11:36 AM Central Africa Time - Kigali Memorial Center
"When they said, 'never again' after the Holocaust, was it meant for some people and not for others?" -Apollon Kabahizi
I feel ill; no, I did not drink the water or eat contaminated food. I feel physically ill that immense evil exists in this world. This morning we visited the genocide memorial.
In the early 1900's, Belgium assisted in the colonization of Rwanda. The Rwandan people had been divided into three social classes: the Tutsis (who owned 10 or more cows), the Hutus (who owned less than 10 cows), and the Twa (the poorest social class). In 1935, the Belgian authorities assigned identity cards to the Rwandan people, considering the classes to be distinct races rather than social classes. Tension grew between the majority Hutus and the Tutsis, leading to the Hutus overthrowing the Tutsi monarchy in the late 1950s and establishing a Hutu-led republic. Thus began oppression of the Tutsis and tension between the two ethnic groups leading up to the April 6, 1994 assassination of Hutu president, Juvénal Habyarimana. This outraged the Hutu extremists and spun the Hutu militia groups into the mass killing of Tutsi people regardless of age or gender. Over the course of approximately 100 days, an estimated over 1 million people (out of a total Rwandan population of just over 7 million) were brutally murdered in some of the most inhumane ways possible. Their bodies were slashed to pieces by machetes, women were beaten and raped by men known to be HIV positive and were purposely left alive to suffer, and others were beaten and killed by clubs.
The downstairs section of the museum told the history of the genocide. There were rooms filled with skulls, bones, ID cards, and other personal items found on the murdered bodies. Upstairs there was a room dedicated to the children who lost their lives, which included photos, short bios, and their cause of death. Outside were the memorial gardens and mass graves containing the bodies of more than 250,000 individuals (and counting). As Hutu extremists are being convicted, they are continuing to reveal places where they dumped bodies. The following are pictures of the mass graves and memorial gardens. [I was unable to take my camera inside (you have to pay to do so), but this album was taken by a past Visiting Orphans teammate.]
Fun fact: the tour guide told us that cactus is used as a metaphor for the Rwandan people. They have to be able to band together and protect themselves from future tragedy:
At one point of the tour, I stopped dead in my tracks and froze. Although the images were making me queasy, I could not peel my eyes away from a slideshow of graphic images and videos of people being beaten and their scars, wounds, and rotting flesh. I had prepared myself for the trip by reading about Rwanda and its history (of which the genocide is a major part) and by watching the movie Hotel Rwanda, which tells the story of a Hutu hotel manager who housed and saved over a thousand Tutsis, including his wife and two children. Despite my mental preparations, the museum was still a shock.
This story does have a happy ending. Rwanda is a beautiful country. My pictures will not do it justice. The country no longer reeks the stench of death. The sun shines brightly over the green hills. There is evidence of healing. The people take pride in their country and can be found along the edges of the streets cleaning and landscaping (usually by machete). The city of Kigali is alive- the sidewalks are polkadotted with people and the streets are flooded with traffic.
There are gorgeously landscaped roundabouts everywhere.
Gas merely appears to be incredibly expensive. In reality, the current exchange rate is 608 Rwandan francs to $1. That makes this gas less than $2 per gallon.
There are Mercedes everywhere! Even the work trucks are Mercedes! Something tells me they cost a lot less in Rwanda than they do in the states.
The lane markers in the streets are merely suggestions. Motorcycle cabs are all around, weaving between cars, vans, and buses. In the midst of what Americans would consider chaos, somehow bikes, cars, and people coexist, often side by side in the same lane of traffic. They are also really onto something with traffic lights that count down the remaining time!
The people are incredibly friendly and hospitable. And for the record- yes- people really do carry baskets full of fruit and massive stacks of various items balanced on top of their heads. It is so impressive!! Perhaps I'll start practicing. haha.
Also, they tend to call white people "mzungus" [muh-zoon-gooz] (AKA "foreigners"). My goal is to be a mzungu who can balance things on her head. :o)
5:34 PM Central African Time - Kimisagara Orphanage; Kigali, Rwanda
"If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:3
I feel incredibly loved, incredibly dusty, and incredibly tired- but mostly loved. After lunch, we bought around $800 worth of food and supplies (rice, beans, flour, oil, soap, sorgum) and headed to our first orphanage: Kimisagara.
Kimisagara is at the top of a steep hill that we had to climb by foot while carrying these 25 kg bags. [Fun fact: 25 kg translates to just over 55 lbs]. It was tough, especially considering the higher altitude (approximately 5000 ft as opposed to my usual 700 ft) made me short of breath quickly. I attempted to practice my head carrying skills, but my shoulders were all the higher I was able to lift the bag without hurting myself. haha. The following pictures are some of the views up to and from Kimisagara.
This one goes out to my roommate- a good ol' game of football (AKA soccer)!!
