Blessings on the Farm 1

Abby is a junior Art and International Development student at Houghton College studying abroad in Rwanda this semester with Go-Ed Africa, and is working at Urukundo for the month of March. After hearing her share what her month working on the farm has meant to her I asked if she would write a blog entry. Here it is!

I came to Urukundo to work on the farm with no previous experience working with farm animals or in a farm setting- I just knew that I have loved working in gardens in the past and love manual labor, so why not learn more about farm life?! After all, it is so central to Rwandan culture and life. I work with the three farm hands who live and work on the farm taking care of the pigs, cows, goats, rabbits, and chickens; their names are Nzoza, Jovith, and Habimana. At first they were a little taken aback by the fact that I was a woman wanting to work on the farm- here it is not a woman’s job to care for the animals, but a man’s job (unless you are widowed).

There is no word in Kinyarwanda for “cowgirl”, only for “cowboy”, which is umushumba; meaning one who cares for the cows. They weren’t sure how to treat me and what jobs to let me do or not do, but through persistent hard work and intentional efforts to build relationships with them, I have been accepted and feel at home.

The language barrier was also hard at first with me knowing barely any Kinyarwanda and them knowing very little English. Now, this has become such a blessing and relationship builder as we teach each other words by pointing and acting and have gone from barely being able to communicate to knowing how to clearly communicate about farm chores in both languages! The many laughs and confused moments, willingness and patience to learn, and a genuine care of one another have led to many cultural and language differences being bridged to form friendships.