7: Rwandan Reflections

On Day 7, we had an extended travel day, returning from Muhanga to Kigali, and then catching a "Jaguar Executive Coach" to Ddegeya, Uganda. The bus terminal was exciting and the border crossing was remarkably smooth. With little of substance to write about, we asked the students to instead reflect on their major takeaways from Rwanda. They were tasked with speculating on Rwanda's future--where do they see the country headed moving forward? Here are their thoughts:

Ian
Provided that over the coming years, the immense oversight of the Rwandan government continues to breed economic growth, I believe the prospects for Rwanda are promising. I expect the rapid urban growth of Kigali over the past decade, as pointed out by both Eddy, our self-proclaimed Rwanda agent, and Lauren, an expat entrepreneur and former student of Dave, to continue at an explosive rate. Rapid urban expansion should continue to raise land prices and serve as an indicator to foreign investors of Rwanda’s promise. As more foreign corporate investment flows inward, Rwanda should have a large enough local tax based to decrease the government’s dependence upon international aid, a priority expressed not only by former Senator Kamanzi, but also by the officials at the Rwandan social security board and by the ministry of education. The growth of the private sector, and the tax revenue which accompanies, should enable greater access to education and medical care. With more funds, the government should be able to provide better facilities, but the growth of the private sector will hopefully increase the average real wages of the Rwanda public, thus enabling greater access to healthcare and education as more families will be able to afford the mandated health insurance and ancillary fees for the compulsory education. Continued economic prosperity should lead to a healthier, wealthier, and better educated populace; a populace better able to meet the challenges of a 21st century Rwanda.

This prosperity will not be without its pitfalls though. As average purchasing power increases, more families will be able to afford the 100% tariff on cars, thus burdening the country, and in particular Kigali, with the traffic related growing pains experienced by most developing economies. These cars will also require energy. Most of Rwanda’s power comes from diesel generators, and while the government has invested somewhat in solar infrastructure, the expanding population and growing demand for power in what Kagame hopes will become the tech hub of Africa will only increase the air pollution we experienced outside of Kigali. The gravest concern comes from the current government. The economic prosperity of the last decade has helped fuel the cult of personality around President Kagame. His portrait adorned the wall of every government meeting room we saw, and all how spoke of him displayed an aura of reverence about their leader. If his repressive regime maintains the prosperity of the last decade, I worry for when Kagame is no longer head of state. I fear that, much like Tito’s Yugoslavia, that the loss of the government’s central moor could result in a loss of trust in the government, especially if his successor is more tolerant of corruption than Kagame. Without a magnanimous leader at the helm of the repressive state, I fear the discontent which has laid below the surface could fair up and destabilize the balance which Kagame has established. This could be twenty years away, perhaps forty, but the loss of Kagame would cripple the country.

While the state has proved an effective tool for growth in the economy, I believe Rwanda will experience an economic slowdown before the end of Kagame’s reign. This could result from the failure of some of the many gambol currently in play within the Rwandan economy. We saw several new hotels on our travels through Kigali, each of them far below capacity. If the hotels don’t take off, or one of the many gambols doesn’t pan out, foreign investors might lose faith in Rwanda and set their sights elsewhere. Another threat to Rwandan economy could be the growing real estate bubble. As Kigali has grown, some land has increased in value ten fold in the past five years. If the bubble outpaces actual demand, and inevitably pops, I fear a major tremor could shake Kigali and bring the rest of the country down with it. If the economy falters, I fear a similar scenario to the one I described regarding a post-Kagame Rwanda. The primary difference being that Kagame himself would likely use the military and censorship grip even tighter onto his power.  While he might succeed in establishing temporary stability, he would only feed the resentment of his people, a resentment which would likely inspire a similar political situation to Uganda, where many of the remaining vestigaes of democracy are shunt out the window. Regardless of how his successor were to come about, his successor would be in an impossible position, bearing all the pent up misgivings of the exacerbated populace. Kagame and the RPF have miraculously created a stable and prosperous Rwanda. I can only hope the mirage continues.


