Where in the world is Johnny Umuzungu

So, I finally confirmed the way to spell my name in the local language, Kinyarwandan. It sounds like MooZoonGoo when you say it, I guess the first U is silent. I also made a map which shows my little corner of the world. You can make it bigger or smaller, zoom in or out, or not. Some of the peaks are not visible in the clouds.


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I have had a picture of Murabura, the mountain peak that is the upper right peak of the chain, on a previous post. Gahinga is the second one as you move counter clockwise. These two are on the border between Rwanda and Uganda.


Over the roof of the house you can see Sabinyo, the third one in the chain which sits on the border with Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

Here's a picture of Sabinyo from the town of Kinigi, due west of Ruhengeri closer to the park boundary.

The peaks are not always clear. Our weather comes in from the east and brings moisture off of the Indian ocean. Clouds form as the moisture rises in elevation to cross the mountains. You get these really cool half-halos around the eastern peaks like rings around Saturn. It's cool to watch some times. The fourth peak, and the first to share the border between Congo and Rwanda is Visoke.



Looking west down are avenue is a nice view of the fifth peak, Mikeno, which lies in Congo. The final peak is Karisimbi which is on the border between Congo and Rwanda.

Living here has been an adjustment and there are many things that help me to realize how great things are back in the states. I read about the economy and the whole world can't stop talking about the election, but there's plenty to be thankful for. Every day that I have been here, I have seen at least one person use a cup to dip water from a puddle, only to pour it into a larger container and take it home. I can never remember a time in my life when I didn't have access to clean water. For the rural communities here, there are many who have never had that luxury. Wow, to think of a simple thing like water as a luxury.

Part of my job here with ISAE and MGVP is to organize and implement various community projects that support agriculture as an economy. That can range from education and extension programs all the way to trying to get a milk processing facility. This past week, anew friend of mine took me to see Roz Carr's orphanage at Imbabazi. The story of Roz Carr is amazing. You should google it when you get the chance. Basically, she was in her 80's when the genocide erupted. As a result, she turned her flower plantation into a home for 102 children left as orphans from the violence. Turns out, it's not technically an orphanage because she has adopted all of them. It's a tremendous legacy. She has recently passed but through the love and support from her dear friends, the facility continues to operate.

These children are mostly teenagers now. Half of them go off to school while there are still over 50 residing at the place. There is a school there and a variety of wonderful opportunities provided by groups around the world like Partner's in Conservation which happens to be based at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio. So how do I fit into all of this? Well, they have a small herd of cattle for the purpose of providing milk for the residents. It's a nice herd of Brown Swiss with a young holstein bull.

The managers of the facility do a great job caring for the children and providing health care and educational opportunities, but they are not comfortable with managing cattle so I am going to consult with them a bit and help the herd meet the goals that they have for it. I am gong to try and utilize this opportunity to make the herd a demonstration project for the local community as well. That way we can get the support of ISAE and hopefully some students from the school. The university is trying to establish the concept of agricultural extension services like we have back in the US and this will hopefully be the first step in that direction. The location is south west of here, off the southern slope of Karisimbi. From the pastures, I could see Nyiragongo, the active volcano in Congo. It's not currently spewing lava, it hasn't for 7 or so years, but in the picture you can see the steam rising out of the crater.

Now, as I promised mom, here are some pictures from where I live. First, is a picture from the street.

The next view is from my room looking towards the kitchen.

Here's one from the kitchen back towards my room and finally, my room. That's for you mom!

Johnny Muzungo goes to town

This past week has been rather boring. I guess that's what happens when you go to work. Actually, I didn't go every day. I skipped work on Wednesday because I needed to go to the hospital and get a physical. It was in my contract as a requirement for work at the university. Fortunately for me, the MGVP employee health program began this past week so I as able to have the exam, blood work, chest x-ray and the whole nine yards for free. On Thursday, I bumped into the head of the university and told him that I had the physical and that everything was fine. He then told me that I am the first person to actually get the physical and that he did not understand why it was a requirement. It was worth it though just for the experience of hanging out at a hospital in a developing country. Between mom's nursing background and my many trips to various emergency rooms across the country, I think that I am familiar with hospitals. To see this one and notice things like how limited their supplies were, the fact that being in a waiting room meant sitting on a bench outside because space in buildings was a precious commodity, and all the while the service and care is very good.

The pelican was successfully released on Thursday. It was turned lose at a lake on a golf course in Kigali. It should be safe there until he gets his strength back. It did make one short flight, circling the lake so it should be just a matter of time before it joins up with a flock. Having it around was fun, but messy. Fortunately, there are two bathrooms. I wish that there was a way to have smell on this video clip.

