Kimisagara Illustrated

I've been spending a lot of my time in a part of Kigali called Kimisagara, which lies immediately below the city center (Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills. The city center is at the top of one of them. Kimisagara is at the bottom.) The district is home to a youth center called Maison des Jeunes, the only one of it's kind in Rwanda. They sponsor youth soccer, basketball, and volleyball leagues; and host English lessons, a Kung Fu club and a journalism club. I'm also teaching photography there and working with the journalism club on radio production and reporting. Here's some stuff I shot while working with my photo students:


Rwandese drumline. These guys are getting ready to compete in a traditional dance competition during Maison des Jeunes' Vacation Games, a kind of youth Olympics held during Rwanda's school vacation.


This guy seemed to be acting as the captain of the drumline.


Not surprisingly, the youth center is always full of impossibly cute kids.

Mud brick houses on the hill facing the center make a great afternoon backdrop for photos.


Shootin' hoops. Basketball is second only to soccer in popularity here.


More hoops.


I disrupted things badly when I passed this primary school with my photo students. I created a catastrophic domino effect as I walked past the line of classrooms. Kids dropped everything to run to doors and windows to look at the Muzungu while teachers pounded on desks in a vain attempt to retain order. Pointing a camera at the kids didn't help.


I know this looks fashionable, but it's actually a form of street vending. Women walk around with impossible loads of fruit on their heads for sale to anyone who passes by.