Where is Kibungo?

Where is Kibungo? Google map/earth “Kibungo, Rwanda”! This town is where I lived and worked last year on my master’s research project. It is the administrative town of Ngoma District. It is also the home of INATEK (the local university). It was my home away from home for almost six months. I am back home.

May 23, 2011 – Now in Kibungo, I feel much more grounded. Far away from busy people and traffic of Kigali, I can concentrate again on my research. On a personal note, I feel very much at home here. Same people, same friends, same smiles, and same generosity. It is Kibungo alright. Yes, the internet is slow, the food may be monotonous (staples include banana, potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, rice and beans) and the ‘hand cup’ shower is hard sometimes, but I am still content in Kibungo.

I still have several hurdles to pass before I can get down with my fieldwork: 1) submit my research proposal to the people at RARDA and IPAR (my key informants) for their comments and feedback, 2) get a formal ethical approval from the National Statistics Bureau of Rwanda, and finally, 3) get the local governance approval for fieldwork. I just submitted my research proposal to the director of Girinka (step 1 done), but I wonder how long the other processes will take. Regardless of the waiting time, I have to be ready for June, which is my only window of opportunity for dry season data collection. Here is my list of things to do: survey questionnaire designing, recruiting local university students, and contacting programme beneficiaries (which requires a sample frame of girinka participants in every sector in Ngoma District*), are the three most urgent matters at hand.

*Note: The administrative structure in Rwanda goes like this: Province – District – Sector – Cell – Village – Household.

Pictures of Kibungo – Here is a beautiful flower garden beside the Home of Joy, an orphanage taken care by the great sisters of Calcutta (Missionaries of Charity).