On Friday, I took the bus to Kigali in an attempt to finally get my work visa. As an American, I can be here for 90 days without it, but for staying longer, I need my green card.I thought that all of the paperwork was in order but that was not the case. The folks at the immigration office would not accept my application because it is to be completed via computer and then printed off and submitted. They no longer accept the forms completed by hand.And, I need a letter of police clearance stating that I am not a fugitive of any kind.So, off I go to the US Embassy to see if they can help me out with that one.After about a 15 minute lecture for not being registered on the embassy web site, it became clear that there would be no visa for Johnny Umusungo any time soon. I actually have spent some time looking at it but did not notice the information about police clearance. Plus, I had emailed several people asking for what all I needed before coming and it was never mentioned. It's not a block, just a bump, and just another task for Heather to help me with. Now, every cloud does have a silver lining and while at the embassy, I was able to vote so just so you know, I have done my part.Every year I vote and every year, it doesn’t seem to matter but I just do it anyway.

On the road to Kigali, traffic was stopped while the president and his motorcade passed by.He was headed to the border with Congo for a meeting. There’s a bunch of odd things going on in the Congo and the UN is right in the middle of it and not in a good way, but I won’t post those stories here. The trip to Kigali is worth taking, over mountains and through valleys, the scenery is just amazing.The only bummer is the absence of the national bird.The valleys once were full of grey crowned cranes but now to see one is very rare. I saw a bunch in Uganda last week, which is where I took this picture.


There is a big difference between the two countries in regards to agricultural practices which impact wildlife habitat. I have heard many times that conservation is a luxury. I see the truth of that statement every day that I am here.I did see many other birds on the trip like the sacred ibis and some cool looking storks that I can’t positively identify in my bird book. They might have been yellow-billed, but I can’t say for sure and I didn’t have my camera. Not that I could have gotten a clear shot from the bus anyway.

For me, one of the exciting things about traveling around is that there are differences in everything, not just the obvious things like food and language, but everything you see. The vegetation, the bugs, the birds, I wish that I had a picture of the worm that I caught while in the jungle. It was shaped exactly like every worm that I ever fished with, just bigger. Actually, about 12-14 inches in length and ¾ to 1 inch in diameter. It was really cool! There were 3 Germans on the hike with us that day and they all assumed that I had caught a snake and they weren't cool with it at all.

Mom wants to see some pictures of where I live so I will get some for next week's update. In the mean time, mom, here's a bit of a description. The facility has a wall around it, like most facilities here in town. There are three buildings. The main building is U-shaped with a courtyard in the middle. This is a picture of the courtyard. The main building has two bathrooms, 5 offices, 4 bedrooms, a library, kitchen, dining room, living room and laboratory facilities. There are two small storage buildings out back and a small house where Dr. Spelman lives. There are two gardens and tons of flowers, countless flowering shrubs, some trees and a huge type of cactus.

It might be hard to notice in the above picture, but there are plants like poinsettias that grow in the yard. They actually become large bushes like this one. I will be putting in a small patch of pineapples at some point. They are very cheap to buy, but I just want to do it because I can.

Being on the equator, the growing season never ends. Weather wise, every day is the same. If it is cloudy, then it will be a little cooler and if the sky is clear, it will be warmer but other than that, the day length doesn’t change and there is always a chance of rain. There are always flowers blooming and birds chirping.

It’s great except for one thing, there are many hadada ibis that roost in the tree just outside my window. They are an interesting bird with metallic color that shines in the sun and the funky shaped bill. They also have a call that is incredibly annoying and they start with the first bit of light on the horizon, around 5:20am.

The only real surprise thus far has been the earth quake that we had a while back. It wasn’t hard enough for things to come off of the shelves, but it did shake things around a bit. Again, every cloud has a silver lining. I just happened to be brushing my teeth at the time and I do believe that it helped me out some.

Just another day in the life of Johnny Umuzungo

So, here I am, after three weeks and I finally figured out how to switch the language of this web site from French to English. French is common here so most often, when you access the internet, even google comes up in French. French just happens to be one of the many languages that I don't speak, but I fumble through it.

In case you are wondering, a Umuzungo is the local slang term for a white person. When you travel around, kids will see you and yell out "Umuzungo." Also, the kids know just a few phrases in English and they all know "what is your name?" When they ask me, I just say "Johnny Umuzungo." It has been a nice ice breaker even with the adults. And thus begins my alter ego, Johnny Umuzungo.

The term "Umuzungo" dates back to when the first white people came to Africa to explore. The locals had never known people to travel so much for no particular reason. Umuzungo means to travel in circles for no purpose. That's pretty much how the first three weeks have gone. It has been allot of fun so far, not very productive, but fun. And, fun should never be underestimated. Muzungo also works into local folk lore. Mothers will tell their children that if they don't behave, the Muzungo will come and eat them. It makes for allot of laughs.

The first week, I helped the Italian veterinary student who was here on an internship with MGVP. She was doing a disease surveillance study on cattle, goats and sheep for Brucellosis, Tuberculosis and Q-Fever. I helped with some of the study design, then with the sample collection in Kinigi sector of Musanze district (think of it as a county).

It was really challenging because they don't have working facilities here like they do in the states, so we first catch the cow by hand. This is actually easier if she has really big horns. Then, while 5 or 6 people hold her, I slip in and get a blood sample. You just need to trust your guys and hang in there because the cow will jump when you stick her. The next time your veterinarian complains about your facilities, show this picture.

