Rwandans at the urns

The Sound Kitchen

This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about Rwanda’s July presidential and legislative polls. There’s “The Listener’s Corner” with Paul Myers, and Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan” - all that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click on the “Play” button above and enjoy!

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [e-mail] Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos to [e-mail] for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner!

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.

Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [e-mail] If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([e-mail]) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([e-mail]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 15 July, Rwandans were voting for their next president, as well as the members of the country’s 80-seat lower house of parliament.

There was little doubt that the current president, Paul Kagame, would win his fourth term. And he did, with 99.18 percent of the vote.

There actually were two opposition candidates, which you read about in our article “Rwanda heads to the polls to likely re-elect Kagame for fourth term”.

You were to send in the answer to this question: What are the names of the two opposition candidates who ran against the incumbent president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in the 15 July polls?

The answer is: Democratic Green party leader Frank Habineza and the independent Philippe Mpayimana.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Rodrigo Hunrichse from Ciudad de Concepción, Chile: “What do you think young people should do? Should they work, save, ensure their future, and put off traveling until they are more established? Or should they ‘seize the day’ and go while they’re young?”

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State, India. Radhakrishna is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Radhakrishna.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are two RFI Listeners Club members from Bangladesh: Sharifa Akter Panna from Kishoreganj, and Faruq Ahmed from Dhaka. There’s also Club member Zenon Teles from Goa, India – Zenon is also the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist - Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers.

Last but not least, there’s RFI English listener Zannatul Zuthi from Narayanganj, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Allegro vivo” from the Symphony in C major by Georges Bizet, performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic; “La Campanella” by Nicolo Paganini, performed by Igor Oistrakh; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Day Tripper” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, performed by Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66.

Do you have a music request? Send it to [e-mail]

This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Melissa Chemam’s article “High expectations as Algeria's President Tebboune begins new mandate”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 7 October to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 12 October podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

[e-mail]

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Click here to learn how to win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club,