Diaspoman: From Brown dusty hills to Green hills

Thirteen years ago, Ambrose walked along the Nyarutarama road towards a new primary school in search of a job. The school was Greenhills Academy. Ambrose was a close friend of mine and his mission then was to connect with the new generation of Rwanda and be part of the rebuilding process. Nyarutarama was a little known village with a bumpy and dusty road which meandered between some scattered trees that were meant to be a forest. As Ambrose walked along the dusty road, he started to fantasize about the future. His eyes focused on the vast hills across the valley. He began to draw up imaginary plans in his mind. His eyes started to see large dairy farms across the hills. Ambrose was from a family of pastoralists and that is why he was painting imaginary farms on top of the Nyarutarama landscape. He fantasized about huge trucks packed with dairy milk distributing dairy products across Kigali. He could visualize his parents and other relatives coming back from exile to start such lucrative projects in Nyarutarama. For him, this was an untapped mass of land which could transform lives of people in Rwanda. After an hour of walking, Ambrose entered the Administration block at Greenhills Academy. He presented his job application and fortunately there were vacancies. He was thrilled by the fact that he could work with the innocent young post Genocide generation. He felt the urge to work with the kids of Rwanda and try to reverse the terrible history that had led the nation into carnage and untold suffering. Here he was at this new Greenhills Academy which promised a lot. With a smile on his face, Ambrose walked back along the dusty Nyarutarama road back to Kabeza where he was staying at that time. After several months, Ambrose got a chance to visit overseas when he got himself a visa and an air ticket. At that time, he was convinced that life would get better in the Diaspora. He thought he would also attain further studies to boost his chances of getting better employment. So, he tendered in his resignation letter. Off he flew abroad. However, life turned out to be very difficult for him as he had to cope with the unpredictable and harsh weather conditions. He toiled and worked hard but could not get enough savings to afford himself further education. Years passed by and he longed to come back to Kigali. He had heard about so many success stories in Rwanda. When he eventually came back after thirteen years, the surprises that awaited him were awesome. I was quite happy to take him around for a tour of Kigali. His main interest though was to visit Nyarutarama. He wanted to pay a visit to Greenhills Academy and check out the developments as far as the new Rwanda young generation was concerned. I obliged and gave him a tour around Nyarutarama. What he had last seen 13 years ago had totally changed. The dusty road was now a clean tarmac road with bright street lights. Across the valley where Ambrose had day dreamed of setting up farms, was now a posh suburb with so many beautiful houses. Something indeed was happening in Rwanda! And Ambrose could not believe his eyes. We took him to Gacuriro and the surrounding areas. He could not understand how the once shabby and impoverished area of Nyarutarama had fast transformed itself into a great Kigali residential area. No signs of dust. No potholes. No scattered forests. Instead, nice looking cars crisscrossed the area while some expatriates jogged along the marvelous Nyarutarama road. Ambrose and I approached Greenhills Academy and a deep sense of satisfaction swept across his face. He felt satisfied that some of his dreams had not only come to reality but had also surpassed his expectations. What once used to be a dusty brown hill had become a beautiful green hill with a lot of bright shining light at the end of the tunnel… diaspoman@yahoo.com