Rwanda Day 6: Youth Programs & Parliament

This morning we visited Issa's youth center, where we got a tour and were told more about the various programs they have there. They help about 4000 kids at any given time just here in Kigali, and their focus is on (1) health, (2) education, and (3) sports. They combine all three foci in the various programs, as I mentioned before, in things like using soccer to teach conflict resolution. They also use soccer for HIV education, etc. They have a small library, various places for the kids to interact, a place to practice driving a bike or motorcycle, etc. It was a fun visit. We got absolutely mobbed by kids who were on recess from school and who wanted to both practice their English and touch White people. Our guide told us that even though they see a lot of White people, they still enjoy the novelty of touching White skin to make sure it feels the same as their own.

It was nice to spend the morning talking with people who are really working toward positive change and solutions, as an alternative to simply visiting the genocide memorials. I think it's absolutely important to visit the memorials, as a reminder of what happened and that it should never happen again, but simply remembering is passive. For positive change, we need to be active.

After the visit, we stopped by an African buffet restaurant called Karibu (Swahili for "welcome") for a quick lunch, then walked around a neighborhood with grocery stores, a bookstore, etc.

In the afternoon, we were treated to a guided tour of Parliament, which is just across the street from our hotel. You can still see bullet and grenade holes from when the RPF took over the government to end the genocide.

The Rwandan parliament has two houses, similar to the U.S. parliament, and we were able to watch a few minutes of the current session of the Chamber of Deputies (the other house is called Senate). They were discussing and voting on a new law about banking. After they voted, the speaker announced that five professors from BVU were visiting, and they projected our picture on the big TV, asked us to stand, and they all clapped. It was very exciting for us! Thanks to BVU student Sonia and her mother for arranging the tour.

Tonight, the BVU students met us for dinner again, this time at a place called Chez John. It had authentic, local Rwandan food, which is exactly what we wanted. Afterward, we were invited to Cassandra's house for a little after-party. There, I was finally able to try banana beer! We've been reading several books about Rwanda, and all the books said that banana beer is what everyone drinks here. But, whenever I asked about it in restaurants, people just laughed at me and said, "Try asking in someone's home." Apparently it's like moonshine or something, and people just make it in their back yards (there was actually an exhibit about this at the National Museum in Butare). While I wouldn't drink it all the time because it's very strong, it tasted pretty good -- kind of like peanut butter, surprisingly.

It was so nice to spend time with the students again, and their families, and to hear their perspectives about Rwanda and Kigali. We have felt very welcome, and we have many offers of things to do the next time we are here!

Below are photos from the party tonight, Parliament, and the youth program from this morning (again, Blogger won't let me put them in order).