We are here
As I fly down a steep road holding on to my moto seat for dear life, I actively work to prevent myself from grabbing the young Rwandan man that I am snuggled up behind as he focuses on sneaking his way through a Toyota and a public minibus. I have officially landed in Rwanda. This land rightfully dubbed "the land of 1000 hills" hosts some of the most extraordinary scenes a person can imagine - and we haven't even seen the Village yet!
After two intense days of training and learning about Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in our NYC office, I, along with six of the seven other fellows, began our long plane ride from New York to Qatar (where my 12-year-old seat mate puked for a total of 8 of the 12 hour ride) to Uganda, before arriving in Kigali. ASYV has a house in Kigali where fellows and staff can spend their weekends off. This is where we have been staying for the past week while we explore the city, meet the staff and get to know a few students.
Remembering the Past
While us new fellows felt that we were becoming a bit more knowledgable about the ins and outs of the Village and present day Rwanda, we still struggled to understand the history of the country, specifically the Rwandan Genocide that took place in 1994 and its legacy. We visited the Rwandan Genocide Memorial and two churches where mass killings took place. Over 100 days, 1,174,000 people were murdered, consistently primarily of Tutsis and moderate Hutus. That's 10,000 murdered every day, 400 every hour, 7 every minute. At one point we were in an underground exhibition, surrounded by thousands of exposed skulls and human bones - I still cannot exactly express how I felt at the moment - but it was some mix of an eery presence and immense emptiness.
Most Rwandans do not speak about the Genocide and they do not identify as a Hutu or Tutsi. More than anything, I was fixated on the country's ability to move past the horrible events that took place during those 100 days - moving forward with forgiveness in their hearts and open arms to their fellow countrymen and women. While there is still residual trauma that lives within the Rwandan people, the ability to forgive has proven a strength of the country - one that, I feel, many other countries can learn a lot from.
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
That night was Christmas Eve. Rwandans are generally very religious (Christian), so we joined in on the festivities with some pasta and Israeli salad + avocado, along with the classic getting to know each other questions and games, as well as a mix of funny banter and intellectual conversations sprinkled throughout. I made makeshift Christmas stockings (see below) filled with chocolate and sparklers. We also lit a menorah for the first night of Hanukah. It was pretty much perfect.
For Christmas Day, we spoiled ourselves with a day of relaxation at the Hotel Mille Collines - the hotel that the movie "Hotel Rwanda" was based on. We did not notice one sign, anywhere, that acknowledged the movie or the Hotel's role in the Genocide, which I found very interesting.
Here we come ASYV
Tomorrow we head to the Village for a few final days of training before our first-year enrichment students come on Thursday. This group consists of 128 ninth graders (between ages 14-17) who come from some of the most vulnerable families in Rwanda. I will be a cousin to a family of 20 girls. While nervous to serve in this unique mentor role, I am beyond excited to be challenged in such a new way.
On another note, the mosquitos in Rwanda are ferocious. Evidence provided here (hint: my eye):
Kinyarwanda is hard. The end.