Exploring Rwanda's Path to a Sustainable and Just Future
After many years of hearing from our students and Professor Drew Kahn about how their yearly trips to Rwanda were truly transformative, I had an opportunity to see this amazing country with my own eyes.
In late September, Professor Kahn took a delegation to Rwanda to connect with their social justice agenda and to explore the policies and attitudinal changes since the genocide of 1994. I had the pleasure to be among SUNY administrative colleagues, leaders from Partners in Health, representatives of the Kellogg Foundation, and those from Akaye, Haiti, who were interested in what they could learn from Rwanda.
Rwandans families learning about health and nutrition
Each day of this short trip was filled with experiences and stories that I continue to relive and digest. Among the many highlights were three I will mention here.
1. It was wonderful meeting the minister of education, Eugene Mutimura, and his staff. From these colleagues, I learned of the central place Rwanda is giving education as a tool for future success. They described the primary, secondary, and higher education segments and how they were meeting the challenges head-on. Of particular interest was how eager they were to collaborate with SUNY in general and Buffalo State in particular. This opening will be fertile ground for future discussions between SUNY and the Rwandan ministry.
With the Minister of Education, Eugene Mutimura and SUNY Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs, Sally Crimmins Villela
2. The sobering visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial still haunts me. This site is not only a museum documenting the genocide, its causes, and the movement forward for Rwanda, but it is also a burial site. More than 250,000 men, women, and children are buried there. It was truly sacred ground as we realized both the depth of the suffering and the many ways Rwanda is ensuring that this will never happen again. This visit also included a discussion and framing of the importance of peace studies and striving for peace.
3. The Urukundo Village is a fully sustainable school that has completely incorporated “drama-based education.” It is here that AFP students and faculty return each year to work with teachers and provide training to reinforce how story can be used as an effective mechanism to teach all subjects. The school is led by Arlene Brown, who is affectionately called “Mama” by all. Her dedication, passion, and love for teaching her students were transparent. It was wonderful to see how the community was connected so positively with Buffalo State and how Professor Kahn was a “rock star” in Rwanda.
At the Urukundo Village
The trip was filled with many memorable moments, but today these three stand out as ones I will never forget.
