The Long Trek to History in Kigali

This will be the first of a number of consecutive posts following my two weeks away from Musoma from 13 April when I left for Kigali. I finished my last post referencing a tour I had arranged for eighteen Australians attending the GAFCON Conference in Kigali who had added on a trip to experience and view the church in Africa. If you went to Kigali and thought you had been to Africa you would be seriously mistaken.

Most Africans live in rural towns and villages. In Tanzania 37% of the population live in urban areas according to the 2021 statistics. This is up from 5% in 1960, and 30% in 2013, so you can see that urbanisation has a long way to go, compared to Australia which had an urban population of 81% in 1960 and 85% ten years ago. Gross Domestic Product per capita in 2021 was US$822 for Rwanda and $1100 for Tanzania.

6 minutes

Kigali however exuded sophistication and prosperity unknown to me except in South African cities like Capetown and Johannesburg. As one US delegate at the conference commented he could have been in a resort in Florida, given the luxury at the Radisson where I stayed. Other delagates at the six other hotels would have experienced similar grandeur. However Rwanda has just 18% of its population in urban areas so compared to Tanzania it remains almost rural in all areas. Kigali does not represent how most Rwandans live. It is however more developed, its service industries have staff whose English is excellent and who appear to have had excellent training. The streets are wide and grand, there is no rubbish and more than one attendee compared it to Singapore. But if you go to Kigali, venture outside 10kms and see the real Rwanda.

“Focus on the journey, not on arriving at a certain destination,” is a quote by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield as he was presumably as he was hurtling through space enroute to the International Space Station. The journey to Kigali started on Thursday when I left Musoma by Bajaji for the 8km ride to the bus station where I boarded the bus to Mwanza for an overnight stay. At Bunda I was joined by Alpha Lugoley, principal of the Bible College. Our stay in Mwanza was at the Anglican Guesthouse, basic but cheap at $AU12 a night with no hot water but a bed and a TV with one station and a fan.

_{Bajaji ride}

_{Lake Victoria}

_{Rural Musoma}

_{Rice is grown in the wet seasons}

_{Alpha my travel companion}

_{Rural Bus station}

_{School is out}

_{Buses carry freight}

_{Mwanza Bus station}

_{Our hosts met us}

The bus ride to Mwanza was uneventful. At $6 it is expensive for locals but there is no tax for visitors. The guesthouse provided the perfect stopping point and a meal was had at a local restaurant which is rented out by the Anglican Church whch has a number of commercial premises attached to its compound.

_{Hostel Manager}

_{Fish for dinner}

After dinner a stroll around Mwanza. Our accommodation is two minutes from Lake Victoria. We managed a sunset and a visit to St Nicholas Church which is the cathedral. The Diocese of Victoria Nyanza (DVN) was established in 1960 as the second Anglican Diocese in Tanzania when it was still part of the church of East Africa comprising Kenya and Tanganyika as it was then called.

_{Inside from the gallery}

The new St Nicholas

_{Sunset over the Lake}

_{Owned by a rich person}

_{An evening study session at St Nicholas}

Bishop Zephaniah Ntuza kindly loaned us a car and driver for the next leg of our journey to the Rwandan border with only petrol to reimburse him. Very generous.. A 5am start was necessary for what was to be a long day driving of fifteen hours with a border crossing included.

_{5am start}

_{Sunrise over Lake Victoria}

_{Rural Tanzania western side of lake}

First stop was a ferry crossing at Busisi where we passed a new bridge being constructed. When completed in 2024 this bridge of over 3kms in length will allow all transport year round access to international destinations in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. Pictures tell a lot of the story of our journey to Rusumo Falls Border.

_{Rusumo was our destination}

_{Breakfast stop at 11am}

_{Biharamulo Diocese stop}

Enroute we passed the newest diocese formed in 2017 of Biharamulo so we stopped in for a toilet stop and to gree the bishop if he was in. It turned out there was a meeting in progress and a number of visitors from other parts of Tanzania were in attendance but the bishop did greet us.

_{The Biharamuo Cathedral}

_{Bishop Vithalis}

_{Alpha and Vithalis}

_{Drivers waiting for their people}

^{We do this all the time in Australia right?}

_{A passing scene}

After seven hours of driving including breakfast at a dodgy cafe (I had mild food poisoning in Kigali) we arrived at Rusumo Falls border in the rain.

The border crossing was fairly straightforward. One building that did everything. First to the Tanzanian desk to exit and have my passport stamped and then to Rwanda which now being a Commonwealth country allows free entry visas to citizens of the Commonwealth.

