Umudugudu

Kinyarwanda word; village community; one hundred households; local support network. 

This word, pronounced um-du-gu-du, (try saying it three times fast) is one of my new favourites and popped into conversation during a particularly long and bumpy car journey. We’d piled into our trusty 4x4, an off-road vehicle which is definitely too small for our entire team, but is incredibly helpful when it comes to navigating dirt track roads.

In Rwanda, umudugudus are the basis of the entire country’s structure. It’s not just a word reserved for remote locations, even those living in the capital city are part of a local community. But in this case, we were visiting a very remote location. One hour and many bumps later, we were in the middle of Rwandan countryside; an oasis of green trees, mud huts and dirt tracks. 

The concept of community is one that I always adore; the idea of relying on one another and sharing life together, openly and honestly. But here in the middle of nowhere these families have to rely on one another because without one another they have nothing. Together they grow crops, eat food, play games, go to sleep; experience their daily lives.

Imagine living in a place where you know every person’s life story; a place where you never meet anybody new. 

Constant community; the opposite to my life in London. 

Yet even though I felt very far from home, the members of this umudugudu welcomed us with open arms, encouraging us to farm with them despite our complete lack of knowledge, laughing at me trying to speak kinyarwanda; sharing life with us. 

I still can’t decide how I feel about living in a place where I’d never meet anyone new. But I do know this: in a remote village in Rwanda, community is everything, and these people have love and trust for one another in a way we’ll never achieve. 

I wish that the UK made more of local support networks; trusting our neighbours and sharing life with them. Maybe umudugudus could catch on. If nothing else, they’d be a really great word to add to primary school spelling tests.