A Day in the Life: Akilah Institute Intern Ema Klugman
“Clinging to the back of a moto, typing up notes for a student recruitment meeting, eating too many sweet bananas, getting lost on roads that curve around the many hills, meeting strangers, admiring young women, and communicating to the locals in hopeless sign language and English because I speak neither French nor Kinyarwanda.
These are some things I’ve done in my first few days here in Kigali, Rwanda. It’s been an adventure! Kigali itself seems to be a lively city with some of the key virtues of Western cities that many African cities routinely lack. Sidewalks! These are wonderful things. No rubbish! Cleanliness makes all the difference. I suppose I am comparing Kigali to Nairobi. Kigali has excitement without overwhelming bustle. It has plenty to see and do and little traffic.
Moto taxis, which are little motorcycle taxis beetling through the streets of Kigali, are the cheapest and most ubiquitous form of public transportation. To ride one, you simply flag a moto down, strap on the helmet the guy gives you, try to explain where it is you’d like to go, and jump on the back. As someone pointed out to me, it’s a bit strange to straddle the motorbike of a random stranger, but still quite fun as long as you’re holding on tight.
My internship at the Akilah Institute for Women has been fascinating so far. I’m working in the Careers department. Our main goals include sourcing jobs for graduates, finding internships for current students, and preparing them for their interviews and work. The preparation ranges from perfecting CVs and cover letters to holding workshops on interviews and presentation. I’ve never before (with the exception of sports teams) participated in an environment made up almost exclusively of women. A few men work here as well, but most of the staff and all of the students are women. The synergetic environment of the meetings, paired with drive to accomplish objectives and a touch of humour, make productivity high.
The students and the staff have impressed and inspired me. Their commitment to women’s education, and therefore their commitment to the future, underlines their belief in the value of educating the half of the world that historically has been and still is systematically deprived of a basic human right. It’s a mindset that still so much of the world lacks.
Getting around Kigali presents a bit of a challenge because of its mountainous terrain. All the roads curve and wander around the hills, which is particularly confusing for someone with a poor sense of direction. On top of that, none of the roads have names. They have a number system that makes little sense, and the moto drivers don’t really know what you mean when you say 104 st. Thus, my host kindly sent me not only what to tell the moto drivers to take me home but also the pronunciation. For instance, “Kimironko qua mushimire” sounds something like “Chimeerongho kwa musheemeera.”
This weekend I’m hoping to catch up on sleep, visit the music school to iron out the details of my teaching there, and hike up Mt. Kabuye.
I spent my final days in Kenya near Lake Naivasha, where I made friends with this lovely giraffe.”
To read more about Ema’s life in Rwanda, follow her blog.
