It’s really hard to believe this is our fifth week in Rwanda. Four weeks ago, we went on a Safari at the Akagera National Park. The park is located in the Eastern Province. You can see Tanzania from the highest point in the park. We saw antelopes, giraffes, zebras, etc. There are 600 types of birds at Akagera.
Buffalo
Tanzania on the other side of the lake
Giraffes
Here’s a video of zebras.
I have been in Rwanda for almost a week, and since this is my first blog post, I think it is the perfect time to give you a backgrounder by introducing myself, the country, and the community partner.
My name is Alimou, and I am a graduate student at the Heinz School of Information Systems & Management. Rwanda is a country located in East Africa. It shares borders with Burundi, Congo, Uganda, and Tanzania. There are 11 million people living in Rwanda. Kigali is the capital and the largest city. There are three languages spoken here: Kinyarwanda, English, and French. Rwanda is also called the land of a thousand hills because the land is engulfed by hills. I have not seen a plateau yet. There are hills everywhere.
Agahozo–Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) is the community partner. ASYV is located 45 minutes away from Kigali. It is a residential community, and it was founded two years ago with the goal of educating and nurturing young Rwandans who have lived through great hardship (http://goo.gl/OQ265).
Since we arrived, Jin Seop and I have been working enthusiastically with the good folks at Liquidnet and Mike (the ASYV IT Volunteer). Liquidnet has committed its human capital, a portion of its revenues, and expertise to social causes, and ASYV is their signature cause. They are here for just one week. Many tasks have been accomplished. We have been troubleshooting the wireless network, configuring servers, doing IT support, climbing roofs (seriously- see pictures below), and much more…
The real work will start in the next couple of days when Jin Seop and I start addressing the many challenges (we have identified) and the question of sustainability as well. More details about the work, the place, and many other things will be included in subsequent posts, but in the meantime enjoy the pictures below. “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
fixing the nano
fixing the antenna on the roof
Jin Seop on the roof looking for the access point (AP)
Jin Seop and Liquidnet group working on the AP
Having "brochettes" for lunch after working on the roof
(What are “brochettes”? Click here to find out.)
Waiting for the "brochettes"
Working on another antenna
IT Support - Fixing the computer of a faculty member at 8 AM.
