RWANDA

 Rwanda is a landlocked country lying just below the Equator in East Africa surrounded by Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south, and Congo to the west. It is called the “land of a thousand hills” due to its mountainous nature – the lowest point in the country is 3100 feet above sea level. It’s area is about 10,000 square miles, about the size of Massachusetts.

Rwanda is densely populated with about 14 million people. The capital city of Kigali is located in the center of the country and has a population of about 600,000; it is said to be the cleanest large city in Africa!!    The life expectancy for men is 67 and 71 for women. Around three quarters of the people are literate.  Over 90 percent are Christian, due to the influence of both Protestant and Catholic missionaries.

The weather in Rwanda is temperate with two rainy seasons: February through June and September through December.

The economy of Rwanda is primarily agricultural. Coffee is the main agricultural export.

Healthcare in Rwanda is a decentralized universal system centered around Community-Based Health Insurance which covers most Rwandans with a sliding scale for premiums and gives all citizens access to a network of primary care centers. People needing further care can be referred to one of 42 district hospital or one of the four national referral hospitals.

Rwanda’s history is complex. Very briefly, in the late 1800s, Rwanda was colonized by Germany; Belgium took over during the first World War. The Europeans ruled by way of a Rwandan king and were partial to the Tutsi tribe. The other main tribe, the Hutus, revolted in 1959, massacred many Tutsis, and set up an independent Hutu-led republic in 1962. Ethnic tensions continued to fester and, in 1990, the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) launched a civil war. Tensions continued and, in April 1994, there was a 3 month genocide in which over a half million were killed, primarily Tutsis. This genocidal killing stopped when the Tutsi-led RPF gradually took control of the country. Today, the country is led by Paul Kagame, an early leader of the RPF.

...we'll be at Kibogora Hospital in far southwestern Rwanda, near Lake Kivu! It is 100 miles and a 5 hour car ride from the capital city of Kigali.