We were practically tackled by kids as soon as we entered through the gates. Almost immediately, two sweet toddler boys named Stephen and Zaccheus attached themselves to me. Zaccheus is on the right of this picture:
And this adorable little guy is Stephen:
This was the orphanage with the most need that we will visit. The only food that they had when we came was a small bag of rice. The $800 worth of food that we brought will last them two weeks. The kids are abnormally lightweight, and it is evident that they are malnourished. What they would have done for food if we had not come is beyond me. They only have half as many beds as they "need," although they put two children in one twin bed, so they really only have a quarter as many beds as they need. The overflow kids sleep on a cold cement floor. The babies hobble around with their onesies unbuttoned because they cannot afford diapers.
The kids are full of joy despite not having much of anything at all. We jump roped, played soccer/volleyball, and danced.
When I sat down on the ground to paint nails, girls and boys alike came swarming to see what I was doing. Everybody wanted their turn. At one point, I think I had about ten kids sitting on my lap. It was hilarious.
Then, Kassie and I learned a dance from a guy named Fred. He ended up giving us bracelets that he makes at the orphanage with various sayings on them. Mine says, "Simply Love." That is exactly what we did today and will be doing the rest of the trip. One of the most heartbreaking things is not being able to communicate with the kids. For the most part, they speak Kinyarwanda. Although they teach school in English, they have only been doing so for a year, so the students are having trouble catching on. Prior to that, they taught classes in French. So, the main speaking language is different than the language that they teach in schools. Although, I hear that a lot of the teachers instruct in Kinyarwanda anyway. Because we cannot communicate with the children very easily, we must simply love them. After all, love is the universal language.
Cameron thanked everyone as we were about to leave while Jane translated. Cameron shared why we were there and we prayed over the orphanage. The director of the orphanage then thanked us for coming and invited us to come back and bring our friends whenever we would like. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but my heart is full.
We ate dinner at a place called "Heaven" that had a beautiful view of the city:
Jane joked around about us needing to repent before we went into "Heaven" to eat. This restaurant was the first one with filtered water, so I was finally able to eat a full meal without worrying about getting sick! Aaand because of that, I ate entirely too much entirely too fast. Food coma city. The team is really starting to bond. We had some great conversation and laughs over dinner.
I'm not even going to pretend I'm not homesick. I miss the simplest of amenities- a bed that is long enough to fit on, not feeling claustrophobic under a mosquito net, brushing my teeth with tap water, and not having to douse myself in bug spray as soon as I get out of the shower. I have not been sleeping well, either. Human snores are a lot harder noises to sleep to than dog snores. I'm tired, but I'm praying that I can rest in Him.
This one goes out to my roommate- a good ol' game of football (AKA soccer)!!
We were practically tackled by kids as soon as we entered through the gates. Almost immediately, two sweet toddler boys named Stephen and Zaccheus attached themselves to me. Zaccheus is on the right of this picture:
And this adorable little guy is Stephen:
This was the orphanage with the most need that we will visit. The only food that they had when we came was a small bag of rice. The $800 worth of food that we brought will last them two weeks. The kids are abnormally lightweight, and it is evident that they are malnourished. What they would have done for food if we had not come is beyond me. They only have half as many beds as they "need," although they put two children in one twin bed, so they really only have a quarter as many beds as they need. The overflow kids sleep on a cold cement floor. The babies hobble around with their onesies unbuttoned because they cannot afford diapers.
The kids are full of joy despite not having much of anything at all. We jump roped, played soccer/volleyball, and danced.
When I sat down on the ground to paint nails, girls and boys alike came swarming to see what I was doing. Everybody wanted their turn. At one point, I think I had about ten kids sitting on my lap. It was hilarious.
Then, Kassie and I learned a dance from a guy named Fred. He ended up giving us bracelets that he makes at the orphanage with various sayings on them. Mine says, "Simply Love." That is exactly what we did today and will be doing the rest of the trip. One of the most heartbreaking things is not being able to communicate with the kids. For the most part, they speak Kinyarwanda. Although they teach school in English, they have only been doing so for a year, so the students are having trouble catching on. Prior to that, they taught classes in French. So, the main speaking language is different than the language that they teach in schools. Although, I hear that a lot of the teachers instruct in Kinyarwanda anyway. Because we cannot communicate with the children very easily, we must simply love them. After all, love is the universal language.
Cameron thanked everyone as we were about to leave while Jane translated. Cameron shared why we were there and we prayed over the orphanage. The director of the orphanage then thanked us for coming and invited us to come back and bring our friends whenever we would like. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but my heart is full.
We ate dinner at a place called "Heaven" that had a beautiful view of the city:
Jane joked around about us needing to repent before we went into "Heaven" to eat. This restaurant was the first one with filtered water, so I was finally able to eat a full meal without worrying about getting sick! Aaand because of that, I ate entirely too much entirely too fast. Food coma city. The team is really starting to bond. We had some great conversation and laughs over dinner.
I'm not even going to pretend I'm not homesick. I miss the simplest of amenities- a bed that is long enough to fit on, not feeling claustrophobic under a mosquito net, brushing my teeth with tap water, and not having to douse myself in bug spray as soon as I get out of the shower. I have not been sleeping well, either. Human snores are a lot harder noises to sleep to than dog snores. I'm tired, but I'm praying that I can rest in Him.
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