Annie
Reflecting on our time in Rwanda, I am amazed by the resilience of the country.  After a destructive genocide in 1994, the country has moved past this tragedy.  When we visited the Rwanda Social Security Board, a woman said that “hope is the smallest thing you find in Rwanda.” This struck me as it emphasized this drive that Rwandans have to create a better life in the future.  This causes me to believe that Rwanda will only continue to grow and develop.  When meeting with Lauren, Dave’s former student and a local entrepreneur, she informed us about the growing economic structure and expanding cities.  This gives me the hope for the future that Rwanda will be able to grow and thrive economically in order to lead the way to a booming future.  During our numerous government meetings, I was struck by the unifying belief in the government’s power and in President Paul Kagame.  This belief that government is making the correct decisions for the future has made me realize Rwanda’s full potential.  The peoples’ belief that their country will grow based on the support of the government causes me to belief that Rwanda has a booming future.  Additionally, when we visited the Rwanda Prison Fellowship Reconciliation Village, we saw former victims and perpetrators from the genocide living together.  It amazed me that the people are able to live together without conflict.  It was incredible how well this artificially constructed community was able to thrive.  These various observations have allowed me to believe that Rwanda will continue to thrive in the coming years based on the resilience and growth that I have seen so far.


Dash
Although Rwanda has consistently demonstrated economic growth and political stability in the last decade, Kagame’s success may eventually be his downfall. It may not be his fault; however, I foresee change on Rwanda’s horizon. Over the past six years, Kigali, the capital city, has grown rapidly and urbanized more each year. Listening to Lauren and driving through the smoggy valleys surrounding the city, one cannot deny its growth; in fact, its clean streets and lack of traffic were the only things I ran into that made it hard to believe how quickly it had exploded. Driving past Kigali into the reconciliation village, however, Kagame’s image of prosperity breaks down into shards of poverty. It seemed clear to me, during my stay in a small village through Azizi Life, that people like Alice, my host, were not reaping all the rewards of Kigali’s development. Living in a small home with her mother, sisters, children, and four animals, she has become strong from hauling water and digging up cassava roots, yet for all her hard work she has not developed the skills Kagame’s idyllic country will need. While the Director of STEM in Rwanda’ Ministry of Education, Marie Christine Gasingirwa, had much to say of the country’s efforts to expand education to all children and to provide some additional focus on bringing women into secondary education at higher rates, the family infrastructure needed to support young students is in many areas lacking. Not only are many families fractured by the Rwandan Genocide, the ability of adults, most of whom suffered in their education as a result of the genocide and the ensuing instability, to help even young students, seems limited. While the culture of community and hard work—touched on by the Executive Director of the Rwandan Social Security Board, Dr. Solange Hakiba—will help students, the fact remains that a student returning home to no electricity will have little time to work; a student whose single parent becomes sick will have little ability to go to school; and a student whose family relies on subsistence agriculture, like Rene, Alice’s son, will be hard-pressed to find a donor for his books, uniform, and book bag.

Although many children are able to attend school, those who do not will remain in their villages; in the worst way, Kagame’s focus on aid that will create sustainable opportunities may even hurt those in villages without set and modernized economic systems. After all, a cow is subsistence, but it is not a tool for trade, for development, or for advancement. I think the divide between the educated and the uneducated, especially within families (just think—a parent raised without electricity and a child, given a laptop through Kagame’s “One Laptop per Child Program,” using Facebook), will be great, both culturally and economically. So Rwanda will grow, or rather, some of Rwanda will grow, and some will stay behind, and at what cost? A bigger Kigali, and bigger clouds of smoke surrounding it; a bigger upper class, and a lower class left behind; the same situation, in essence, that often brings about talk of change, or revolution. Those who have the least to lose will have the most to win, especially as wealth disparity grows, and we will see how Kagame responds. He will be torn between investment in flashy programs made for the middle class and for foreign investors, and the more dull, but completely necessary task of raising Rwandans out of poverty. Yet as he toes the line between his people and his country’s image of growth, he’ll have to reconcile his genuine desires to help with his investors’ eyes for growth and opportunity. Eventually, he may have to face the fact that some of them would rather the people stay where they are.


Shantih
A picture of President Kagame’s face hung slightly crooked at the front of our conference room at the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. He watches over everything in modern Rwanda. While the concept of having a leader in office for more than 20 years automatically creates skepticism in my American mind, throughout our meetings, it seems as though everyone loves Kagame. John Rucyahana, president of the commission reminded us that the genocide of ’94 wiped away not only all of Rwanda’s physical structures, but all of the country’s political structures. As leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, which effectively ended the genocide, Kagame had complete control to remake the country. The country was vulnerable and hungry for order of any kind. As our contact from the Rwandan Social Security Board said, no one gained from the genocide. Ex-senator Seth Kamanzi said the country was populated entirely by people who had experienced being a refugee. Kagame took people who had experienced the worst and prioritized order above everything else. 22 years later, he’s created a lot more than order. Using the Rwandese’ sense of community, awareness of what chaos can look like, and strict rules against political dissent, Kagame is taking the country far.

