My first umuganda blister

What is an umuganda blister? Well the blister is still a blister – the same thing as in the states, umuganda is not something we have back home. Umuganda is the last Saturday of every month where all Rwanda’s gather in order to help the community. This was the second time I participated, both times PC volunteers walked about an hour to a field which needed to be ‘cultivated’, this involves a hoe and looks and feels extremely dangerous, I have yet to see someone get hurt, knock on wood. It is amazing to see how many people come out and help others-and how close they stand to each other when working with sharp tools. It is mandatory to attend but it is still amazing to see everyone come together. After the entire field was hoed we planted cassava, each cassava branch was cut and we looked at where the ‘eye’ was and then angled it in the ground according to the directions I was given. I do not plan on coming home an expert in farming, I would like to have a garden while I am here and when I get but that is the extent of that. The crops grown in the field we hoed will be given to the poor that cannot afford food. When I went on my site visit I saw 21 mud homes that were built using help from Umuganda for people that did not have a home and cannot afford one. Official blister from hoeing, and official cassava planted! I am far from being a Rwandan but slowly I am learning their ways.