible.

Team Rwanda, 2026

Rotary Club of Kigali Virunga 🇷🇼 + SCAW 🇨🇦