The amazing new age woman

Last week I was amazed at the big number of young people who participated in umuganda in my area. Beautiful young women and sober young men dressed in fancy sport attire braced the occasion like it was a papal visit. After umuganda, together with a couple of friends, I decided to chill at La boutique de quartier and wash down the dirt with a couple of beers and catch up. “Isn’t it a great thing seeing all of us guys coming together cheerfully and participating in the monthly community work in such a big drove?” I asked. Before I got any response, Mama Tonzi, our 57-year-old waitress, who was eavesdropping on our conversation called me aside and informed me how umuganda is no longer just umuganda but a great way to meet a future partner.“Young women failed to find suitable partners from places like churches, weddings or the gym. It is believed all these places can be invaded by imposters, but young men who attend umuganda are genuine. They are the responsible, respectful, patriotic and caring type. They are everything a woman needs in a man,” she said.I was amazed at how creative people can be, who would have ever thought of searching for a partner at such an event? When I asked my female friends, I was shocked by their confession. “Why are you surprised? You see, sometime back, men, especially serial womanizers, used to storm churches in hope of finding good girls. They wore sheep’s clothes and sprinkled Sunday behaviour on themselves to go hunting. In most cases they would succeed but today, girls are getting smarter too,” bragged Irene, my neighbour.When people say there is a scarcity of men in Rwanda, they mean fine men are not easy to come by, but unserious ones are everywhere. Today smart ladies don’t just go out with any male adult who winks at them but they take time to get to know them.“We don’t sit and wait for them to come to us, we go out and look for them. We are so much more confident, we know what we want and we are not afraid to do whatever it takes to get it,” said her friend Sandra.I can’t wait for the end of this month when umuganda comes again. You see it’s only fair to kill two birds with one stone. Watch this space…