Alphonse Nsengiyunva, 27, washes cars at Kinamba 2 in Kigali City. I am always up by 6.00 a.m. I wake up my sister or she some times wakes me, I clean my face then we say a little pray together.
Alphonse Nsengiyunva, 27, washes cars at Kinamba 2 in Kigali City.
I am always up by 6.00 a.m. I wake up my sister or she some times wakes me, I clean my face then we say a little pray together.
It takes me between five and ten minutes to get to work. I normally reach work at 6.30 a.m. When I reach work I wait for the first car; by 7:00 a.m. I am washing the first car.
It takes me about one hour to clean a car depending on how dirty the car is. Once done with the first, I immediately start working on the second.
My work depends on how many cars there are around. Sometimes they work in the field and I have to wait for them but when they are not in the field I can do four cars in a row which means I can go up to midday straight with out a break.
I wash for Frw500 per car and in a good morning I will wash five cars. I take a break at 12.00 for 30 minutes when I go for lunch.
However, sometimes the owners or drivers of the cars disappoint me and do not pay me on time so I can’t go for lunch.
I start again washing at 1.00 or 2.00 p.m. when the owners come back from their lunch break.
If there are no cars to clean I lounge around until 5.00 p.m. then I head back home. When I reach home I relax for some 20 minutes then I go meet my friends.
We take an evening walk, and when we have some money we go for a pint at 7:00 p.m. We make it last unitl 9: then I go home to sleep.
By 10.00 I am already asleep, I don’t get a chance to eat; having drunk, I have no appetite.