Friends & Family,

Karen and I returned to Musanze this week after a month-long stay in Portland. Our family was all there to celebrate the life of Karen’s 92-year-old father, Allan Sherman, who sadly passed away just before our return home. Allan, a Portland native, was a huge supporter of our venture and needled me about the pace of our progress when we spoke the morning he died.

Upon our return we went immediately to the VMS construction site.  There has been steady progress as the bricklaying and stonework continues. The site is surrounded by a lattice of timbers, the scaffolding to set the steel trusses that will form the roof. Teams of experienced welders prepare these trusses on site. Construction is now 50 percent complete and trending four weeks ahead of schedule.

We were greeted on-site by our site engineer, Japhet Museveni. Born in August 1994, Japhet is the youngest of five children, with two sisters and two brothers. He was raised by his mother in Bigogwe, near Gisenyi, in the hills above Lake Kivu. His mother, a farmer, knew her children needed an education if they were to have a future. After primary school, Japhet was awarded a scholarship to attend a boarding school in Musanze, where he excelled. Later, he received a scholarship to attend the University of Rwanda, College of Science and Technology. “I wanted to study for a profession that allowed me to solve problems,” he told me. 

Japhet finished with a degree in civil engineering in 2018. He was introduced to our contractor, Rwanda Village Enterprises, as an intern during his university studies.

Thanks to his mother’s efforts, all five children finished secondary school and three, including Japhet, completed university studies.

With his mother as a role model, Japhet is particularly motivated to support the women who work at the construction site. Five women who started as porters or doing admin work have become masons, capable of laying the stones for wall construction. A model, set up at the rear of the site for training purposes, shows how the shaped stones fit together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle

With his mother as a role model, Japhet is particularly motivated to support the women who work at the construction site. Five women who started as porters or doing admin work have become masons, capable of laying the stones for wall construction. A model, set up at the rear of the site for training purposes, shows how the shaped stones fit together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.  

“I’m realizing my dream when I tour the site and see a woman who was a porter who is now a mason,” Japhet said.  Of the five female masons, one completed her studies at the University of Rwanda the previous year; another has a primary education and had been working as a daily wage farmer.  Both women are in their twenties and told Karen they were interested in starting a small business once the project is completed.

Until recently, I had not seen Japhet without a safety helmet. I noticed a circle of gray hair above his forehead that speaks to a wisdom beyond his years. We’re lucky to have him leading the team.

Before leaving for the U.S. we held a ‘goat roast’ to celebrate the holidays and our progress. Of course we’ll plan a much bigger celebration later this year, when the project is complete. Stay tuned for more on that!  

All the best,

Bill