As a resident of Florida for over 20 years I have become used to seeing alligators, hurricanes, and bugs. They are real, but if you watch the news you would assume no one should ever visit or live in Florida as they are one bite away from losing their life to an alligator, shark, or infected mosquito. Risk exists wherever you go, but to truly grasp it, you need to see and experience the situation firsthand—along with the unique wonders each place has to offer.
On September 27th the government of Rwanda declared an outbreak of the Marburg virus, a deadly virus like Ebola that is transmitted via bodily fluid. The CDC raised the travel alert to level 3, which discouraged non-essential travel to Rwanda. Meanwhile, we had a due diligence trip scheduled for Oct 19th-25th to Rwanda and Kenya. After much research and deliberation, we took the necessary precautions and headed off to Africa despite the risk.
The on-the-ground fear of Marburg was minimal with appropriate precautionary procedures in place like washing of hands before entering buildings and a quick screening test when leaving Rwanda and reentering the US. Instead of fear, our visit was marked by some incredible people and experiences like touring a run-of-the-river-hydro plant called Rwaza with its two large humming turbines creating electricity that feeds directly to the national grid, supporting all different types of businesses, schools, households etc. We also saw the Dian Fossey Gorilla Museum near Volcano National Park the home of the Silverback gorillas.
From there we spent some time at the Genocide Memorial learning of the complex struggle between the Hutu’s and the Tutsi and the outside influences that fueled the fire. In stark contrast we visited Agahozo-Shalem Youth Village, originally created for genocide orphans which today house, heals, educates, and empowers 500 vulnerable students each year between 14-18 years old. It was the vision of Anne Hamman from San Franscico which not only started ASYV, but also challenged the board to utilize 50 acres next to the village as a place to build a solar plant to benefit the community, and also create lease revenue from the land for the next 99 years.
And finally, we saw Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, full of all types of development – from soccer and basketball stadiums, to hospitals and training facilities, to malls and housing. It truly is a story of ashes to beauty.
Our time in Kenya… was totally unique to Kenya and for another time.
Africa is faraway and our typical view of Africa is safaris, political unrest, charity, and disease – but that is not the whole story. Africa is the second largest continent, with the youngest population, and expected to account for 50% of all global population growth over the next 25 years. Far from a charity case, Africa requires investment capital to ethically grow and develop. It’s easy to get sucked into the soundbite narratives we hear about Africia, but there is no replacement for being on the ground, getting to know the locals, understanding their culture, and seeing firsthand the transformation and growth across Africa for yourself.
