From Lost to Found:

The chance to be able to travel to Africa is always seen as a once in a lifetime trip for those in America who come from African descent, so to be able to have the opportunity to take this up as a study abroad will forever be ingrained in my heart.

Beyond that as I am a black woman in America and I also take many Africana Studies classes, I yearned to embrace my people who’ve never been stripped from their homeland. To be able to know what my life could be like if I knew where I originated from, what status my family could have been in the community or tribe and what my beliefs and morals would be like instead of coining some of those of a white man favored America, would allow me to become more at peace within myself.

Being a part of the Anne Frank Project and being a media production graduate student, I have gained skills over the course of these four years that have prepared me for a moment like this by being able to document my own story as well as learning others to capture the human experience of interaction between two opposite sides of the world. I aspire to be able to create bonds and memories with other young girls and boys like me who share my same spirit, hobbies, or interests.

Through the unique Study Abroad program in Rwanda, AFP (Anne Frank Project) teaches students to facilitate Story-Based Learning, enable them to participate in authentic cultural expeditions, and immerse them personally in Rwanda’s reconciliation process following the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda.  To learn more about AFP, click this link. 

The end goal of each Rwanda delegation is to be able to take ourselves out of the perspective of an American point of view of self-centeredness and violence and instead, take on the lived experience of those in Rwanda ------who've faced such intense atrocities such as genocide ------and created a world for themselves based on reconciliation.

Following the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, the military victory of the Tutsi-dominated political front known as the "Rwandan Patriotic Front" led by President Paul Kagame decided to lead with a new approach based on unity and reconciliation. This approach led to the creation of a new constitution emphasizing Rwandan people' equality and discouraging any kinds of public identification based on ethnic grouping in order to promote social cohesion.

Genocide perpetrators were subjected to separate legal proceedings. The United Nations established an International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to hear trials against the genocide's perpetrators, while the national legal system focused on those who planned it. The majority of other cases went to gacaca courts, the Kinyarwanda term for "grass," which were a community-led justice system based on an indigenous way of conflict resolution in which groups congregated in public locations to address local problems.

Thirty years later and celebrating Kwibuka (a Kinyarwandan term that means "to remember"), The Country of a Thousand Hills has been thriving from building a more advanced community to embedding values of equal treatment, forgiveness and paving paths forward.

Walking in the shoes of another requires a lot of courage, bravery, and, most importantly, empathy. Experiencing life as a Rwandan for two weeks taught me what it meant to live on a daily basis as someone who has faced devastating defeat and, rather than giving up, has flowered into the embodiment of perseverance. I paired my Story Map with SDG #16 because the advancement of Rwandan culture to have reconciliation at the foundation of their country shines through. From the nice people you meet, the way their government operates to the progressing architecture. Society as a whole could learn a lot from The Country of a Thousand Hills.

Day 1 & 2:

— We visited Nyamata Genocide Memorial—one of the churches where Tutsi were hiding from the perpetrators— and this was a memorial/ museum that I’ll never forget. As we approached the front doors, there were bullet fragment holes in the roof of the church which I had never saw before. Entering through the doors, our tour guide made it known to us that the clothes of the victims would be seen all throughout the memorial. I was informed of this by one of the AFP staff, but I was unaware that the coffins of the victims as well as their bodies, would be within the memorial.

This made my experience surreal and beyond shocking because they had immortalized this tragedy within those four walls instead of making it neat and more so “PG-13”. It allows one to embrace the reality of the situation and also picture themselves/their loved ones in the shoes of the innocent. I have little cousins, siblings and more, so even seeing baby clothes as well as knowing the baptism tub for babies was used to smash their heads against it, honestly hurt my feelings deeply.

