In Country Orientation

I had a fantastic 3 days in Kigali! It was a great way to start the trip and we were very spoiled... We did lots of lounging and we ate delicious food! The first night we were with Sung Kyu , two students from INATEK, Eric and Obed, and Manu, a UBC graduate that was helping Sung Kyu with our in-country orientation. We went for dinner at an Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel. All of the restaurants that we went to in Kigali were very unique because they are all converted from houses. The backyards were covered to make a patio that was usually oddly shaped to make use of the space and the lighting was always very dim so you get candles on your table which makes for a delightful combination. We did a lot of walking around in downtown Kigali on the first full day with Sung Kyu and the INATEK students as our guides. We went to a lounge called Shokolah for lunch (we ended up going there quite a bit! twice a day sometimes. I’ll put up a picture) and we went for Indian food for dinner with Manu.

 On Saturday morning we were invited to go to church with a friend that Sung Kyu met in Kibungo. The church was in a more rural area of Kigali so it was our first glimpse at village life. Everyone was very friendly and the church service was very nice, the only downside was that it was mostly in Kinyarwanda (although we had some young guys translating the sermon into English for us) and it was 5 hours long! We went out for fantas and cake after the service with the Sung Kyu’s friend and his family. It was very nice. We will probably visit them when we are back in Kigali. We had a late lunch at a cafe downtown and did some shopping before going to another nice restaurant for dinner with Manu and Magnifique (a contact of Judy’s that works for the government as the head of one of the agriculture departments). We will be in touch with him throughout the project.

The view of Kigali from outside our hotel

We went for brunch at Shokolah on Sunday and randomly met one of Manu’s brothers there. He was with a Scottish forensic anthropologist that has been doing work in Rwanda since the genocide. The Scottish man kept us very entertained with stories about his work and travels! In the afternoon we went to the Genocide Memorial Museum, which we later found out Manu’s brother spearheaded, and Manu helped to design.  The museum was very moving and very well done. We all went in together but it was more of an individual experience that we discussed later. The museum takes you through Rwanda’s history—before colonization, during the Belgium rule, independence and the lead up to the genocide. Then it goes into the genocide and talks about the national heroes who helped to save Tutsi’s by hiding them on their property. There were many movies showing interviews of survivors who tell their stories. There is another exhibited dedicated to other genocides around the world, and another dedicated to the children who lost their lives in the genocide. I think we all agreed that the children’s room was the hardest to get through. The land that the museum is on also serves as a cemetery for the people who lost their lives in Kigali. At the moment there are 12 mass graves on the site and every year there are more burials as more bodies are uncovered. All in all the whole experience was very moving, and it ended on peaceful note for me as I left the children’s room and walked out onto the terrace overlooking the garden. From there I could look past the gardens to the mass graves, and beyond to Kigali city where I could see people going about their daily lives and hear people talking and laughing. A reminder that genocide happened and the stories need to be remembered and shared with others, but life is moving forward in Rwanda at a remarkable pace and the people are peaceful.

This is the view from the terrace at the Genocide Memorial Museum

We had a great last meal in Kigali at an Ethiopian restaurant the conversation was fantastic. I’ve already learned so much and met so many great people. I’m looking forward to getting started in Kibungo!