Three months in, I’ve continued to find comfort in the way of life here in Rwanda. From the slow mornings to the airy and open spaces, breezy moto rides, and the amazing people I’ve grown closer to, it’s been a joy. My eyes have been opened to how much the little things matter—and that you can expect anything to happen in daily life.
For example, one morning, Courtney and I went to get breakfast at a café not too far from our house in Kigali. As we began to walk home, we heard a loud crowd in the distance and saw people running past us in the opposite direction of our house. Out of curiosity (some people wouldn’t recommend this), we followed them—and stumbled across the Tour De Rwanda! By coincidence, the last day of the bike race, with riders from countries all over the world, happened to be passing right through our neighborhood. We stood with the crowd, in awe of the cyclists’ speed and smooth turns, and even met a photographer who I randomly asked to snap a picture of us! What started as a regular morning became an unforgettable moment.
Speaking of unforgettable, playing in the Umurenge Kagame Cup Tournament has been one of those experiences I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. This annual league brings together teams created throughout the different sectors, districts, and provinces of Rwanda. I’m lucky enough that Coach Nico from Nyamirama asked me to join the team to represent Kabare, Nyamirama in Kayonza District. If you know me, you know how passionate I am on the basketball court. Going to battle and pulling out three hard-fought wins in the second round with my new teammates was just what my competitive spirit needed. We are now the Eastern Province champions and will go on to face the North, West, and South provinces for the National Championship in May. Seeing the excitement of everyone—including the Kabare women’s team (who also became Eastern Province champions)—and even the town and district leaders who came to support us, makes me so proud to be part of a journey that means so much to the community. It reminds me how fortunate I am to be working in a space that I love.
Team Kabare
As you can see, sports are a massive part of Rwanda’s culture. Courtney, Duwe, and I also went to a soccer game at the newly built Amahoro Stadium, where Rwanda faced Lesotho in a World Cup Qualifier match. The energy in the stadium was ground-shaking, and we were warmly welcomed by other fans. I felt a shared sense of pride rooting for the team and realized just how immersed into the culture I truly am. For their passion to be rubbing off on me—I truly felt at home.
On a different note, I actually find these blogs a bit hard to write because, with everything going on, I’m really just trying to live in the moment. This fellowship is already almost halfway done in the blink of an eye, and I’m only now starting to realize all the adjustments I’ve made so far.
Speaking of adjustments, the work we are doing here requires a lot of them. Coming in as the marketing Fellow, I had some general skills in video editing, graphics and outreach. But lately, I’ve been using these skills more due to the frequency of events we have and the nature of there being so much beauty to capture on and off our courts where so much impact is happening. I’ve designed some really cool t-shirts and flyer graphics for our events, and taken some candid pictures that really embody the joy our program brings to the local community. You can feel the energy in a few of these recap videos I’ve made from our events.
The second t-shit I designed (featuring the team and local leaders)
I’m genuinely excited to keep learning and growing in how I capture and create for Shooting Touch—doing my best to share even a glimpse of what it really feels like to be here every day, working alongside these incredible communities in rural Eastern Rwanda.