September the 24th on the plane, this day was eventless. What amazed me most however was that while I struggled to get the small TV on the aircraft working, qll the boys had theirs on in no time at all. Which got me thinking and asking myself how many of them had a TV set at home? Most likely none of them! I was also surprised on the frequency that the BA hostesses passed by with trolleys of goodies! Of course our boys did not let a single one of them go by without off-loading its contents. Not much talking on the plane, later on people did comment that the boys were very well behaved.
Come Heathrow, I think some uncertainty crept in, or maybe tiredness after 8 hours flight! They were very quiet. At Heathrow we were met by Adrian and Laura who we were to see every day during our stay in London.
I became Mr. Thomas’ co-driver and my main responsibility was to make sure I found M25 on the signboards. Mr. Thomas was to become my eyes, arms and legs for the rest of our stay. He was exceptionally welcoming. (This has nothing to so with showing me a few pubs and Buckingham Palace in the evenings!). I will forever be in-debt to him. On arrival at Eltham College, the boys met their host parents and off they went. Not doubt this time, uncertainty was written all over their faces! 23rd September- Like other days to follow, we met in the car park at Eltham College. This morning we went to Greenwich. A good number our boys knew what GMT meant. Here the boys were more interested in the big cruise ships that were anchored on the Thames. Surprisingly one of them asked me whether that was the QE2. I really didn’t expect any one of them to have heard of the QE2!
Many group photographs were taken and we were about to return to the bus when Adrian Thomas told me about the tunnel below the Thames. I repeated it to the boys and polite doubts of my sanity came from every one of them all at the same time! We had no choice but to cross the Thames. In the afternoon, we had a light rugby session at Eltham College. Out liaison officer Laura had been with us since morning and she was excellent with the boys. In their daily diaries, most of them expressed gratitude and praised their new families.
26th September-Adrian Thomas drives us to Rosslyn Park after giving us some pairs of playing boots. Laura was waiting for us when we got there.
One of the Ndera boys spotted a school van and said he recognized the school name printed on the side of the van. He said that the school helps his school in Rwanda.
I was being introduced top the people at the club when I noticed most of our boys excited and hugging people I did not recognize. I later found out that these people had been to Murembo, others had something to do with Ndera and others had just been to Rwanda. A good and exciting day for the boys. In their diaries, what pleased the boys most was for some getting a new pair of playing boots, the new families and making new friends among the other children that had come from various schools.
27th September- We arrive late for the tournament, and we had hardly put our bags down then we were called for out first game. The press was everywhere and I did a few interviews. We narrowly lost the first game against Moldova by 2 points.
The next game was immediately on, hardly 5 mins after the first one was over. This was against Kazakhstan, which we lost 12-0 and we ended up with a few injuries. For the Rwanda v South Africa game, we had to borrow 2 players from Eltham College. They played their hearts out but unfortunately we lost that game 26-10. In the boys’ diaries, they still wrote about host families, acquiring a pair of boots for others and about the games for one or two. Worth noting is the fact that Eltham College ladies got some funds together and bought gumshields and jumpers for the boys who hadn’t got any the previous day.
Kate’s parents (FoRR volunteer) and friends came to support the Mountain Gorillas.
28th September- With Adrian, Laura and the hosting boys from Eltham College, we went by train to the London Eye. There were a lot of exciting chats and giggles amongst the boys. One would have thought that they had always been together. From here we went by coach to Clifford Chance (Sponsors). We have now linked up with the Cambodian tea, which was also sponsored by Clifford Chance.
We were shown around the building, most workers did not seem to have had a morning and you can imagine them seeing a collection of more than thirty children with some grown ups, all walking about and chatting, giggling and taking photographs every step they made. Come lunch time there was so much food, it was the first time I heard the boys say that they had had enough! The following morning I had reports from both host families and the boys about upset stomachs! After lunch there were all sorts of indoor games. The Rwanda team got a few minutes with their Ambassador in England. Presentations were made, and late afternoon we were on the coach heading back to Eltham College. A really good day for all. The first time we saw a variation in their diaries about what pleased them about the day.
29th September-Finals in Richmond.
We are on time this time, and with plenty of time to warm up. Lack of time for warm-up was definitely one of the reasons for the muscle pulls we suffered the previous Thursday. We were playing for fifth position and won our game against Romania. India became the overall winner after beating South Africa. Presentations followed and then we watched a club game that the boys did not pay much attention to. They were busy admiring their medals and generally being boys. Moise is by far the best player in our team and was presented with a rugby ball. Rwanda had always had English supporters, but today we seemed to have had many more. Caroline had come with a group of Friends of Rwandan Rugby Committee members and cartons full of rugby balls. Mountain Gorillas made a presention by Bryon (Captain) to Andy of Touraid which drew some attention and a few flashlights went off.
We headed back and arrived at Eltham College at 6pm. All in all a very good day.30th September- All boys were with their host parents. Vedaste and I were treated to a Kent visit in the morning, and we got a stop over to enter a shop for the first time. Out host, the Headmaster of Eltham College and his wife spoiled us to a roast lunch with some other friends of theirs. They were a busy couple who went out of their way to make our stay as memorable as it could possibly be.
After lunch we went with Kate and Toby for a quick drink. They had arrived from China the night before. It was really nice to see them. They had done a lot of good for Rwandan rugby a few months back.
Four o’clock we assembled in the Eltham College car park. They byes were very tearful, something that really touched my heart. Hosting boys, mothers and our boys were all in tears. I ran into the school van to seek comfort from my very good Welsh friend who was driving us to the airport. Halfway to Heathrow I heard sobs behind me. On turning, one of the boys was crying, I thought I may end up with something very serious that I may not be able to handle. Luckily it had stopped by the time we got to the airport, where Laura and Andy were waiting to bid us farewell and help us with the check-ins. All in all I think the intentions of the tour were achieved. The disadvantaged children had a very good time, learnt a lot and as I said to many people, the children definitely got a lot more than even touraid bargained for. Our children re-discovered love. Some of them I know had probably never had any (I know some). They all had very loving host mothers and I saw them getting hugs and kisses every morning. Some people say that it is not Rwandan or African for a mother to hug or kiss a child, but hugging and kissing is a communication media through which love is transmitted. This I learnt on this trip, that it is neither European, Asian, nor African but human. They boys felt it. They laughed more in England than I have ever seen them do in Rwanda.
Some people I talked to in England wondered whether a trip like this would not disrupt the boys’ day-to-day life in Rwanda.
i.e. The boys would only experience a good life for one week and a not so good life after that. My view was similar to the speech of the Rwandan Ambassador to our boys. “You are full of praise for England and the people you met; it is now up to you to make Rwanda as good as England and you guys be as good as the people you met here.” The boys were surprisingly glad to be going back home. We talked a lot about the experiences in England while we awaited our connecting flight to Kigali. They were all looking forward to going back home and one of them expressed excitement towards having a plate of beans! They all however, wished for the chance to go back to England later. We have a saying in kinyarwanda which literally translates as this, “If a bird can’t fly it will never know when the grain/cereal/seeds are ready or mature for it to feed.”
This was definitely an eye-opener for the boys, it was worth it and they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
If this was ever to be done again, I would definitely give it my full support. It is good for the children.
Thank you
Philip Gakirage.
