Again today was up early for meetings at UNATEK. Lama was already gone, to meet with Bernard Bwanamana (which I asked what it meant, and it means man boy, pretty sweet) who is the vice-recteur of finances at the University. Kara and I were to meet Lama at CERID (Center for Research and Development) on campus, so we could all meet with Methusalem. He is head of CERID, and our offices are in the building so we’ll be working pretty closely with him. Our projects are very similarly aligned, and he works with both the research side and application. It seems as though CERID could make an excellent team working with the COVAGA women to develop all the potential uses of the water hyacinth, especially in ways that will benefit the community.
For example, a huge problem in Gashora is that people can’t afford clean water, so they have to resort to drinking whatever they can get. They know it will make them sick, but they really have no option other than die of thirst. They know too about at least boiling the water, but even then there is no firewood and they can’t afford that either, sometimes it costs more than buying clean water. However, research into the hyacinth shows that it can be harvested and converted into briquette yielding almost as much energy as charcoal. If the COVAGA women, perhaps in collaboration with CERID/UNATEK, can figure out a way to use their abundance of hyacinth as briquette then they can have fuel to heat their water. Or if they can find other ways to market hyacinth products, they can generate enough income to build a clean well for the community. It seems like this plant has so much potential to be a solution for a lot of people.
After our meeting with Methusalem, I headed back to pick up my microphone from the electronics place. I flagged down a moto taxi, and luckily the driver spoke english so I didn’t have to point the whole time. When we got there, Soldeto wasn’t there and the guy who was said my mic still hadn’t been fixed, so could I leave it until tomorrow morning. My honest reaction was “Sweet, more reasons to moto-taxi”. So he drove me back to UNATEK and since he knew I had to come back, offered to drive me tomorrow too. I took down his number, so now I have my own personal moto-taxi to call when I need a ride. Calling “your guy” is always good here in Rwanda, for both parties. The drivers will give you a better deal because they know you’ll give them more work in the future, and therefore you save money per trip, and you get to establish a relationship. I actually really like Cassim, our driver in Kigali. So now I know Gatera, my guy in Kibungo.
Lama, Kara and I headed home and had lunch, and then we all got to work. Lama helped me finish translating the interviews I shot, and then I went to work editing. Eventually Lama and Kara wanted to go use the internet but I stayed home alone and kept working. I put together a rough cut of our time down by the water, and I think it’s all right. I will post it as soon as I get some steady internet, and I would love any and all critical feedback. It’s not polished enough yet. Either way, I showed it to Lama, Kara, Regina and Alysse, and they seemed positive. Actually, Alysse’s response was amazing. It really affected her and Lama asked her what she thought about it, and she said that it makes her want to go install faucets and give the people clean water. I guess if there is a point, that would have been it.
After that, we decided to have another movie night. Even though the DVD of Born Into Brothels wouldn’t read in any of our computers, I was able to rip it to my hard drive without a problem. So the four of us again had a movie night on Kara’s bed, and again we were too tired to finish the movie. I wasn’t the first one to bow out, but that was because I was already asleep.
