Rwanda: Post-Genocide Restoration and Peacebuilding

Educational Excursions

Students visit a housing project built by genocide perpetrators for genocide survivors.

Program excursions in Rwanda and northern Uganda provide students with extensive exposure to the region. Students engage with critical issues in reconciliation and redevelopment firsthand and apply concepts introduced through coursework and field exercises.

Excursions sites in Rwanda typically include:

Murambi Genocide Memorial - a technical school where 50,000 Tutsi were killed
Gisozi Genocide Memorial and Information Center - informative memorial site with a mass grave outside, a peace garden for reflection, and a comprehensive exhibition on the Rwandan genocide and other genocides of the 20th century
TIG (Traveaux pour l'interet general) - a work camp where convicted genocide perpetrators complete community work
A women's association where victims of the genocide whose husbands were killed work together with women whose husbands are in prison for committing genocide
Nyamatta and Nyatarama Genocide Memorials - two churches in the vicinity of Kigali where mass killings took place
Millennium Village - peace and reconciliation village. Students visit with cassava farmers and basket weavers and experience cultural dances and local food.
Habyarimana's Residence - the residence where the plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down. This event was the onset of the 1994 genocide.

Excursion to northern Uganda
During the program's two-week excursion to northern Uganda, students have lectures by Ugandan academics, visit a memorial site, witness the aftermath of conflict by visiting an IDP (internally displaced people's camp), and experience everyday life in this post-conflict region.

Sites typically include:

Gulu Concerned Parents Association - an organization of parents whose daughters have been abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army and who provide emotional, psychological, and economic support to families affected by conflict
Kitgum Straight Talk Foundation - an organization devoted to educating adolescents on growing up, staying safe, reproductive health issues, life skills, and sexuality. Students visit the people of the nearby camp for internally displaced people in Orom, talk to youth leaders, community members, and practice interview skills.
Baker's Fort - former place of the slave trade. The fort was captured by Sir Samuel Baker who established a garrison to fight slavery and the slave trade in the years 1872-1888.
Nakivale Refugee Camp - a refugee camp housing Rwandese, Somali, Sudanese, and Congolese refugees.
Murchison Falls National Park - Students will be able to spot wildlife on an early morning game drive through this national park. A boat trip upstream the River Nile reveals a beautiful view of a stunning waterfall.

Credits: 16

Duration: 15 weeks

Program Base: Rwanda, Kigali

Language Study: Kinyarwanda

Prerequisites: Coursework in conflict theories recommended. Read more...