Reconciliation efforts seem to be thoughtfully crafted for the unique issues the country faces post genocide rather than simply re-purposing strategies from other countries. Girls are staying in school longer, fertility rates are down, and access to contraceptives is increasing. Plastic bags are banned from the country. Miraculously, the government has created a widely accepted culture of anti-corruption. Kagame hasn’t done it alone, but has a strict system of accountability for lower government officials to report to him on their progress. One of the most striking aspects of all of this progress is that Kagame and the Rwandan people largely want to do it alone. The government wants to be off foreign aid in the next ten years. Our Rwandan Social Security Board contact seemed to accurately sum up the sentiment of the people saying, “the hand that feeds you will always be above you”. After hearing about all of these successes, it’s become a lot easier for me to understand the people’s love for Kagame. At the same time, I have concerns moving forward.

Most systems have losers. By talking to those with good jobs in the government, we ensured that we talked to winners of Kagame’s system. Because of the country’s lack of free speech, it would have been impossible to meet with the opposition of his rule. There must be people out there who are not being heard and will likely destabilize the country. Additionally, Kagame seems a bit too entrenched in the country. His transition out of office is bound to be messy. It seems possible that he’ll wait too long to leave office, for an event like economic downturn, and fizzle out unceremoniously. I no longer doubt that he’s been great for post genocide Rwanda. At the same time, I feel like he has a very special appeal to the generation of Rwandans that experienced the genocide and see him as the end of those traumatic years. What happens when a new generation of Rwandans populate the country? I hope Kagame leaves in time to leave on a high note and pass off power to someone the country will benefit from in the coming years.


Clarissa
I fell hard and fast for Rwanda. Despite the hard experiences I was introduced to in a haste, I felt a kinship to the country. Especially because of the intense and enthusiastic national pride and unity. I experienced a strong community from the day I arrived that only got stronger as we went through the trip. Rwanda was an intense experience for me. It made me question many of my morals and ideologies. It even made me question my own personal faith. I have never felt a kinship to religion, but prayer felt necessary at the genocide memorial, and was even comforting. The memorials are so intense and thought provoking. At the Gisozi Genocide Museum I was speaking with a survivor that had joined us for the expedition. He and I shared the experience, he did not talk a lot about his experience but I said “I don’t feel sorry because I don’t feel pity. I just feel intensely sad, I feel pain.” And he replied, “I feel pain too”.

The reconciliation village told another story that made me question the entire trip and my purpose here. The reconciliation village was incredibly welcoming to us “Mizongos”, but there were parts that felt fabricated. An old woman bonded with me and wrapped me in her shall, but later asked for my sunglasses. It made me feel uncomfortable and guilty. I wanted to give them and I didn’t, and looking back I felt terrible. I questioned my place in Rwanda. Was I being exploitive and using these people’s lives to learn more about Rwanda or myself instead of contributing anything to the society? I also found out that these people see visitors almost 5 days a week. So our welcome may have been heavily orchestrated and maybe even staged. This definitely an impoverished area, and visitors provide economic incentive to the villagers. This sparked a thought: What if these people are just living in reconciliation for the economic incentive instead of out of forgiveness, community, and choice? Regardless Rwanda has shown me a lot about forgiveness and resilience.

Moving forward, I think Rwanda is in a good place. The country is growing rapidly, especially Kigali. It is becoming a hot spot for business and they are utilizing it. But I worry about the growing city. The rural areas outside the city may be disregarded and leave many homeless or dealing with the hard effects of gentrification. Rwanda has a long way to go but I think it will be more prosperous than a lot of developing countries.

Miguel
While I usually relate stories with brevity, I find myself compelled to expound and expand on my ideas the trip provoked, and relate them to the readers.

Our stay in the hostel was very interesting, with all of the people of various nationalities to be seen. While little conversation happened between us and the other guests, the people-watching aspect was enough. As we pottered through the city on our very busy errands, we had a myriad of views on the city and the country. When we visited government officials, the view was very pro-Kagame and very optimistic regarding the country’s future. The idea of ‘home-grown’ solutions was a very big part of the solution set forward for the country. Kagame also seems to have a bit of a cult-of-personality backing him and his policies.

When we visited the two memorial sites outside of the city-proper, we found them to be very informative in a straightforward way, with very little left to the imagination when knowledge of the two sites was combined to form a bigger picture. We had seen the figure of the fatalities, but until one sees the skulls and the bones and the wounds on them, it is very hard to fully understand the complete decimation that the country experienced, and even with those experiences, it is incomprehensible for anybody in our position. The major memorial was ordered like a museum and the experience was not unlike one. The site was much more manicured than the others, and seemed more like a war memorial that would be present in the states.

