Rwanda is one of the fastest advancing countries in Africa at this time. It is undebatable that Rwanda has its own unique way of living in all aspects of life. While kids in this small hilly country below the equator might not have access to the latest X box or Legos to play with, they have always found a way to have fun and entertain themselves.
I don’t know how far back I can remember but I still hear the laughter and feel the happiness we always had when we finished making the first football; one we made after hours of collecting hundreds of plastic bags around the neighborhood which we would later combine and tie to make a bouncy round thing that we played with every day. Our childhood was different from that of a child from an average American/ European family. While many of them were busy reading the instructions on how to build a Lego spaceship, I was collecting plastic bags expecting that I would be able to make a soccer ball. This could possibly make me the popular kid on the block with a new toy because everyone would want a piece of it. Generally speaking, the most popular toy in Rwanda is a soccer ball.
As kids grow up, and they need different toys as well. Although kids in America and Rwanda might receive basically similar presents their value was often very different. For example, a middle-class Kansas kid who turned 12 might get a scooter for a birthday present. The kid would be excited for a while but could lose interest quickly. In contrast, it was very different for a kid from the rural parts of Rwanda because the parents were likely to forget his birthday. He might be able to help build a wooden scooter with some of the other children.
I remember the first time that I stepped my foot on a wooden scooter made by some kids in my village. It felt very mesmerizing. I was never able to make a wooden scooter, but I always admired the skills and effort of the kids around me. We all made an effort to make things to make ourselves happy with the supplies we had available.