Epi's vigil

Apr 12th

Épi’s off to Kibuye today with members of her family, and their Pentecostal church group from Kigali, to do a tour of Genocide memorials. Apparently the trip involves staying up all night in a vigil, and they won’t be returning home until Sunday evening. We’ve agreed she’ll be dropped off here at Gitarama and stay the night with Tom and I in order to have some respite from what we know will be a very gruelling time for her. She both wants to go, and at the same time is apprehensive at whether she’ll be able to cope. It’s a huge load for her to be carrying, and I feel helpless to help her except by simply being around for her. Also, Soraya is coming up from Gikongoro and staying the night; then we can all go together to Kigali tomorrow for the week’s training course. Cathie’s coming tomorrow because she’s helping run the training course. I feel as though I’m playing Dad to all three lovely girls!

Cathie comes over for a chat and we arrange that on Sunday night she’ll come over and we’ll play Newmaket with the girls (though I suspect all Épi will want to do is crash into bed when she eventually gets back here).

I walk with Épi through the town and up to the District Office where we’ve agreed she’ll be picked up (it’s at the junction with the road to Kibuye). I have a package from the Post which turns out to be my iPod formatting disc (moment of truth approaches) and other goodies including instant custard and jelly crystals. While we wait, and wait, and wait for the two buses to arrive for Épi, I show her round the Office and pick up some census forms to process. I don’t feel so guilty at taking the week off because there’s barely a day’s worth of work come into the office all the time I’ve been away!

Instead of eleven o’clock as arranged, the buses finally show up at half past one. I hurriedly buy vegetables as the market is closing; the celery and tomatoes are a bit manky but I’m lucky to get anything at all (even on Saturday everything is closing for the Genocide during the afternoon). There’s storms all around us and I just get home before the deluge.

Rest of the day is boring. You all know that flat feeling when everything’s been busy and then suddenly everyone else is gone and you’re left on your own! Back home trying to write up these blogs and remember what happened a week ago. Try to re-load my iPod but I’m afraid it looks as though the machine itself is broken. Curses! Work late into the night on the laptop. Tom’s in Kigali; I’m not expecting him home until Sunday but he turns up just before one in the morning.