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Proposed Itinerary
Topics of discussion for the professional
meetings are provided by the delegation leader and
are modified to the specific interests of delegates.
A final, detailed itinerary will be provided
approximately 30 days prior to departure.
The professional counterparts you meet throughout
the program will be invited to join the delegation
for a meal to allow further interaction between you
and your hosts. A final detailed itinerary will be
provided approximately 30 days prior to departure.
Friday, Day 1: Depart from Washington Dulles
Saturday, Day 2: Arrive in Kigali
Kigali is the capital of Rwanda situated almost in the center of the country. The city is built on interlocking hills which progressively converge and are separated from each other by large valleys giving them oval shapes. At the time of independence in 1962, only about 4,000 people lived here. Since then Kigali has grown rapidly, and today contains almost 1 million residents.
Program briefing: Discuss the political and cultural diversity of Rwanda and receive further information on the delegation
Enjoy a city tour of Kigali: Visit the Kandt Museum, tour old commercial and Muslim quarters, discover landmarks from during and after the genocide, and visit new government and residential areas.
“I expected to find a country overshadowed by a dark emotional cloud. Instead, I found a people focused on the future—with a positive, bright spirit, and energies vigorously applied to change, to building and growing into more than they’ve been.
“The take-away message conveyed to me by one young Rwandan man was ‘We’re ok…we’re safe…we are not Hutu and Tutsi, but all one people—Rwandans—and should work together as Rwandans to solve our problems.’ The Rwandans I met are appreciative of assistance, but are not looking for a hand-out. Rather they respond, when asked, with a request for teachers to show them how to do for themselves. And they believe in accountability—for their history and for their future.”
Dr. Constance Haan, Citizen Ambassador Programs Delegate
MIU to Rwanda, September 2007
Sunday, Day 3: Kigali
Delegates will continue their city orientation with a visit to the Camp Kigali Genocide Memorial, the government office section of Kigali, and a drive by the new American Embassy.
You will stop at Camp Kigali, the venue of the massacre of 10 Belgian UN Blue Berets on the first day of the genocide. Under the command of Canadian General Romeo Dallaire, they were deployed to guard the house of moderate Prime Minister Agatha Uwilingimana. After the violence began, Presidential Guard soldiers invaded the home, disarmed the Belgians and transported them to Camp Kigali where they killed them. Today, the Camp is a Belgian commemoration site that hosts a small museum and provides you with a first introduction to the horrible events of 1994.
Afternoon Professional program focusing on:
- How has Rwanda begun to overcome its bloody history?
“‘If you wait for your neighbor to give you seeds, you will miss the growing season.’ I found this to be a revealing comment about Rwandans “can do” attitude in the face of tremendous challenges. I came away with a great deal of respect for how the country is conducting itself. And I wondered if the United States would manage itself as well under similar circumstances.”
Lisa Erickson, Citizen Ambassador Programs Delegate
MIU to Rwanda, September 2007
Monday, Day 4: Butare and Gitarama
Your activities will center around exploring the cities of Butare and Gitarama. Butare is well-known for its distinct atmosphere that comes from being a university town and center for culture. Gitarama is the second-largest city in Rwanda, and is situated in the center of the country, to the west of Kigali.
Professional program focusing on:
- What role has education played in Rwanda’s emergence from its recent dark past into a brighter tomorrow?
After lunch the delegation will enjoy a brief stop at COPABU. The delegation will have an introduction to an exemplary local handicrafts cooperative and some opportunity to shop.
Your last stop of the day is a visit to the Urukundo Home for Children. Founded by Arlene Brown, a 77 year old Pennsylvanian, the Urukundo Home for Children is a safe refuge for orphans of genocide and HIV/AIDS. Arlene will share her life story with the delegation as well as her plans for expanding the home to accommodate more than 100 children. The delegation will enjoy dinner with the children of Urukundo.
“In one week we managed to meet more inspirational people, visit more NGOs and nonprofit groups and see more sights than I ever would have been able to do in a month on my own. People to People's efforts to support the responsible tourism industry in Rwanda represent the icing on the cake for Rwanda's growth as a nation.
No where else have I met such hard-working and forward looking people sharing the similar goal of improving the country as whole by decreasing poverty, increasing health care and nutritional education, addressing women’s rights and building the economy. Without participating in the People to People delegation, I would not have been able to appreciate the many ways in which the country and its people are progressing, nor would I have understood the depth of this progress and how far reaching it is.”