However I was not ready for what was to come.

rom Mwanza to Rusumo was 375kms and the seven hour drive was not surprising. However the passenger bus was we were told a few hours. Even Google maps hasn’t figured out African roads don’t have consistent driving conditions. The 154kms to the convention centre took eight hours by bus! And no toilt stops!

_{The land of 1,000 hills and a million smiles}

_{Boda taxi at the border}

^{Rusumo Falls which has a hydro-electric station and is the border}

So focussed was I on the journey that I barely took any photos. My water ran out early on the trip (Oh how fortunate was that). We seemed to stop at every village enroute to Kigali and let me say the villages are not that far apart, to allow passengers on and off the bus. The slow trip could be sped up if tickets were issued on the bus. Each passenger receives a printed electronic ticket issued from an EFTPOS size machine which indicates th start and finish of the journey and the cost. This is no doubt an anti corruption measure which I remember being promoted when I visited Rwanda in 2014.

Arriving in Kigali, we had to find a taxi to transport us to our hotels ready for the conference two days hence. All in all a long but good day. Arrrived in The Land of 1,000 hills and a millions smiles. Dinner with Alpha and bed.

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bula matari, breaking rocks, exploding myths, retyrement, retirement

Retirement? or Retyrement!

What is retirement? We have transitions in life that are formally recognised, even celebrated. I remember my four year old graduating from pre-school and thinking really? We have transitions from primary to high school, graduations from year twelve and university all marked by symbolic events. Completing paid work after forty years for many is marked by a farewell gift, acknowledgement of services rendered and goodbye.

Retirement has its own jargon. We speak about ending paid work as “calling it quits”, “a golden handshake” which often is associated with redundancy, “going out to pasture,” “packing it in,” “being pensioned off” and “throwing in the towel.”

For the last nine years I have worked for Anglican Aid, an agency that connects donors from churches in Australia where we enjoy an abundance and the developing world in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East and Pacific, where money can make a huge difference in poverty alleviation. During nine years I formed hundreds of relationships both in Australia and overseas, many whom I have met personally. I have visited 21 countries and developed relationships with many amazing people, especially where oppressive cultures made life difficult for so many. So in the lead up to finishing at Anglican Aid I sent emails to many people overseas to let them know of my departure and wish them well. I received many acknowledgements and well wishes. The standout came from an 80 year old Zambian, Rosemary who in her email wished me well but added:

“People like you do not retire but Retyre – just put on new tyres.”

Rosemary, who sent me this pearl is 80 years old. She runs a school in northern Zambia. Now an 80 year old woman running a school for 600 kids is unusual enough, but this school was started by her after she retired as a Regional Director of Education!

The background to this is retirement, a husband dying within a year of retirement and all her assets as a middle class woman being confiscated by her husband’s family (its a cultural thing). Finding herself in a slum in Lusaka she saw kids not going to school and commenced teaching two kids with limited resources. The rest is history, the school being tweny years old has been supported by many in her wide network from the United Kingdom and more recently Australia. We met Rosemary through her son in Australia, concerned that his mother had this huge responsibility and he was concerned that she was ageing and needed help. When I met her in 2016, I was surprised at the network around her which included a board comprising the elite of Zambian civil society including judges and others. She didn’t appear to be slowing down or ready to slow down.

And so to the two photos above. Pino coladas and living the good life after a life of work.

The two tyres one which I had replaced last week. One still looks good and still has a lot of tread in the middle but was wearing on the edges so was replaced because technically it was not roadworthy. The one on the right totally worn out out. Driven by a 19 year old who did “burn outs.” They are a bit like us. Perhaps the totally burned out tyre is at the end of its useful life and so eating, drinking and waiting for death may not be unreasonable. However completing paid work does not mean we are at the end of a productive life.

Most people completing work today are generally in good health, can expect to live maybe twenty years and have lots of time. No longer working full time provides lots of options. Maybe a bit worn out but still plenty of life left. I will discuss some of these next time. Others, maybe due to the type of work, health issues or other circumstances sigh with relief when they can complete work and look forward to a retirement that may allow restoration of physical health and strength and allow time for activities that have been subjugated due to work commitments.

So in Rosemary’s words,I am being retyred. My post paid work plans are to head to Tanzania where I will be assisting Bishop George from the Anglican Church of Tanzania in Mara Diocese, near Lake Victoria. My initial visit will see me overseas for six months from early April till October. A holiday in Europe will break that time for about six weeks and then back to Africa.

Next time I will discuss more about the concept of why retirement should see relatively young and fit retirees being retyred.

