Developing an Infrastructure X-Ray in Rwanda: Data Collection Part 4
Developing Infrastructure Networks in Support of Humanitarian Assistance Missions
A quick recap, if you haven’t been following our recent publications. In our previous blog posts:
Recently, we visited Kigali, Rwanda on a data collection visit in support of an Infrastructure Network project for the Network Science Center at West Point. First, we introduced recent events in Mali that illustrated our research motivation. Second, we introduced our research goals, and some key members of our team: John Mugabe and Caleb Gage, both cadets at the United States Military Academy(USMA). Third, Val Dike, Jr, Lead Researcher, Storm King Analytics, and graduate student in the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering (MSIE) Program at Georgia Tech, continues the discussion of the accounts of our data collection efforts on the ground in Kigali, Rwanda. Most recently, we ended with the discussion of the data collection challenges in the Data Collection 3 post .
In this post, we will continue to discuss the following:
- Observations of the sectors remaining in our data collection effort
- Official briefing with Brigadier General (BG)Ferdinand Safari, Rwanda Defense Force(RDF), J-5 (Strategic Plans and Policy)
- Rwanda Parliament visit.
Day 5 and 6 on the Ground Continued..
Remera
Aesthetically, the Remera sector was one of our favorites. The sector is located to the east of Kacyiru. Remera is bounded by KG 11 Ave and KN5 Rd in the south. KG 11, a major road in Remera, is lined with many commercial businesses. The National Stadium and the University of Rwanda’s College of Education is in close proximity to the northeast of the sector.
Interestingly to our observation, was a valley running from the north to the south of the sector. This valley is surrounded by upper middle class housing. The Western boundary runs along KG 9 Ave. Located on KG 9 Ave are two large golf courses, high-end hotels and a tennis club. We found this sector to be very populated and dense.
Kucukiro
Kucukiro can be described as a compact sector. Kucukiro has one major road that runs from the southeast to the northwest. Parallel to this road is the northern boundary of the sector. Along the northern boundary is the construction of middle class residences. The southern boundary runs along the low grounds. The low grounds were filled with industrial warehouses. KK15 Rd, the major highway, serves as its eastern boundary. KN3 Rd, another major highway, serves as its northern boundary. Interestingly enough, the Magerwa customs compounded that we mentioned in the Data Collection 3 post sits along the western boundary of Kucukiro. We found our efforts to collect data in this sector challenging, as we had to walk through constant transitions of low ground and high ground. The sidewalks for pedestrian traffic was not consistently paved. In some instances, we found ourselves walking on a stretch of sidewalk to no sidewalk at all.
Briefing with BG Ferdinand Safari
In previous posts, I made mention of John Mugabe and Caleb Gage, both a second year cadets at the USMA. Both Cadet Gage and Cadet Mugabe were able to assist us with the data collection effort. For the cadets, this trip served as their Advanced Individual Academic Development trip (AIAD). Dan Evans, Managing Director and I arranged for the cadets to brief BG General Ferdinand Safari, RDF, J-5 (Strategic Plans and Policy). Cadet Mugabe discusses his experience in a meaningful way in the post titled ‘A West Point Cadet Returns to Rwanda’.
It is important to note that the RDF has been and still continues to be invaluable partners on the ground to our research team. Like most humanitarian operations that have occurred in developing countries, the military is intricately involved in various aspects of logistics, to resource and people allocation.
BG Safari was particularly impressed with how our research team used Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to illustrate the interconnectivity between resources and people. A map can only tell you so much, an infrastructure network aka “X-Ray of a city” can give you so much more insight. Not only did BG Safari find our preliminary findings useful, but he also expressed a strong interest of a continued partnership with the Network Science Center at West Point and Storm King Analytics. The intuition behind modeling sector-shared resources on a map and the application to a particular geography is a necessity for all leaders in this part of the world.
Visit to Parliament
Through a close connection of Cadet John Mugabe, we were able to visit the Rwanda Parliament, equivalent to Capitol Hill in the United States.We were escorted by John Mugabe’s home town Member of Parliament and given a brief overview of the history and the legislative process in Rwanda. Not to our surprise, a majority of the history and narative of the Rwanda Parliament is tied to the horrific events of the genocide that occured nearly 20 years ago.
In our next post, we will discuss the lessons learned from our data collections efforts and give some context to our rational for defining a ‘resource’.
