Two things stand out from my time in Kigali: The visit Christelle and I paid to the Genocide Memorial, and the other a visit to Association Mwana Ukundwa.
The Genocide Memorial Center is a modern, interactive museum built on a site where 250,000 people killed in the genocide are buried, detailing the story of the Rwanda Genocide, as well as many other genocides in the history of the world. During about 100 days starting in April 1995 more than 1 million people were killed. We should remember that this mass killing did not happen by sending in armored vehicles or bombs, but it happened one by one, a slaughter of one person at a time by another person. The killings were not the worst part either. Millions more were displaced, systematically maimed, women and girls of all ages intentionally raped and tortured.
The scars are often still visible on people. I met a gentleman who carried a scar as big as my hand on the side of his head where a machete took away the skin and flesh from his skull. Another young lady told me she was adopted by her current family, because she lost every single member of her immediate and extended family. You can read some of the heartrending stories on the Genocide Memorial Center website. Even as I sit here writing about it, I am close to tears as I remember the pain and the strength of those survivors.
The greatest tragedy is that it could have been prevented if the world had paid attention. If you can stomach it, here is a video telling just a little about the impact of that 100 days. If you want to read more about this genocide, you may search the Memorial Center website, or read a fairly accurate account (from what I understand of the situation) in Wikipedia.
The thing that amazed me more than anything else was the deep reconciliation that has taken place and the fervent desire of Rwandese to never allow this level of hate to take over their society again. President Kagame is credited with policies that encourage reconciliation, political stability and economic growth.
A point to ponder was that even after all the times we have said "we will not let it happen again," the roots of genocide is clearly visible in other parts of the world. The UN published a report in 2005 detailing the atrocities committed in Darfur, but said that it could not be called a genocide since the intent did not appear to be "a specific intent to annihilate, in whole or in part, a group distinguished on racial, ethnic, national or religious grounds." This seems to be an issue of technical definition of a term only, since the crimes committed against people in that region are atrocious: 400,000 people killed and 2.5 million people displaced. You can read more about this terrible situation at DarfurScores.org.
Why all of this you ask? If we do not educate our gifted children to be concerned for others and to do what they can to prevent crimes against people groups, genocide will happen again. You can find out more about the topic at Genocide.org.
No, onto the next highpoint of our visit, and one with much more positive energy:
Association Mwana Ukundwa, or "Beloved Child Association", was founded by Mrs Mukankaka Rose, shortly after the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. Mrs. Rose is one of the most impressive people I have had the privilege to meet in my life - a woman of great compassion and entrepreneurial spirit.
During the genocide, Mrs. Rose made a promise to God that if He protected her family she would spend her life doing what He wanted her to do. None of her family perished and she started by gathering 40 orphans and finding foster families for them. She also found support for those families. Today her organization employ 19 people and they provide a range of services: Education, Vocational, HIV/AIDS, Micro Enterprise, and Evangelism. You can read of their accomplishments here. Association Mwana Ukundwa is recognized by the Rwandese government as a non profit organization.
This photograph shows some young ladies using sewing machines to make school uniforms for the children under the care of the Beloved Child Association.
If you are looking for a project that your students can adopt, this is a worthwhile endeavor.