2021 – A review in photos of the most Challenging year of life

In a previous blog I reflected on the challenges that 2021 posed. It was indeed the hardest year of my life. It seems a confluence of activities formed that pcaused incredible pressure. None of the issues themselves would normally have been difficult. When combined together however it was huge pressure and not one of them identifably significant. How did I cope? Only God knows.

In photos and text I comment on my year month by month.

January saw us returning to Sydney after spending most of December and January at Bangalow. Christmas saw us and our daughter at Bangalow at our son’s house while he, his wife and grandson #4 were in hospital following a bone marrow transfusion (BMT). Maintaining their house and Christmas with our three other kids and four other grandsons was a pleasant time. Byron Bay is only 10 minutes so the beach and lighthouse were visited regularly. As we were allowed we visited Brisbane and had coffee with our son.

BMT requires the recipient to be isolated in a hospital room for months. His parents rotated between themsleves to be in the room 24/7. How grandson#5 coped for three months is beyond me.

26 January, I left for Sydney and work accompanied by their dog who was spending the time before they returned.

January started with a drive from Bangalow to Sydney to transfer my son’s dog for foster care while they were in Brisbane with our grandson

February was a fairly normal month. Work, a work conference but the additional responsibility was as a nominator for the replacement of our senior minister at church. This task entailed headhunting Anglican Ministers our group of 5 thought may be suitable. It turned out to be a massive job. There was a night at the theatre in Wollongong and a staff conference at the Wollongong Surf Leisure Resort. I did the BBQ. We had German visitors who stayed a weekend with us. Hannah and Ina were Bible College students who I met through extended family. Hannah is from near Frankfurt where my mother came from. A weekend with visitors allowed us to visit the Southern Highlands and Illawarra.

I also completed an exam in the PTC course Early Church History. Only 83% but there was a lot in it.

We had German visitors stay a weekend. After a year of COVID disruption it was good to meet international visitors

As in February, it was good to be catching the train to work. There was some normaility even though the trains were empty. COVID has certainly changed people’s preparedness to work physically onsite. Our office barely had more than a few people coming in from January to March. Zoom was the order of the day.

March saw me continuing to travel to work. Working from home there were days where I did not leave home, not even for a walk. I forgot to go out, unlike 2020 when methodically I would wlk to the beach for time out at lunchtime.

Walking and podcasts were the two new activities I started during COVID. I also started the Moore College Preliminary Theologcal Certificate in August 2020.

The Archbishop retired this month so there was a farewell at work for him. Also a service at St Andrews Cathedral on 26 March to farewell him. Two days later I preached at Fairfield Anglican Church. This has a bit of history as my father’s funeral was taken by the then minister of this church in 1970 when I was 15yo. There were people who still remembered him. I remembered him as a very kind man who came and visited us in our grief. I have never forgotten that time he spent with our family.

At the farewell for Archbishop Davies I had the opportunity to have a photo with Kanishka Raffel who in May was elected as the new Archbishop

April 1 saw us attend Hamilton after seeing it in London in 2019. It was possibly better than the London show. We stayed in Sydney overnight on the road north to Bangalow.

Back in Brisbane in to see our grandson for his 5th birthday. We managed to get across the closed border with a clown suit to try and cheer him up. Sadly he was frightened of me.

The rest of April was pretty much routine with going work, studying the PTC and enjoying freedoms post COVID. Church work now as a warden in addition to being a nominator added to my already busy year.

OK not the funniest and maybe a bit scary

May was a huge month. Grandson#5 ended up with complications from his BMT after coming home earlier in the month. He and his parents had been in Brisbane since August 2020 so nine long months in Brisbane and then only two weekends at home before he was back in hospital.

The rest of May included my graduation in 1st year PTC and an election synod where I awas able to vote for the new Archbishop. A great privilege. Our youngest daughter announced her engagement and I was actually asked by her beau if he could marry her. They are a great match. Linda had a significant birthday which was celebrated with a small group of close friends a tthe Kirribilli Club.

I graduated year one of the PTC at Moore College in May

My wife celebrated a significant birthday in May

June was a busy month. A trip to Brisbane for a week where I was able to help by sleeping overnight at the hospital and give sgrandson#4’s parents a night off.

I went to see Hamilton again. I am addicted.

Our youngest daughter was married on 19 June, a week before the lockdown. Dorrigo was freezing but it was a superb location and a beautiful wedding. Afterwards we had a holiday near Byron which had been booked months prior and were unable to get a refund..

