I’m writing on St. Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013. To make the water drinkable, first you have to boil it and let it cool down to drinking temperature and then filtrate it. In the end, the water is potable and tastes good.

Rwandan climate is Mediterranean. When it rains it’s very humid and everything smells wonderful. When the sun shines, it burns like an oven and, naturally, it’s quite hot.

During the night there are so many sounds: the frogs are croaking, the crickets are chirping, the mosquitos are buzzing, and I listen to it all when I go to bed with a mosquito net around me, and a sheet and blanket covering me. Temperatures range from 17 to 30 degrees, and the perfect temperature for painting is 23 degrees.

Painting the entrance gate to the Padri Vjeko VTC schoolyard has been my first job. I am painting both sides of the gate at the same time – while one side is drying I paint the other, and the other way round.

It’s interesting to observe the reactions of the local people to the progress of the painting. The more detailed it gets, the more interested they get. They approach somewhat shyly and watch..... nobody’s asking anything in order not to disturb me. But, those who have a bit more courage stay a bit longer, and the bravest among those even ask a thing or two in broken English. When that happens, a most unusual discussion occurs: I am sure they don’t understand everything I’m saying, and I definitely don’t understand what they say, but in the end we reach some kind of understanding – and we conclude that we had a good conversation!

I reckon that I’m quite a wonder for them and that they don’t really get what I am smearing with the brush, but in the end something recognizable - and above all colourful - appears, and so we’re all satisfied.

I love colours, and schools really need warm, cheerful and refreshing colours, just like plants need water, and so the school and I are on very good terms, all in all.

Slowly, I am taking on new tasks: restoring the school sign and painting the school emblem on the container. And I am so happy for getting this chance to contribute to the Kivumu community!

Translated by Branimir Mlakić
Edited by Valerie Kae Ken

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