Well it seems, at least for the time being, Musanze is my
new home. Pam was kind enough to let me
share her place with her for just over a week.
Monday I moved in with a Rwandan family.
There are currently three in the family I am living with, there is
another niece but she is at boarding school till the end of the month.
In between my moving about I have been spending time with a
tailor and his crew in town. Deo has
welcomed me in to his shop Maison Arbara which sells custom made clothing as
well as prêt a porter. The shop is
always bustling with people, and languages, but in between customers Deo shared
with me some of the history of his shop.
Deo attended university for economics after working for some time he
decided to switch careers and become a tailor.
He began the company in 1994 with one trundle sewing machine. His shop has since expanded to include 18 employees
in addition to himself and his wife and eight electric embroidery machines and
28 trundle sewing machines. About eight
of the trundle machines are kept in his shop the rest remain for training new
employees. Deo trains his workers
himself which ensure consistency and quality of the product produced. The shop specializes in embroidery, all of
which is hand drawn on to the fabrics then free stitched by the electric
machines. Deo and his shop are a
tangible symbol for me of the hard working dedicated citizens of Rwanda. In my short time here I have found many
stories of people who are strongly dedicated to creating a better future for
themselves and those around them. It
continues to impress me how willing they are to share their knowledge and
experience with me. All the workers at
Maison Arbara have been very kind and though various motions and my broken
French they have explained how they construct the different garments. It has been great fun getting to know all the
workers at the shop and observing the shop.
I have included some pictures from my visits highlighting some of my
favourite designs and some of my new friends. 
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