The hospital sleepover with my grandson

A wedding in Dorrigo on a crisp cold day

NSW went into lockdown while we were on holidays at Byron. We arranged with my son to remain at their home in Bangalow looking after it till they were able to return. It turned out they could not come home till January 2022 so I worked from Bangalow. No one and I mean no one came to our office till late October. Lockdown 2021 was tougher than 2020 but in Bangalow apart from six weeks we had relative freedom.

The George Gregan Foundation built the outside playground at Brisbane Children’s Hospital. We spent a day in July visiting our grandson who enjoyed being out after six weeks bedridden on a drip.

Lockdown at Bangalow meant visits to Byron Bay and walks up to the lighthouse. I saw whales for the first time off Cape Byro

Working from Bangalow was much easier than being in Sydney which had a harder and harsher lockdown than in 2020. It was audit time at work and our accountant got Delta Covid and was exteremely sick and hospitalised. He survived but it meant challenges and delays.

No one went to the office at all from June. Last year I was in regularly but Delta had everyone running for cover. No one back till October. Working from home was a blessing with all the other stuff I had going on.

Whales at Cape Byron.

This was a typical day. Some days it was 4-5 meetings on screen.

October saw us in Brisbane for a weekend with our grandson#5 and his parents after a devastating September where he was readmitted after a seizure and on life support for a week.

We saw our son and other grandkids sporadically who also live in Bangalow. We went bowling and did other things with them when allowed to. The lockdown in Banglow was a much easier experience than Sydney.

Church work was ongoing and it was nothing to spend the day in front of Zoom and have evening meeting a few times a week related to building replaceemnt, my role as warden and as a nominator (recruiting a new senior minister)

Built in 1941 this building was demolished in October to be replaced by a modern education centre.

As the lockdown was ending in Sydney we planned a trip to Wollongong to check out our home and other things. Given my impending retirement I planned a visit to a new GP in Wollongong as my GP for the last nine years is in Sydney CBD. The trip bag was with my son’s dog, whose time in foster care came to an end as the foster carers had a dog themselves.

I had planned to have November off, but as the CEO was asked to travel at short notice to Africa I stayed on. In any case preparing for my replacement took a lot of work. So a lot of work was done planning for her start and documenting my role, much of which was in my head. As it turns out my thoughts of a month off ere wishful thinking. It was actually very busy.

My visit to Wollongong was planned to be home for a short time and to bring Pix back to Bangalow as her foster parents had a new dog.

The result of my GP visit was a new GP and some blood tests and an expectation I would see him when needed again. However back in Bangalow a few days later he rang me. Never have I had a GP call. He wanted to refer me to a haematologist as my white cells were low. As I wasn’t back in Wollongong till December we agreed to repeat the tests a few weeks later and see how it went.

Never having been to Accident and Emergency in my life, December opened with a visit to A&E at Lismore on 1 December and Wollongong on 5 December after blood tests showed no white blood cells. The impression from doctors was that I should be critically ill with almost no white cells – neutropenia was the diagnosis. A delay to my visit to Adelaide while I had a bone marrow biopsy and various other tests. At no time was I sick -I felt fine but was rattled. I ended up seeing a haematologist (Feb 2022) and after a myriad of tests it is assumed I had an asymptomatic virus.

Lismore Base A&E 1 December.

December saw me in Sydney to do a handover with my replacement and attend a farewell. It was held for the whole floor and I was one of four being farewelled. Virginia from Anglican Aid had an extra year on me, Rob had five and Jo was retiring after twenty years. Tim Swan gave one of the best farewell speeches for me. It was fantatstic and did take the mickey out of me. Lots of laughter.

I arrived in Adelaide after borders opened to visit our eldest daughter and grandson #5.

Tim should have been a comedian with the speech he gave for me

Everyone laughed

My response

Virginia with whom I worked for nine years. 10 years.

Jo and Rob also retiring

Grandson #5 in Rundle Mall. Adelaide is very liveable.

These are just examples of the frenetic pace of 2021. If it were not for COVID I could not have coped. The lockdowns actually freed up a lot of time and increased my capacity. The biggest pressure at the end was preparing for my replacement, spending a week with her and ensuring we had as much in systems developed as possible to ensure the agency could continue as it grew.

I had three COVID tests in the week prior to Christmas and Christmas Day was a non event as we planned to head to Brisbane, preparing to assist with care for our grandson as his mother was booked for a caesareaan on 29 December. So after church we spent a few hours at the COVID testing clinic at Wollongong hospital to ensure we could get into Queensland. Healthy grandson #6 was safely delivered providing a nice end to 2021.

Farewell 2021. A busy but good year.