My Village and My Country
Primary 2 · Social and Religious Studies
My Village and My Country
Lesson 1 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
Gatete opens his gate. He steps outside.
He sees the path. He sees Mama Keza sweeping. He hears the drum from the church. Far down the hill, people are shouting at the market.
All of this is his village. Today you will learn what a village is, what its important places do, and how villages join together to make something even bigger.
Your home is where you sleep. It is one house, with your family inside it.
Now look around your home. There are other houses. There is a path or a road. There are trees, taps, shops and people.
All of those houses and places together make your village. In Kinyarwanda we say umudugudu.
Your village has a name, just like you have a name. Ask a grown-up: "What is the name of our village?" Every village in Rwanda has one.
Your village also has a leader. When something is broken, or when there is work to do, the leader calls the people together.
It is Saturday. Gatete walks to the market with his mother.
The market is loud. Women sit behind big heaps of tomatoes, beans and avocados. A man carries bananas on his bicycle. Gatete's mother points at the beans. She hands over 700 Frw. The woman fills her basket.
Now stop and ask one question about this place: what happens here?
At the market, people buy and sell. That is the job of the market. That is why the village built it.
Here is the rule. Every important place in your village has a job. To learn any place, ask: what happens here?
The health post. Gatete's baby sister was hot and crying. Mama carried her to the health post. A nurse listened to her chest and gave her medicine. In three days she was playing again.
What happens here? Sick people get better.
The church or the mosque. On the holy day, people put on clean clothes. They sing together. They pray. They listen.
What happens here? People pray and sing together.
The school. Every morning children run through the gate with their books.
What happens here? Children learn.
The water tap. Children come with yellow jerrycans and wait in a line.
What happens here? People fetch clean water.
The shop. It is small and close to home. It has salt, soap, sugar and matches.
What happens here? People buy small things quickly.
On the last Saturday of every month, something special happens.
Nobody goes to the market in the morning. Gatete's father picks up a hoe. His mother carries a basket. All the neighbours come out.
Together they clean the path. They dig a ditch. They help an old woman fix her roof.
This work is called umuganda. It means working together for the village. One person alone could never fix the road. Many hands can.
Your village is not alone. Over the hill there is another village. Behind that one, another.
Many, many villages together make one district. In Kinyarwanda we say akarere.
Rwanda has 30 districts. Your village is inside one of them. Ask a grown-up which one!
Tip
One question opens every place. When you see a building in your village, do not just look at it. Ask yourself: what happens here?
Buy and sell? That is the market. Get better? The health post. Learn? The school. Pray? The church or the mosque. The answer tells you the name.
Read each one. Say your answer out loud, then tap Show answer to check.
Uwase's mother needs tomatoes, beans and bananas. Where does she go?
Answer: The market. That is where people buy and sell food.
Mugisha has a bad cough that will not stop. Where should he go?
Answer: The health post. Nurses there help people who are sick.
It is the last Saturday of the month. Your neighbours are cleaning the path together. What is this work called?
Answer: Umuganda.
Which is bigger, one village or one district?
Answer: A district. A district holds many, many villages inside it.
Keza's mother wants only a bar of soap, and she wants it fast. The market is far. What place in the village can she use?
Answer: The small shop. Shops are close to home and sell small things.
What you learned today
Quick check
Match each place to what happens there.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
