Clear International

Donna in Rwanda

Posted by Donna Smale on 21 10 2009
167 Comments

It's been an interesting couple of weeks, lots of ups and downs! I was exhausted when I arrived, but keen to settle in. Within 24hrs of arrival, I had my first injury! I stepped in a hole when crossing the road, and sprained my ankle very badly. This has been quite a hamper to finding my way around as I can't walk very far! Despite this, I have figured out Kigali a little bit, traveling on public transport including my first ever motorbike ride, on a moto-taxi!

 

In the office, I am working with the Lawyers of Hope team, David and Claire, who are both fantastic. So far, I have been reading all about the work of the organisation, future projects and strategy plans. I have also been using my limited Excel knowledge to sort out some of the accounts and presenting the budget. I'm very excited to get stuck in with the new projects, hopefully doing lots of visiting, as well as contributing more to the running of the office.

 

At the same time, however, the team has come up against obstacles in obtaining legal personality for LOH in Rwanda. It's frustrating that officials and paperwork can be hampering such good work, but we'll keep going and find a way around it!

 

I have managed to see a bit of the country in my first few weeks. The LOH staff went on a mini-break to Lake Kivu with a visiting LCF team. The country is really beautiful and provides a fantastic back drop to my time here!

Donna in Rwanda

Posted by Donna Smale on 20 10 2009
21 Comments

27/09/2009 - Time of writing

I'm currently on a flight to Rwanda, and I thought this might be an appropriate time to write my first entry on my blog about my trip to Rwanda!

 

Firstly, a few words about myself. I'm slowly moving along the path of training to be a barrister. I did a law degree at the University of Sheffield and have just completed the Bar Vocational Course at Nottingham Law School. In 2007, I took part in a mission trip to East Africa for law students, visiting the offices of CLEAR in Uganda and Kenya. I found the whole trip incredibly inspiring. The offices achieved so much with limited resources and made a massive difference to the lives of many people. Last year, I applied to be an intern and was asked to go to Rwanda.

 

Throughout the summer, I received many donations to my fundraising. I have been very lucky to receive support from the International Bar Association and from Lincoln's Inn. The people at the church that I attend in Overton have been incredibly generous and I was really encouraged by all the personal messages of support that I received.

 

Most recently, I've had all sorts of difficulties sorting out paperwork for my visa. I'm concerned that considering how frustrating bureaucracy is in England, I'm not sure how I'm going to cope in Rwanda!