Emmanuel has a dream...and a plan. He wants a cellphone of his own, but his mother and father are not going to buy one for him. So he saves his money until one day he can go to the market and bought a chicken. Once he has made his selection and paid for it, he tucks the chicken into his jacket and boards the mini-bus (matatu) for home. When he gets home, he fusses over his chicken and at bedtime takes the chicken to bed with him. Well, when his mother finds out, she puts a stop to that. Now Emmanuel is waiting for the chicken to start laying. He will sell the eggs at 100 Rwanda francs each until he can afford a cellphone. His mother declares, "I am not buying you any airtime!". That's okay, my chicken will just lay more eggs and I will buy airtime!
A chicken can cost about 3000 francs, or about C$5. That might not seem to be a big deal until you discover that a national medical card costs 3000 Rf a year, which one needs to get medical attention at a government hospital or clinic. Each visit will cost an additional 100 francs or 15 cents. I thought that might help put things in perspective. We know of many people who do not have medical cards. In one village church, I asked an elder how many do not have medical cards? 30. That was about half. How many who do not have a medical card now, need medical treatment but cannot get it? 5. There it was. A need that could be filled. We paid for 5 annual medical cards. Or 5 chickens!
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