While the driving situation was tenuous by U.S. standards, it was quite interesting to see how the horn can be more than a measure of frustration: it can be a language unto itself. The idea of roads having a clear divider down the center seemed to impose more of a nice idea rather than a practice. The rules of the road appeared to be a translation of an Ayn Rand book, with might making right. The final piece of driving was the use of turn signals, or the lack of use as the case may be. Turn signals are typically not used, although they can be, but if they are, they one must use the left turn signal to indicate a right turn, and vice-versa.

Greg and myself are determined to find Kabuga and bring him to justice, searching through the bush and the chateaus in France, pursuing him wherever his funds take him.


Katie
Before first coming to Kigali, I anticipated the country to be in a state of major turmoil resulting from the recent genocide in 1994.  I have had many experiences that lead me to believe different things about the ultimate fate of Rwanda, but in my opinion; the proof in favor of a positive future outweighed the negative. I received a shock when I arrived to find a city with a thriving economy, with limited corruption, and rapid growth. Although the government’s current priority is still reconciliation from the genocide, the major growth of the city in the recent past leads me to believe that this growth will continue in the next 5-10 years.

At first glance, unity within a community does not have many downsides, but as we have seen many times throughout history, strong unity and national identity can have detrimental effects. An example where unity went wrong that came to mind was Tito’s regime in Yugoslavia. When Tito came to power he forced the divided nation of Yugoslavia to forget their previous conflicts and adopt the one and only national identity of “Yugoslav.” This caused the residents of Yugoslavia to suppress their resentment, which later exploded into a genocide that killed thousands. When meeting with the executive secretary of the national unity and reconciliation commission in Rwanda, Fidel Ndayisaba, he stated that unity is the top priority. He also stated that the Hutu and Tutsis, the two major groups in opposition during the genocide, no longer existed and “all were Rwandan.” To me, this was eerily reminiscent of Tito’s saying “all are Yugoslav.” Because of these parallels I was frightened for the future of Rwanda, but that fear was dispelled because of Rwanda’s acknowledgement of the past. As was said by a representative at the prison fellowship, “Forgive, but do not forget.” By realizing the past and not working to repress the stories of those affected by the genocide, the Rwandan government minimizes the risk of future manifestations of pent up resentment.

As a part of the reconciliation efforts made by the prison fellowship to build a new community between the victims and perpetrators of the genocide, reconciliation villages were built where the these people could live side by side. We had the privilege to visit one of the villages, but the overly staged “utopia” left me to feel like the village was not accurately reflected in our experience. Genocidaires and victims spoke about their “total forgiveness” and prosperity within the village, but this was tarnished for me when a genocidaire said that trauma and depression were issues within the village and he was quickly corrected to say that these issues were not relevant in village life. When thinking, and knowing how frequent tourists visit the village, I felt like the people might be staying in the village as a tourist ploy with the incentive of foreign donation. However, through discussion with some of my peers, and one comment in particular from a group leader, Greg, lead me to believe that the progress that has been made is significant and will continue in the near future. Greg said something along the lines of, “Whether are the people in the village were putting on a show for us or not doesn’t really matter because the fact that the genocidaires and the families of those that they killed can build a village and live together without ripping each other apart is remarkable enough.” I think that that in itself is progress and brings me to the conclusion that more progress will follow.

I also foresee positive growth for Rwanda in the near future because of the community focus, which will both serve to support growth as well as reconcile from the genocide. A foreign concept to me is how differently success is measured in Rwanda then it is in the states. In the US, success could be measured by fame or personal wealth; in stark contrast, if someone had those things in Rwanda and did not give any back to their family or community, they would not be considered successful (according to Lauren, a Kigali resident). Also, community service plays a much larger role in daily life.

The Rwandan government has made leaps and bounds in the recent years, and because of emphasis on community and remembrance of the past, I think that this growth will continue into the near future.

Sophie
Since the end of the genocide in 1994, Rwanda has heavily focused on stability in the country and surrounding countries. President Paul Kagame led this push for growth, and he continues to hold almost total control over the country. Under Kagame, many government programs have been created and the country’s stability is better than ever. Chaos has been replaced with order, and in theory, it should be easy to start a business, go to school, get healthcare, etc. After speaking with people at the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, we learned about how healthcare seems easy to receive and why girls now have an easier time going to school. Post-genocide reconciliation efforts have also been strong. We visited a reconciliation village, and we saw firsthand how Rwanda has attempted to bring the country back together. All of these efforts have definitely brought Rwanda to a better place, however, questions still exist in my mind.