In the back of the church, an underground burial site was created to place more of the bodies somewhere. Going down there, we seen the bodies stacked up on top of one another, which symbolized the Hutus (the perpetrators) stacking the bodies of the victims on top of one another. Walking inside there are notes left behind by the victim’s family members who have said their prayer or sent condolences to them. Some of the caskets were closed, but some of the coffins were cracked open showcasing the skulls and bones of multiple people. Knowing that I am accustomed to death, it did not deter me away but allowed me to sympathize/marvel at what once was a beautiful living soul, now stripped of life and withering away.

This day will forever be embedded in my heart and mind.

Day 4 & 5:

As we traveled Rwanda, one of our destinations was to the Urukundo Learning center in Muhanga. This is one of the top schools in Rwanda which was created by a white woman who calls herself Mama (due to one of her occupations of being an orphanage mother to kids in Rwanda years before). Upon visiting the center for three days in a row, we were always greeted with the kindest and beautifully spirited children and staff. The staff were open minded to the activities we brought for them to learn to implement in the class. Just as we were to be learning from them and how they direct their classes.

I made a few friends from the staff — Hoziana, Jane and Theophile. We will stay in touch but mainly Hoziana and me, she was basically my best friend those past few days. Aside from the teachers, the children were nothing but lovely. They walked us around the school, introducing us to their friends, translated for us whenever we couldn’t understand someone and played along with us.

I found one boy named “Lucky” who gravitated towards me and I to him. He was so sweet and stayed underneath me whenever he could. I started calling him my brother and he accepted me as his sister. We will always share these memories together and hopefully I’ll see him again someday. I will reach out to the Urukundo directors in the U.S. and see if they can keep us in touch to grow our newfound sibling relationship.

We traveled to Nyungwe National Park which is not too far from the border of Democratic Republic of Congo. On our way there we saw multiple army men who're there to protect the people from Rwanda from those wishing to enact the same malicious crimes again crossing from the border. This was something I had never saw before such as how they carried their guns. They were huge guns that quite scared me, but nevertheless I knew they were protecting us.

Along the way we also ran into some Baboons while who were walking alongside the roads. They were cute from sitting behind a glass window, but I know if we right next to them, then that would be another story. As we got to the national park, the air became colder since we were higher up in the mountains. We were amazed to see such sights from the beautiful trees to even seeing few animals.

We walked the trail to our most important destination--The Canopy Bridge. Upon our arrival, there was seen to be three bridges. Two smaller ones and one long path bridge hanging over a large section of the forest. That one scared me the most because I have a fear of heights, but I decided being the first to go across was better than being the last. As we got to the largest bridge I kept praying while walking, hoping the Universe would get me over without panicking. I kept my eyes forward on reaching my end point and went at a steady pace. The walk felt like forever in my mind, but in the end it was probably only 45 secs to 1 min.

Knowing that I had the AFP village with me and my friends helped me to have courage in myself to make it over. With all their supportive words, I didn't hesitate to trust the journey getting across.

Day 12:

Today was a day full of hard work. We visited Azizi life and spent a day in the life as a rural Rwandan. From the peeling of the cassava plant, hoeing the fields and fetching water, it showed me how difficult but rewarding it is for most people in Rwanda. The women were content with their place at the co-op and their village is more like a family from what it appears. Knowing that long ago my ancestors had to do similar acts and that it could’ve also been my life if not for slavery, makes me feel connected with those who came before me. I was humbled in my experience and appreciated every moment with those beautiful women.

After finishing my study abroad, I've been reflecting on how this experience has affected my perspective on life. Given that I had recently completed my bachelor's degree and was about to embark on the next chapter of my life, I was curious about what the future held for me. Not only that, but as an activist, I'm curious how I may contribute to positive change in the world. The opportunity to fly across the world back to the Motherland and actively immerse myself in Rwandan culture demonstrated to me that I have a calling to become a humanitarian.

Learning about genocides, wars, and social injustices all across the world saddens me and makes me feel useless, knowing that I am only one person with little power. However, by collaborating with individuals who share my beliefs or standing in solidarity with those I am unable to reach in these developing nations, I may make a difference by educating those around me and persuading them to tell their stories and learn more about these situations.