The Bridge that launched a million smiles!

The bridge the mission and instances of my own ineptitude!

Embarking upon the mission was a mix of nervousness and excitement and in spite of several discussions with my predecessors I had that lurking fear of heading into the unknown. Wikipedia, You Tube, first hand accounts do not prepare you well enough, you can watch, you can read, you can talk but unless you get your own boots on the ground its hard to experience the feeling of being in Central Africa.

And being a bit wary, the first flag was when the visa I had applied for came back within 48 hours and with an error wherein they had listed my birthplace as Turkey. Little did I know I looked like a Turk (which to me was a compliment!) ; however a simple one line email fixed that. The Rwandan embassy came back to me less than 24 hours later and corrected it and issued me a visa that was accurate. What made it even better was their use of the valediction– “Welcome to the land of a thousand Hills and a million Smiles”. That was that one boost I needed to look forward to my adventure.

The desire to do something different, be part of something that enables a few smiles is what most of us aspire for. And you don’t need to jump on a plane and travel halfway around the world to do that; you could do it in your neighborhood. But what prompted the Rwandan mission was to make a difference to people that are starved of the basics in life, people with real problems, people with real challenges. Not people who complain about the heat and humidity or the fact that their network speed sucks.

There we are- A team of 15 from different locations around the globe working with Bridges to Prosperity (B2P) to help build a 140M Cable suspension bridge in the Nyanza Province of Rwanda. A place south east of the capital city, Kigali and million miles away from the comforts of home.  B2P is essentially a Denver based NGO that work with developing nations and corporate partners all over the world to make the world a better place by building bridges in rural areas. Here’s the link to their website

The funding was almost in place and the thanks to several colleagues and friends, we were able to raise up $60K in just about 3 weeks. Kindness and generosity ain’t dead. The prep work consisted of grabbing everything that may have some use – Getting vaccinated for almost everything but Rabies and yellow fever. After copious reading and research, I found yellow fever shots are not needed for Rwanda and rabies- well that was just way too expensive and I made a mental note not to pet the gorillas or for that matter any mammals when I got there. If I had a compulsive desire to pet a goat in the village I would gladly ask one of my vaccinated co-workers to do it on my behalf!

Visa check, cell phone check, vaccination check, camp mattress check, pillows check, personal safety gear check and of course sun cream. It had only taken me 27 years to realize all skins burn, yellow, white, black and brown- and its not just a White privilege!

After a long haul flight from Houston to Istanbul and then on to Kigali- That was a journey and a half. What I noticed is the detour flights takes heading into Africa since Sudan was a no-fly zone and I couldn’t wait to get my feet on terra firma. Fortunately better sense prevailed and I had decided on getting there a day early- Acclimatize and getting to spend a day in Kigali. What did strike me on my way in to the hotel was the unlittered clean streets . Just a surprise considering every third world country I have been to , garbage is sort like a trademark. I later found out two very interesting facts. One Rwanda banned use of plastic bags in 2009 and every fourth Saturday at the end of each month, they ban all vehicular traffic for 3 hours and every citizen gets going and helps keep the streets clean. Umuganda is a national holiday in Rwanda taking place on the last Saturday of every month for mandatory nationwide community work from 08:00 to 11:00. Participation in umuganda is required by law, and failure to participate can result in a fine. The program was most recently re-established in 2009, and has resulted in a notable improvement in the cleanliness of Rwanda. That is just awe inspiring and so unexpected but explains a lot.

Rwanda has quite a troubled past and those of us that were old enough to follow world events in the early 90s, the genocide was a highly dark chapter in their history. While it all culminated in three months in 1994, where over a million Tutsis were systematically killed by the Hutus in an incredible spate of violence. Practically families, neighbors and friends turned against each other in an orgy of murder that has thoroughly traumatized society. This chapter of Rwandan history is still green and quite an emotional one and one of the drivers I spoke to in detail opened up to me on the horrors and the aftermath of it all. You are best advised not to broach this rather sensitive saga with the locals. I did get an opportunity to visit the Genocide museum in Kigali, which in itself was a gut wrenching, emotionally draining experience. A must visit if you happen to be there.