Doing this project was very fun, not only for the "Rodeo" aspect of bleeding 60 cows that were free standing, but walking through all of the villages and getting to see the communities. One day we saw a chameleon, that was cool.

Another day, once we were done, we were heading home and there was a group of people carrying a woman in a large basket. Turns out, they were headed to a local health clinic that was about a 15 minute drive away. It seemed urgent so we loaded them up into the truck and gave them a lift. Turns out, the woman was in labor. We got to the clinic and the baby was born about 5 minutes later. They named the little girl Steffi after the Italian veterinary student who was leading the project.
The second week, a group of MGVP supporters were in town to create a promotional video for fund raising. We spent allot of time doing interviews and explaining what it is that we do. Then, I got to go up on the mountain in the Virunga Massif to see a group of mountain gorillas, group 13.

Hiking in the forest is amazing. This particular group was low on the mountain so we spent most of the hike in bamboo forest. One unique thing about this group is that the original silver back died a few years ago. A silver back that had been living in isolation came in and took over. He keeps sneaking over the mountains to the Congo side and coming back with a few more females. It is the fastest growing group with the most babies. It was fun to see all of those little gorillas running around and playing. One particular female had a broken finger. At first I just thought that she wasn't very fond of us being there, then I realized, it was nothing personal.

The third week began with a meeting in Uganda with the MGVP veterinarians. One topic was the first attempt at a buffer zone around one of the national parks. The thought is to create a space where you can minimize the interactions between livestock and wildlife. Typically, a park will have an abrupt edge, like the edge in this picture.

Unfortunately, animals don't recognize the boundary. Wildlife come out of the park and livestock wander in. This mingling can facilitate disease transmission (the livestock to serve as a potential vector for diseases of human and non-human primates). The idea of a buffer zone to minimize this mingling is an effort for bio-security.

This aspect of bio-security is critical because the mountain gorillas are very few in number and very susceptible to the diseases of humans. The human population around the park lives in extreme poverty, which means that they are a more likely group to have disease and illness. The government can't just go in and move the people who live around the park because there is no place to go. For Example, Rwanda is one of the more densely populated countries in Africa. Creating a buffer here would displace around 80,000 people. Currently, there are around 60,000 Rwandan citizens living in Tanzania that fled the genocide 14 years ago and are not allowed to return because the country is so over-populated. It helps to put things into perspective.

On Tuesday, we hiked in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a park in Uganda with the first ever attempt at such a buffer zone. In doing this, we were able to visit another gorilla group, Nkuringo.

This forest is very different than the forest in the Virungas. The variety of trees were different and I actually saw two silver backs (not what you are thinking Josh) up in a tall tree eating figs. The one in this picture weighs over400 pounds and was about 40 feet off the ground. It was pretty cool.

Unfortunately, the buffer zone has not been managed for about 4 years. The result is an unofficial extension of the park boundary. This seems nice from an ecology and re-forestation standpoint, but in actuality, this group of gorillas now live entirely outside of the park, on a hillside with unlimited human activity, creating an opportunity for disease transmission. If some negative disease event were to happen to these gorillas, they would likely retreat to the safety of the park and have a high likelihood of spreading the particular disease rather rapidly in a naive population.

In the mean time, I have been getting re-acquainted with those that I have met in the past, plus meeting many new people. There are allot of people like me from countries around the world who are here to work on various projects. It has been allot of fun, but there's no place like home and I look forward to seeing you all again some time soon.

There are things about living here that you just can't get any place else. For example, some body found an injured pelican and naturally, they brought it to us. Turns out, it had part of a fishing net stuck in its throat. We removed the net, but it was too weak and dehydrated to be released, so it hung out in the tub for a while. The neat thing about rehabilitating a pelican in the bath tub is that it can learn to eat on its own again (yes, we had fish swimming around in the tub with it). There's never a dull moment.

The motorcycle deal fell through because as it turns out, I need a permit. I will be able to get one the next time that they are offered, which will be in June or July. In the mean time, Heather is trying to sell my car so that I can buy one over here. Until then, I take the bus to work. Most of the university employees live here in Ruhengeri so there is a special route. Keep in mind, the buses her are Toyota mini-vans. Not just any mini-vans, but the interior has been gutted and replaced with bench seats. Now imagine, 4 bench seats plus the front seat. We sit 4 to a row, 3 in the front row, that's 19 people in a Toyota mini-van. It's quite intimate.

Things should begin to settle down now that I have started work at the university. Soon, life will become boring and dull. I do have a few things planned for the upcoming weeks that might end up interesting. Plus, there are a few hikes that I have planned between now and Christmas. I have been taking allot of pictures of birds and flowers that will end up on here at some point. Everything is just so interesting because it is so different, like watching the clouds form as the weather moves over a mountain The particular mountain here is Murabura, standing 13,540 feet tall. Anyway, it has been a ride and a half thus far, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Thanks for stopping by,
Johnny Umuzungo