Village Dedication (pt1)

The past week has been very busy with all the planning and arrangements leading up to the Village Dedication on 25 February. We thought we had things pretty well planned out then the different government officials started coming by and most of our program was changed by one or another of them. There were many protocol issues that had to be addressed as the First Lady of Rwanda was to be our Honored Guest Speaker. We wanted to be very sensitive to the wishes of the Rwanda government and protocol. The poor lady who put up the tents had to move them four times as different officials wanted things set up in a special way.

We had planned a closed event with about 150 invited guests.

But could not do that because when the First Lady or the President speaks they need to be speaking to the people of the area and not just to a select few. Of course we readily agreed and opened the ceremony to all. It was market day so there were many people going past our Rafiki Village and most of them stopped for the opportunity to see and hear their First Lady. There were many bicycles loaded with goods for the market, from live chickens and goats to woven grass mats and vegetables. We estimated well over 1000 people came through the gate in addition to the 200 invited guests.

It was a foggy overcast morning, which is not typical here in Rwanda. We may have fog in the mornings but it usually burns off by 8:00 am and the sun comes out. But that was not to be the case this day. Most of the guests arrived prior to 9:15 and the First Lady arrived about 9:30 to cut the ribbon and unveil the dedication plaque. The rain started just about the same time that the First Lady arrived. At first it was just a drizzle but as the ceremony continued so did the intensity of the rain.

After the ribbon cutting and the unveiling of the plaque, the First Lady went to meet and greet the children and toured one of the cottage's with the Minister of Gender, the Governor of the Eastern Province and the Mayor of Bugesera District, plus the press and Aids de Camp. During the time of the VIP tour, the choir from our partner church here in Nyamata was singing for the people. As the First Lady and other VIP's made they way back to the tents the girls from the Maryundo Girls school performed a traditional dance.I will continue with the events of the Rafiki Village Dedication in the next post.