"Mukundwa," the pink scooter

As you can see above, I was on a mission to find a scooter – and not just any scooter, a pink scooter! I didn’t want to pay for a brand new one; besides, the only 2 colors available this year were not exciting.   It was rumored that only 3 used pink scooters existed in Kigali.   I had yet to see one until a few Mondays ago…

I was walking home from work, and out of nowhere, an older Rwandan man driving a pink scooter appeared at an intersection I was crossing.  Immediately, I exclaimed, “A PINK scooter!  Where did you get it??”  He spoke no English, so someone came over to translate.  He asked me if I wanted to buy it.  I asked him if he was selling it.  He said that he would be willing to since he needed money for home repairs.  This seemed a little too good to be true.  Nonetheless, I got his phone number and thought/prayed about it that evening.

Yves, one of my B2R colleagues, met Apollonaire and me the next afternoon to translate regarding the potential purchase.  Yves said that he sounded trustworthy and that he actually needed money for his house.  Sounded like a win/win to me! I went for a test drive and felt good about proceeding.  

After the transaction, I had Yves ask Apollonaire if he’d given the scooter a name.  Sure enough, he did.  “Mukundwa” = the loved one.  I promised him that I’d keep the name and take good care of it.  

What a miracle!  I often smile and laugh to myself when I think about this supernatural occurrence that provided me with a pink scooter and Apollonaire with money to fix his home. 

A big wad of cash...

...in exchange for the key

 

Apollonaire & Yves

"Mukundwa" & me