Day 4

Day 4
We started the day with a visit to PHARP to see the work that were doing with the women. They welcomed us with singing and dancing, which we were all encouraged to join in. The women were particularly impressed with our attempts to sing some Kinyawandan songs which we had previously learnt. After sharing in prayer we were invited to look at some of the different items that the women had made. There was an array of items ranging from table mats to hand crafted giraffes. Some members of the group decided to get items of clothing made for them from the batique material that the women had made. All of the products were hand made and we all found them very impressive. Next we went to a restaurant for lunch where there was buffet on offer with a wide variety of rwandan foods which we all enjoyed.

In the afternoon we travelled back to the youth group, which we visited yesterday so that we could join in with a game of football. The teams were split into men and women, two matches were played. Unfortunately despite a valiant effort the women lost 1-0, however the men managed to secure a draw 0-0. As a group we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people from the community that turned up to watch the match. The men's match seemed to be more serious with a line up at the beginning for the two teams to shake hands, where they also received pineapples. This match was also an opportunity for us to mix with the local people and to begin to understand the contrast between England and Rwanda. The children were fascinated by us as a group and were very grateful when we gave them our water-bottles. We also managed to take many photos with the locals, where the mothers in particular enjoyed seeing the pictures of their children and babies. When it was time to leave, the children didn't want us to go and decided to run after our mini-bus. Many of us were very touched by the whole experience, and were very sad to leave. We returned to the guest house to have a much needed shower and some food.