The Nyamasheke photographers

On Friday 17th April, J decides its about time he visits Samuel the carpenter in Nyamasheke (30 min drive away), who is building his first boat. We take the dogs along for the ride and park up in the town. The dirt road down to the waterfront gets very muddy in the rain and J didn't want to get stuck at the bottom for 6 hours a second time (rain happens very suddenly in Rwanda despite sunny outlooks) so we choose to walk and accumulate a growing number of children in a pied piper-style procession led by 2 dogs to Samuel's house.

Once we are there and J is talking business, I amuse myself with the 20-odd kids who are keen on helping out. Soon they are vigorously sanding, lifting, varnishing and turning the boat around for J. Their attentions turn to my little snap camera, and before I know it, it is out of my hands and into the enthusiastic imaginations of these budding young photographers. I can only take credit for the first 2 pictures.

I have to say I had one of the most memorable experiences here in Sam's front yard. I loved meeting these kids, a gleeful bunch of characters, watching how they shared and taught each other how to use this little piece of technology. They had so much fun, picking up the controls whether they were 12 or 6yrs old.

It was amazing to watch a few of them - so natural at taking pictures, determination in their eyes. My favourite is the pic of inside the house. Whether they demonstrate natural skill or are purely accidental, these pics lead me to trust my camera with any child from then on who asks to use it. (Of course I have deleted 100's, mostly of my legs, shoulder or a blurred child's hand).

Every time so far, they have been incredibly careful, if not protective over the responsibility they have been handed and the power they achieve over their friends, and the whole adventure I give them costs me nothing (except occasional ear ache) and makes my walk from A to B all the more enjoyable. When its time to say Murabeho they hand it over immediately and are satisfied with the experience. I hope to print out the best or funniest and have them distributed around the villages I visited as momentos.

I apologise now to every mzungu who gets hassled for their camera because of this! I figure once I leave, this opportunity might be gone forever. Luckily I don't revere my little Samsung, probably why its served me so long and so well. Touch wood.