Heading to the town of Ruhango and settling in to our accommodations- A shock a surprise but took me about 2 hours to get accustomed to the basics of nature. It was like being in a dorm- Three to five people to a room and a small matter of sharing a communal bathroom; one between the 22 of us including the Bechtel team, the B2P staff and the like. Using the term “shower” is an exaggeration, I’d better use ablution facilities to represent the water filled bucket and the squatter’s toilet. Basic but gives you a perspective of what the local community accepts it as a norm. The sleeping quarters where you start to get used to all the moans, groans and snores which I would christen as the “morbid symphony of Ruhango”

Use of common greetings in Kinyarwanda struck quite a note with the locals and helped “bridge” any apprehensions felt initially. The terms “Mwaramutse” (good morning), “Mwiriwe” (good afternoon”), “Murakoze” (Thank you) were the most popular ones. At work it was a slightly different tone with cries of “Hagarara” (Stop), “Yego” (Ok) and “Tugende” (Lets go) and that reverberated all day long.

An endearing experience will always be the screams and cries of children that would chase our vehicle through the small hamlets as we commuted to the bridge site. Cries of “umunyamahango” (Foreigner) and “Goo-doo morning” would echo is my head for years to come. And when the kids came over watching the build and some of them venturing out to make friends with us with was just the elixir we needed to keep going. For some of the team, this was highly entertaining and novel but from those that have been to or grew up in impoverished regions, this is just how life is.

The bridge itself- All I can say is the teaming with the local community was a refreshingly amazing experience. The level of collaboration, being in the ditches with them working under the searingly hot equatorial sun was something I had not experienced before. It was hard manual toil and you had to hydrate yourself constantly and not to forget to apply copious amounts of sun lotion and definitely not a walk in the park. That’s something I have to emphasize – Its pure hard work and while it would all seem glamorous on the surface and “cool”, it’s a testimony to the efforts of the crew on the ground and the backroom staff that made this endeavor possible.

And a note on my own skills (or lack of it!)- For a person that had glued his own knees to the floor while installing floor tiles, I am rather proud to come off unscathed. My ineptitude with handling small tools is legendary and I only wish the poor villagers and my co-workers in the Nyanza province did not have to see me monkeying around with impact wrenches, grinders and even a pair of pliers! If Neil Armstrong said that small step was a giant leap for mankind, using an impact wrench to tighten a small bolt was nothing short of spectacular! An Indian in Africa may not be big news, but an Indian trying to wrestle with a grinder on his own without any adult supervision is folklore! And hey who better to make fun of me than me, right! As they say, it all worked out in the end and I am back with all my fingers and toes intact.

At the end of the two week period, we could look back with a sense of accomplishment and be proud of what we had done. Built a bridge that would link the communities together. Built some friendships, built a legacy and in my best German accent I could say “I’ll be baack”

The larger team had a mixbag of characters – From the sublime to the ridiculous, from the protected to weathered professionals, from strategists to wannabees. It takes all kinds to make this work. And one thing of note- People took to drinking warm Primus beer at the accommodations like a duck to water not because they loved it but because it was better than the other option.

And how could I ever miss our partners in crime- The goats. Of course the goats that seem to rule the roost in the valleys of Ruhango. With deep regret and sympathy I must mention we had to procure four of these hoofers to provide a feast to the local craft in form of a barbeque lunch. They were carefully procured, tested , butchered and grilled and apparently they were a hit with everyone, well not everyone so its with mixed feelings I say this with no bias- One person’s sorrow may be another one’s feast.

Cannot say I have regrets- It would have been nice to get a day off and go off see the big 5 at the Akeygera National reserve but they will always be around and we will always be back. Small price to pay for the rewards.  Well, the gorillas would just have to wait to get their sighting of Ashok!

Murakoze Rwanda – You are definitely a cherished memory and you did walk the talk- The land of a thousand hills and a million smiles!