Gavin and Bronwen Ryalls left Dunfermline last year to take up voluntary charity work in Rwanda. Having enjoyed a summer back in Scotland they've returned to a country where the run-up to the elections saw private meetings banned, restrictions on the press, lethal grenade attacks and the killings of an opposition leader and - gulp - a newspaper editor.

This is their story.

"After a busy but restful summer break back home, we are back in Rwanda.

"This is a country where one learns to expect the unexpected and a lot can happen in a short space of time.

The three months we have been away proved no exception.

Settling back into the African routine took a little while.

Our arrival with Kenyan Airlines wasn't auspicious, landing just after midnight on a Monday morning.

The last white taxi at the airport carried us the final leg of the journey along the dirt tracks that lead to our house.

We had keys but in our absence, new locks had been put on the gates to the compound which meant climbing the wall in pitch darkness or sleeping out for the night.

We chose to climb. By two in the morning our security had been negotiated and we were at last able to find some sleep after 24 hours of travelling.

Unpacking and catching up occupied much of our efforts in the first couple of weeks.

The big event we missed was the Rwandan election and reappointment of Paul Kagame as President.

With no serious competition and none that wasn't affiliated to Kagame's ruling RPF party, there was never any doubt about the outcome.

A 93% majority allowed Kagame to claim victory amid accusations from the world's press of dictatorial tendancies and suppression of human rights.

None of this seems to have been a hindrance and Kagame celebrated his new mandate with a national holiday and day-long event at the Amahoro Stadium on the outskirts of Kigali.

When we left Rwanda in May, election tensions were rising palpably.

Armed troops were easily spotted around the streets, private meetings had been banned and there had been isolated but lethal grenade attacks in Kigali centre.

In the run up to the election, restrictions on the press were tightened by the Media High Council and a number of killings, notably of a newspaper editor and the vice-president of an opposition party, had human-rights fingers pointing at the government.

Another grenade exploded, killing a friend of a lady we know, and with the knock-on effect that the banks shut down for several days.

No-one could draw money. In an economy where most transactions are conducted in cash this would have caused not inconsiderable inconvenience.

Now that we have returned, the tension seems to have been relieved a little.

Troops are less evident, if only because they now hide in discrete corners or behind roadside undergrowth.

Activity in our projects, which had been sidetracked either by the meetings prohibition or involvement in the elections, are now picking up steam again.

Around Kigali there seems to be an effort to return to some form of normality.

As if in celebration of a successful election, activity on re-surfacing the roads has been almost feverish. One route in particular running into the city centre has been upgraded to dual carriageway and saw particular attention.

On one Sunday, the two mile route saw gleaming new lamp-stands erected every 10 yards and a hundred pot plants set up along the way. All just in time for the President's inauguration and the ferrying of African dignitaries to the ceremony.

The pot plants were removed a couple of days later.

The other big news in recent weeks has been the leaking of a UN report naming the Rwandan army as perpetrators, among others, in the hunting down and killing of thousands of refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Once again, genocide is being mentioned and the government here is furious.

Kagame has threatened to withdraw Rwandan peace-keeping troops from Darfur and the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has flown into Kigali to try and smooth things over.

Potentially this a very damaging report for the credibility of Kagame and his government.

On a more peaceful note, our return from Scotland seems to have timed itself nicely with the end of the dry season here.

The dirt tracks had turned to the consistency of fine cocoa powder and clouds of dust were stirred with every step.

We were just beginning to despair of ever having clean clothes again when the rains returned and brought some welcome cleansing to the air and water to our tank.

Now our problem is keeping the mud out of the house!

There are few happy mediums here at the equator.

The locals take each day as it comes which is a skill that we had forgotten and are going to have to quickly re-acquire."