I am posting this from AMERICA!!
But, here’s what I typed in Entebbe:
Well folks, I just got back from Rwanda a few days ago. Here, I’ll tell you about what we did and
include some history and explanation about the unique history as well as
hopeful future of this tiny, BEAUTIFUL East African county.
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| The land of 1,000 hills |
So, we left UCU on the
19th, stayed in Kabale, Uganda for the night after 8ish hours in a
bus together, left on the 20th to cross the border (got a new stamp
in my passport!). After reaching Kigali
and eating lunch, we went to the Nyamata Memorial. This was a church site where
about 12,000 people were killed during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. The best
word I can use to describe the site was holy… I honestly felt like I was in a
place as described in the bible where I should take my shoes off due to the
sacredness of the ground. It is
phenomenal that Rwandans are able and willing to memorialize the event and
share it with outsiders, as there are many lessons to be learned. Inside the church, they had laid out the
clothes of all of the victims from the site, and there was a mass grave behind
the church where approximately 45,000 people were buried. An important point to be made about the
genocide in general was that it was not due to ethnic tensions, as all Rwandans
are of the same tribe. Instead, there was a natural social system wherein
people were separated and categorized based on social class, similar to the
Indian caste system. When the Belgians
colonized the small nation of Rwanda (about the size of Maryland), they
monopolized this system and created tensions between the castes, which were the
Hutu and Tutsi. As tensions rose, people
fled and eventually rebel groups began to form to overthrow government…
violence ensued, and the history of that violence is complex, but it culminated
in the 1994 genocide. The genocide
lasted for about 100 days, beginning in April, during holy week, and ending in
July.
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| In front of the Nyamata Memorial |
That night we spent the night in Kigali and on Saturday we
went to the Kigali Memorial. This was a formalized memorial that was very
informational and included 3 exhibits. The first and largest one told the
history of the Rwandan genocide and included pictures and artifacts donated by
families of victims. The next one was a
general genocide exhibit that included information about other genocides that
have happened in world history. The
final exhibit, likely the most difficult was the children’s exhibit where
pictures of children were posted along with their ages and general facts about
them during their lives, like their favorite foods, best subjects in school,
favorite sports, best friends, etc. The
hardest ones to read were the youngest children. Outside, there were memorial
gardens, 14 mass graves, and a wall of names that was only about 20% full as
many families were killed all together and it’s difficult to know the names of
all the victims. The garden was very peaceful and beautiful. There was also a
large group of Rwandans there to bury some more victims that had been found in
the graves. Perpetrators are still coming forward and being tried in local
courts and therefore are revealing where they buried some of their victims. As
they are found, they are then buried, which is why some are still being buried
18 years later.
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| Wall of names |
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| Memorial Garden |
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| Viewing over one of the mass graves |
After that memorial, we travelled to Kibungo, about 2.5
hours, in the southeast of the country.
Saturday night we fellowshipped and on Sunday we were split into groups
and visited 4 different churches. the
church we went was about another hour and a half from where we were staying,
and we could see Tanzania from the church my group visited (I didn't have my camera with me though, oops!)!! The church was so
welcoming and we began by having tea at the pastor’s house followed by the
service where we shared few songs and prayers and a testimony, and the church
shared many, many songs and prayers!! After church we had lunch with the
pastor’s family at his home again, and they were so hospitable and kind, they
were even shoving bananas in my purse as we walked out!! That afternoon, we met
with the bishop who gave us a few kind and encouraging words during tea
time. We stayed in the same place again
that night and then travelled back to Kigali on Monday. We then visited the
Belgian soldier memorial where 9 soldiers were killed at the start of the
genocide this was a strategic move as it discouraged foreigners such as the UN
and the US military from sending troops or other assistance to stop or somehow
impede the genocide. After this short visit, we had some free time in the city
for lunch, coffee, a little internet café-ing, and just chilling before heading
to the shop of a community of local women who make and sell beautiful bags and
other textile crafts such as aprons, pot holders, etc… almost the African Vera
Bradley! That was all for Monday...
...on Tuesday we travelled about an hour to
Azizi Life, an organization sponsored by Food for the Hungry that provides a
market for other Rwandan crafts such as weaving, some wood work and some other
fabric creations. While we were there,
we learned to weave!! It was difficult to do well but a lot of fun. The
material is a natural fiber from a plan that is dried and dyed naturally before
use. It was a really fun day and we were
able to make some purchases after our time with the weavers. The organization’s
purpose is to provide a market, and you guessed it, that market is the U.S.!!
Check out their website: www.azizilife.com. That afternoon we met a businessman at a
coffee shop who works with two other Christian businessmen to consult with
Rwandan businesses who need assistance in improving. They have been working here for about 3
years, and no longer work as missionaries needing support, for their business
is self-sustaining. It is more empowering for the businesses they consult with
that they can pay for the service, and overall this was an encouraging visit
because it showed ways that westerners are making a positive impact on Rwanda rather
than helping in ways that are more harmful.
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| Learning to weave! |
Wednesday, our last full day in Rwanda was spent with CARSA.
This organization works, started and operated by Rwandans, works to reconcile
perpetrators and victims. They do so through meetings with mediators as well as
through community improvement projects together. We were able to assist in this
part as we were split into groups. My group helped a perpetrator-victim pair to
construct a garden for their community. I cannot put into words what it felt
like to work alongside a woman who had been physically injured by and lost most
of her family members to the hands of the man we were also working alongside.
Reconciliation is a beautiful gift from God and we have a lot to learn from
this example of love. The two Rwandans we were with also share the
responsibilities of caring for a cow and once that cow reproduces, they each
have their own cow. So, not only does this help their relationship in that they
have to have team work, but it also allows them to improve their communities
through the income generation created by having cows.
After this experience, we stayed one more night in Kigali
before heading back over the border to Kabale, Uganda where we had lunch at a
restaurant on Lake Bunyoni before heading to Bushara Island where we spent two
nights. On the island, we had our Rwanda
de-brief where we were able to relax and spend time swimming in the lake and
enjoying each others’ company while processing our time in Rwanda.
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| On our way to the island! |
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| Rope swing into Lake Bunyoni! |
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| Beautiful... |
After those two nights we travelled 8 hours on Saturday to
Entebbe, our last destination before home, sweet, home. We stayed in a convent
in Entebbe where we did our final semester debrief. This was a lot of time of
looking back at our experience, pinpointing the lessons God has shown us and the
memories that are most special from our time.
One day, we spent 7 hours in fasting and solitude and were able to
really look back on the semester and seek God about what we’ve learned and
write ourselves a letter about whatever we were dealing with that they will
mail to us in September to remind us of themes of the semester and help
us with accountability regarding changes we desired in ourselves. Debrief was a ton of fun as we enjoyed each others’ company for 4
more days before departing…. We even went to the wildlife center in Entebbe the day we were leaving since we had a late night flight.
Be blessed,
Ruth
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