Nkombo... 300 Children, food, endless singing, dancing and playing!

Today has probably been the most challenging but rewarding day that we have had so far. There was always an air of apprehension about going to ‘the island’ (we could never remember what it was called) in lake KIVU. Johnathan had told us that Nkombo was one of the poorest areas of Rwanda and that the cultural differences would be much starker than we had already experienced. We were told that it would be a half an hour boat ride across the lake to the island, which we expected to be cruising ferry...

…it wasn’t. what we actually got on was a rickety motor boat, with a roof made of tarpaulin with a man using half a milk bottle to pour out the water which was constantly flowing in from the many gaps in the sides of the boat. Despite our slight reservations about an early death in the middle of lake KIVU we braved the journey and were incredibly grateful we did. The view from the boat was a scene out of a film. Passing all the islands was gorgeous; vast stretches of land which seemed totally deserted surrounded by vast, seemingly endless waters. Eventually, we arrived, the island did not look much different from mainland Rwanda, although our predispositions distorted our view at first

As we began to head to the feeding clinic we were greeted on the way by many friendly young children. We were greeted so kindly by the children and teachers at the school. The children all sang to us and waved and reached out to touch our hands. On looking round the school it was shocking to see the conditions. One of the buildings was little more than a wooden structure with tarpaulin barely working as a roof. It was such a blessing to be able to help people who work in this difficult environment by helping out at their feeding clinic.

When began to feed the children we handed out a Bovril/gravy broth that they were all so grateful to receive even though to us it seemed meagre and uninviting. The children all ate well and it warmed our hearts to see the effect it had on the children. Although it was heard when we ran out and about a dozen children missed out it was so inspiring to see the gratitude shown by the nearly 300 hundred children we were able to help feed. Afterwards the children had free time and free range to run us ragged. We played games with them, danced with them and sang with them. When we were just about to pass out from the exercise, heat and thirst we made our way to the pastor’s house for lunch.

The pastor fed us incredibly well. We nearly fainted when she opened up a huge pot of rice, which must have weighed as much as Beth. After lunch we divided into two and did house visits. The stories of the people on the island were really encouraging. A lot of what they spoke about was the work which the church was doing with them to improve their lives. One man had received training to be a farmer through the church and began to use the skills he learned to improve the lives of his family. It was really encouraging to hear of the amazing work the church is doing in Rwanda.

After a challenging day, we were all rather exhausted. As we walked back to the boat to take us back to the guesthouse it was hard to let go of the hands of the many children that were still surrounding us.