2021 Travel the World - Week 31

I started a 50-week series in 2019 that I called Travel the World. Each week of the series I visited a randomly-selected country, sharing bits of information about that country. I then chose one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. As I explored those 50 countries in 2019, I knew I would continue on until I've visited every one of the 195 countries in the world, so I continued the series in 2020 and here I am in 2021, the third year of traveling the world. 

This week's country is...

Rwanda

Rwanda is a landlocked country in Africa, which means it is completely surrounded by land. There are only 45 landlocked countries in the world. It is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It is the fourth smallest country in Africa.

Smaller than the state of Maryland, Rwanda has wealthy geography of mountains, savannahs, and lakes (together with Lake Kivu, one of many world’s deepest). Its frequent rainfall blankets the huge, rolling hills in shiny carpets of green foliage and crops of tea (one of many nation’s largest exports).

Rwanda is known as the Land of a Thousand Hills because of its many mountains.

The nation has 23 lakes and quite a few rivers.

The official languages of Rwanda are French, English, Kinyarwanda and Kiswahili. That’s a lot of languages! 

Rwanda is Africa’s second most densely populated country after Mauritius and Africa’s most densely populated mainland country. As of 2017, there were 496 people per square kilometer.

It is one of the safest countries in the world.

Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, has been hailed as one of Africa’s greenest and cleanest cities after a number of measures were introduced over the last decade to clean up the city following a population boom.

Walking across lawns is a criminal offense in Kigali. 

Rwanda has a temperate to subtropical climate with two rainy seasons from February to April and November to January.

Since 2018, Rwanda has used drones to deliver blood and medical equipment. Doctors in rural areas can order such supplies by text message and have them delivered by a drone.

In 2008, Rwanda became one of the first countries to ban plastic bags completely. The country is aiming to be the world’s first plastic-free nation.

Rwandan citizens are required to perform a day of community work called “umuganda” once a month. These workdays focus on activities such as clearing land for community gardens, collecting rubbish and building new roads, classrooms or residential toilets for households that lack them.

It is possible to observe the famous big five game animals of lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo in the Akagera National Park in Rwanda.

Rwanda is one of only three countries in Africa where a person can see Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat.

The Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda is home to 300 species of birds. It is also home to civets, leopards, serval cats, silver monkeys and other animals.

About 90% of the Rwanda population is involved in some form of agricultural work.

Tea and coffee are the major cash crops grown in Rwanda.

Tourism, coffee, tea and minerals are Rwanda’s main sources of foreign exchange.

Since 2003, Rwanda has consistently had the highest proportional female representation of parliamentarians in the world. As of 2019, 61% of its lower house is female. Additionally, four of Rwanda’s seven supreme court justices are women.

Rwandans consider music and dance to be integral parts of life. Since ancient times, these traditional forms of art have played important roles in ceremonies, festivals, social gatherings and storytelling. Even today the fascinating dances and beautiful music help preserve Rwanda’s rich heritage.

It is against the law to wear flip-flop sandals while walking in public places in Rwanda. Being open, this is considered unhygienic, as flip-flops do not cover the vulnerable parts of your feet. It is also thought that flip-flops easily picks up and spread germ-infested dirt onto other people’s feet, especially if they are behind you. The grand policy is – hygiene first.

Rwanda has a car-free day each month in which the government encourages residents to exercise and focus on healthy living.

Although not heavily spiced, Rwandan food is flavorful and delicious. Staples include sweet potatoes, beans, corn, peas, millet, plantains, cassava and fruit. 

My inspiration for this week's card is based on this fact about Rwanda... Every year Rwanda earns several international awards for producing the best quality coffee.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Unity One Sip at a Time stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Paper: Cougar 110# White and SU Sahara Sand CS and DP from my scrap file

Dies: MFT Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle, MFT Stitched Rectangle, and Paper Roses Stitched Circles

Embellishments: Stampin' UP! Ribbon