SIT/Hendrix College Rwanda Consortium: Semester Study Abroad Program

Homestays

Student at a Rwandan homestay

Share daily life with a Rwandan family. Be immersed in a local community.
Students will spend several weeks living with a carefully chosen host family in Kigali becoming directly integrated into Rwandan culture and social life. Students are encouraged to participate fully in their host family’s daily activities and to observe the norms and values of Rwandan culture. Living with a family provides an excellent opportunity for students to enhance their Kinyarwanda language skills and learn how to communicate with the local community.

Homestays also provide further context and perspectives that inform the issues students will be studying in the classroom. Most of the program’s host families suffered a loss in the 1994 genocide, giving students an excellent context in which to see how Rwandans are negotiating the challenges of genocide remembrance as they struggle to redress their personal lives and contribute to the restoration of peace and development in their country.

SIT designs homestays to reflect the full diversity of local communities, and families typically represent a variety of occupational, economic, and educational levels. 

Other accommodations during the program could include hostels, guest houses, and small hotels.