Excursions

We have visited a lot of really interesting places since we've been here, and I'm afraid I've neglected to post about them as we've gone. So, here is a description of everywhere we've visited thus far, because they are all really cool places and I want you to know about them.

The Genocide Museum: This was our first visit. It's a museum describing the civil war that preceded the genocide, the breakdown of the Arusha Peace Accords, and the genocide itself. It was really informative, but also intense, including the stories of individuals who were buried alive (the chains they were tied with were displayed in the museum), videos of survivors telling their stories, and rooms and rooms full of pictures of people who were killed. The museum is surrounded by beautiful gardens where many victims have been buried, and I am grateful that they have been laid to rest in such a peaceful place.

Gisozi & Ntarama: These are two churches where massacres occurred, which have now been turned into memorials. During the genocide there were many massacres in churches. Tutsis fled there en masse because they believed that no one would kill them in a church. They were wrong. Today the clothes and other personal effects of thousands of victims are on display in Gisozi, almost 10,000 in Ntarama. The clothes of people who were killed there, stained with blood and dirt from the mass graves they were thrown into, cover the benches of the church, claiming forever the seats where a congregation once worshipped. I do not understand how someone could do something so horrible in a church.

Institute for Research and Development for Peace: This place was really cool. It's an NGO that conducts group interviews with people all over the country, discovering how everyday citizens of all groups feel about important issues such as education, justice, and ethnicity. They record each of their interviews and make them into documentaries, one of which we got to watch. It was very enlightening, and I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to hear more about what Rwandans think and feel, even if it was indirectly. My favorite thing about this group is that after the interviews they consolidate the various opinions and into one report, which they then present to government officials, keeping them informed on what the population is thinking so that they can meet people's needs better. It was a very cool example of how representative democracy might better keep in touch with grassroots opinions.

Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village: This is a beautiful place located about an hour outside of Kigali. It was started by a New York woman who heard about the genocide and wanted to do something to meet the needs of the many orphans it left behind. Inspired by similar villages created in Israel after the Holocaust, she began the process of creating Agahozo, which is today home to 500 orphans and other vulnerable children. They find children for the school by going into each sector or the country and asking community leaders to identify the most vulnerable children in the community, not only orphans, but children who have been abused, whose parents can't adequately care for them, etc. After assessing each child's situation, they choose only the most needy, because the village only has room for 500 children. Agahozo is also a secondary school, so children must be around age 15 and have finished primary school, otherwise they would not be able to keep up academically. Once at Agahozo, children are given therapy to whatever degree they need it, because the philosophy of the village is to heal the heart and then to go out and heal the world. Therefore the first few years children are at the village focus on healing their wounds and ensuring them that they are now in a secure environment where all of their needs are met, and the last two are oriented towards community service and learning to be an active citizen in their communities. It is also set up to feel as much as possible like a family environment, with children living in houses in groups of about 15. Each house has a house mother who lives there, and every night they have family time where they all come together to talk about the day. Students who share houses are called brothers and sisters, encouraging the feeling of family. Students do not leave the family once they graduate; there is a guest house reserved for any alumni who want to come back and visit, and the staff works to create lifelong relationships with the students that they can always count on. I could say so much more about this village. I was very impressed by the way their philosophy pervades every aspect of life at Agahozo, and by the way they combine individual healing of the students with educating and encouraging them to contribute to the healing of the larger community.

I think we visit places more often than we have lectures. It's a very useful way to learn how Rwandans are coping and where the country is 17 years after the genocide. We will be visiting more cool places this week, so there will be more to come soon!