Rwanda Day 2

Day 2
After no missed alarms we awoke for breakfast. We were given a brief history on the different aspects of Rwanda living. We were then taken on a tour around Kigali. We got to see the contrast of of how they live, looking at the rich to the poor. We noticed the development taking place of high rise buildings in down town Kigali. All the kids were happy to wave as we went past and shouted Muzungu! (Westerner)

We stopped at Caribu for a buffet lunch for a variety of local delicacies. Including, sweet potato, rice, peas, green banana, beef and deep fried cauliflower.

Once our stomachs were full we went to one of the many genocide memorial centres,which was situated in the district of Gisozi. It was opened in 2004 to mark the 10th anniversary of the genocide. Its hard to describe the emotional feelings that are felt while walking around the gardens and inside the centre. We were taken on the journey through the history of Rwanda dating the events before, during and after the genocide. There were personal testimonies and pictures from the survivors about their own accounts of what happened and why. There was a display encasing the remains of the victims, some showing the damaged bones of a tortured death. Also, recovered clothes, used weapons and chains that had been used to bind a couple who were buried alive. In the gardens there were a number off mass graves that are left unsealed as remains are still being discovered around Rwanda. In remembrance of the fallen they have paid tribute by planting a number of trees to represent different meanings. Such as, Cacti for self protection, roses for beauty and acacia tree for shade. They placed elephant figures to represent the memory and never forgetting the ones that have been lost. Although a lot of the remains cannot be identified, for those that were a wall of names have been erected in their honour. They are conscious that many more names are yet to be added, so space has been left. The one thing that struck us was that most names were the same showing large numbers of families that were cruely wiped out.

After returning back to the guest house we reflected on our day together in groups of 4 to discuss how we felt and talk openly about our experience.