Angela Cerkevich, Citizen Ambassador Programs Delegate
MIU to Rwanda, September 2007
Tuesday, Day 5: Gisozi
A burial site with over 250,000 victims of genocide is located in Gisozi, a suburb of Kigali. It includes a main historical exhibition, a children’s memorial exhibition, and an exhibition on comparative genocide. Rwandans are in the process of institutionalizing their history, and in formalizing its educational mechanisms.
New material on the genocide continues to emerge, and mass graves and family graves are still being discovered. The mechanisms for reconciliation that have resulted are truly astounding and will be a focus of the day as well. Spend the day meeting with a visiting various sites including the
Genocide Memorial Center in Gisozi, a suburb of Kigali. It is a site of burial for around 250,000 victims of the genocide and comprises a main historical exhibition, a children’s memorial exhibition and an exhibition on comparative genocide. It also has over four acres of memorial gardens containing ten mass graves.
Professional program focusing on:
- What policies are being pursued by the government currently that it feels we will move Rwanda forward?
“The intense work that’s going into reconciliation and healing, the frenzied rebuilding of infrastructure, the overall optimism and warm friendliness of the people is impressive. And the dark shadows cast by the genocide that still linger were far more wrenching of my emotions than I could’ve anticipated... The keys to a better future were education and the elimination of poverty, major players in the climate of hatred that led to the genocide.”
Sheila Finch, Citizen Ambassador Programs Delegate
MIU to Rwanda, September 2007
Wednesday, Day 6: Bugesera District
Professional program focusing on:
- What are the cultural values that impact Rwandan society and how are these found in its educational system?
Explore the Nyamata Church Genocide Memorial and also visit to the Millennium Village in Mayange to gain unique insight into the country’s development challenges and means to achieving poverty reduction and sustainable development. The
UN Millennium Villages Project is a partnership of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Millennium Promise, ten African governments and their respective local representations, a variety of donors, and a few country-specific partners. The objective is to show how the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be achieved in only five years, and to offer these insights to the global community as best-practice case studies.
Among the projects at the village are farms and gardens, a terracing and dam project, a primary school, a health center, and a micro-enterprise development project.
“I was so inspired by the sense of hope that prevails in the country that they can rebuild their country and reunite their society. I would like to go back to Rwanda and see their Vision 2020 come to fruition.”
Citizen Ambassador Programs Delegate
MIU to Rwanda, September 2007
Thursday, Day 7: Transfer to Gisenyi, Lake Kivu
After breakfast visit the street children project Les Enfants de Dieu in Ndera, about 20 minutes from Kigali. This unique project is modeled after the Rwandan government. Street children are elected to seven ministerial offices forming a government of children. The government makes all decisions regarding the running of the farm, education of the population, and other issues regarding the day to day operation of the project.
“Visiting Rwanda with People to People Ambassador Programs is one of the best things I have ever done. This experience has touched me in ways too varied and numerous to mention. The delegation allowed us to experience the heart and soul of a country through interacting with its people. Digesting the enormity of the genocide through the words of survivors pointed out the profound evil that had enveloped that country festering for decades.”
“If you want an experience that will immerse you in real Africa, where you can see, hear, and feel the lives of people, take the journey to Rwanda.”
Mary Lou Powell, Citizen Ambassador Programs Delegate
MIU to Rwanda, September 2007
Professional program focusing on:
- How has reconciliation been accomplished and are there lessons here for others?
Lake Kivu is one of the 20 deepest and most voluminous freshwater bodies in the world. The lake was formed about 2 million years ago around the end of the Tertiary period due to heavy tectonic activities. Its surface has an altitude of 1,470m.
Friday, Day 8: Gisenyi
Professional program focusing on:
- What are the big thrusts in Rwandan education and how are they being implemented?
“I never would have had such a life changing and eye opening experience without my travel to Rwanda through People to People…it was much more than a tour or even a cultural exchange; it was a profound change in personal perspective and for that I am very grateful.”
Angela Cerkevich, Citizen Ambassador Programs Delegate
MIU to Rwanda, September 2007
Saturday, Day 9: Depart
Return to Kigali. Depart on your international flight early this afternoon.
Sunday, Day 10: Arrival in US
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