Well, it’s taken 42 blog posts and over 60,000 words, but I’ve managed to get there – this is the … More
Category: Letters from the heart of Africa
7 tips for volunteers in Africa
It’s almost time to fly home. These seven months in Rwanda have felt so much longer – the richness of … More
The Ragged Children of Kinigi
When the ragged children of Kinigi danced, it was a scene of both joy and sadness, those imposters both, two … More
Unexpected hosts: gorillas after the mist
After noon, we started the descent in to the mists of Mount Karisimbi, the highest peak in the Virungas, a … More
The snowman in the heart of Africa – Climbing Mount Karisimbi (part 2)
Continued from part 1 I walked towards the fire where there were two crouching silhouettes outlined in bright orange. I … More
Climbing Mount Karisimbi
CLIMBING MOUNT KARISIMBI , a snow-capped volcano between Rwanda and the DR Congo, the tallest peak in the Virungas, was … More
Travels with Dr Muss – Healing the Memories
I started ‘Letters from the Heart of Africa’ over 15 months ago and now, 34 posts and 50,000 words later … More
When Memories Come Calling
Memories are like kites dancing on warm zephyrs on high – with just a tug, and if our strings of … More
A Weekend Break in the Northern Hemisphere #2: Kampala and Lake Victoria
Crossing the border from Rwanda to Uganda, a traverse from Francophone to Anglophone Africa, offered subtle changes from the bus … More
Being Lighter at the Equator: a Weekend Break in the Northern Hemisphere
With my friends Thierry and Juko, I took an 8 hour bus ride from Rwanda to Kampala in Uganda, crossing … More
A hike up Mount Bisoke and a lesson in understanding gorilla sounds
One Friday afternoon, with Freddy’s permission, I snuck out from work early – we had decided to climb the perfectly … More
Sometimes on Tuesdays, always with tea (Part Two)
(To read part one of this post please click here) On one of our regular meet-ups Vincent* told me how … More
Sometimes on Tuesdays, always with tea
Sometimes you can’t see how incredible a person is when you first meet them. Still waters run deep, people are … More
Faith, devotion and complicity
I enjoyed lazy starts to the day on the veranda, shooting the breeze with Peter the security guard. We’d breakfast … More
Where you never walk alone
In contrast to my daily commute in London, my walk home in Kigali was rarely dull, no two journeys were … More
The sports bar in the heart of Africa
Football (or soccer for followers of this blog across the Pond) often gets in to the press for the wrong … More
Electric-green unplugged
Today it’s April the 7th 2018, a day that marks the 24th anniversary of the start of the Rwandan genocide. … More
As Time Goes By …
Giving a training course to a group of nurses in Rwanda gave me a new perspective on the concept of … More
Unguarded Moments
The basic facts I knew about Rwanda before I lived there were: it has rare mountain gorillas. Diane Fossey, the … More
Being mindful – bug bites and quiet nights
Most of the nights after work were quiet nights at home and I found my pace shifted down a gear, … More
In Search of Silence and the Missing Female to Female Nine Pin
It’s been a few months since I last posted for the series ‘Letters from the Heart of Africa’. We are … More
The nemesis of my sole
Heel gobbler. Lace snapper. Tongue cracker. In the stony, dusty backstreets of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, shoes took one … More
Feeling down: the 6th Week Blip
Six weeks in to my volunteering placement in Rwanda I felt down. I had hit what psychologists call the ‘6th … More
A weekend in the rural beauty of Rwanda
One Friday after work, I took a bus from Kigali till I reached a sleepy village called Gahini beside a … More
The Resilience of Hope
I passed the cream-coloured boundary wall the next morning, its smooth surface was now pock-marked with a spray of holes, … More
A Festering Malice: the Grenade Attack
What kind of person would throw a grenade at a cemetery? What must happen in a person’s mind for them … More
Leisure pursuits: tennis, jogging and painful stomach-flattening (please do not try this at home)
I settled in to the small bungalow. My social life revolved around a good circle of colleagues and friends , my work … More
The Spotless City
How could a city in a developing country be so completely litter-free? From the airport taxi, the streets of Kigali, … More
Politicians and Popstars
Over the years the Kigali Genocide Memorial has been visited by countless celebrities and dignitaries; Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon, Natalie … More
My friends, the survivors
I settled in to my role as an adviser at the Kigali Genocide Memorial – I got a desk, there was … More
The Chatter of the Raindrops
Continuing the series Letters from the Heart of Africa. My first few nights in Rwanda brought me shallow, dreamless sleeps; … More
Kivu: The Shimmering Lake in the Shadow of the Volcano
In the very heart of Africa, between Rwanda and D.R. Congo, is a silvery, majestic lake framed by breezy palms … More
Stolen socks and missing underpants
One morning I phoned my friend Thierry. “Someone’s stolen my clothes.” “I can lend you clothes,” he said. Thierry was … More
Banana-leaf balls, making friends and a bitter falling out
The twin pillars of passion in Rwanda are Christianity and English Premier League Football. The sides of the small buses, … More
We Need To Talk About Why People Kill Each Other
Continuing the series, Letters from the Heart of Africa No narrative on Rwanda can really ever avoid the genocide. Its magnitude … More
The importance of memory
Continuing the series, Letters from the Heart of Africa. We all want to go places, forwards, like a car, pressing … More
Help! I’m a businessman going to work in an NGO in Africa
One of my life goals was to volunteer in Africa but I was never quite sure if my career path … More
A special place of remembrance, hope and beauty
It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever worked in: a creamy-white building with balconies facing the hills of central … More
The thrill of the motorbike taxis in the hilly heart of Africa
The fastest, most exhilarating way to get round Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, is on motorbike taxis, which go by … More
Getting to work, Rwanda style
Whoever first coined the term ‘the Dark Continent’ to describe Africa was either wearing very powerful sunglasses, or was nocturnal. … More
A letter from the heart of Africa: settling in fine
Dear friends, I made it, I’m here, in Kigali, Rwanda, writing to you from the hilly heart of a distant … More
The flight to Rwanda and getting rid of the contraband
After a short layover in Nairobi airport, the great African plains appeared below us, followed by Lake Victoria, its shoreline … More
Letters from the Heart of Africa
A few years ago I volunteered in Rwanda. This serialised post is based on letters and emails sent home to … More
Peter and the soup confusion
Peter, my Rwandan housemate, is a man of many talents – he’s my gym training buddy, my security guard, a … More