We do not necessarily know how all of these changes actually affect the people. How many people really are able to pay for healthcare? How often are girls still forced to skip school due to menstruation or traditional gender roles? Do tensions from the genocide still exist? It is unknown if the successes that we heard so much about are fully accurate or if some have been exaggerated.

One of my biggest worries about the future of Rwanda is the wealth gap that is already defined. We heard from Lauren that Kigali is growing at an insanely fast rate. While many houses are going to be built as the city moves out in the next few years, a high percentage of Rwandans will not be able to afford the new housing. Even when you look around Rwanda now, it is clear that there is income inequality as a few large and luxurious houses will exist next to a village where villagers must spend a great deal of their day just fetching water. While Kagame’s great push for growth is great for stability and governmental programs, it may also shove citizens out of Kigali.

I think one of the largest questions for Rwanda is how Kagame’s exit from office will affect the country. It is completely unknown when that will be, and because many citizens appear to love him, it may be in a while. Although, I am not fully on board with his authoritarian control, which likely stems from my American upbringing, I do recognize that he has brought stability and order to a country that was practically destroyed only 22 years ago. I am hopeful that the Rwandan government will continue the push for stability, though I think that Kagame also needs to work on closing the income gap so that more Rwandans have access to basic needs. 


Luca
From a state ripped apart by the most efficient slaughter of a ethnicity only twenty years past, the numerous meetings within Kigali offered a bright perspective for the future of the nation. Labeled “the beacon of hope” for central African countries, there is an abundance of facts to corroborate its title. Reborn from ashes, Rwanda had no infrastructure, no institutions, no economy, even no buildings to work off of. Yet to put it bluntly, this may be the only positive aspect of the genocide in 1994. This allowed the country to rebuild anew, to build its sectors from ground up the way they wanted, the way they saw the West and other prosperous nations do. The first statute, create the Rwanda the people desire, not the one the West wishes to see. Cutting foreign aid (hopefully down to zero within the next ten years) would be a remarkable feat, and yet it appears to be working. Rather than letting other countries decide where this money flows, Rwanda has puts in place strict fixtures to where they want to use their money. That has largely come to three sectors: education, healthcare, and development. With English becoming the second language, and an integral part of education for the youth, along with the notion to learn from the negative past and build hope for the future, there has been high praise of the education within Rwanda. From our visit to a primary school in Kigali, I was still shocked by what I saw. A small building with children running awry, a dirt floor, and five or six desks pushed into a small corner where a tiny chalkboard was hung. A few pencils lay around, and the kids backpacks ranged from book bags to purses. Yet, I still felt the general sense that education was moving forward. Children especially girls are staying in school longer and fertility rates have decreased, often a sign of raised awareness which generally stems from schooling. At this point the healthcare systems seems properly up and running, with the ability to provide access to the entire population with a yearly payment of 2000 francs. While this may be hard for some lower class families to maintain the general course of the system is on tract. Lastly, and perhaps most astonishingly is the development Rwanda has managed. The streets are largely paved, clean, and without traffic. The city of Kigali is jumping in size with each continuing year, and Rwanda has assumed its place as the technological center for central Africa. This without doubt is predicated on the minimized corruption within the government, and the progress reports that each district, sector, and town is forced to follow. With officials unable to squander money, projects are completed in a timely and efficient manner. Further with the powerful community culture still apparent within Rwanda, a helping nature to those unable or to weak is present. However, above all of this was the scene the group received from the reconciliation village. From the council of Unity and Reconciliation, and the Prison Fellowship, and senator Kamanzi, we had heard stories about Rwanda’s impressive and unique homegrown concepts to tackle the issue of reconciliation from the genocide. And within this village perpetrators and victims lived as one. That line might be read over without real thought, so it is imperative to imagine from their perspectives what they have accomplished. A man who killed your husband, is now sharing dinner with you, he is now playing with your kids, now an important piece to the community. This was astounding and made it appear as if Rwanda had hurdled the destructive chasm many African nations fall into, as if Rwanda was bound for success, for a life in comparison to that of other developed countries, specifically Singapore.

Yet, while all the facts, all the reasoning points towards this optimistic future, I cannot remove myself from the growing skepticism I was sensing around Kigali and its outlying districts. Unfortunately, we were only able to set up meetings with officials high up in the government, mostly if not all of the Tutsi descent. They painted to us, arguably even exhibited the genuine picture of Rwanda and its future, which was without doubt seemingly beautiful. However, instances still arose where I was taken aback. The expansion of Kigali is so rapid, so ferocious, the outlying villages will be swept up and its residents relocated. The farther you move from the city the more prominent the Afro-pessimism seems to fit. Villages remain small, with families of 8, 9, 10, or more people crammed into mud-baked huts with their livestock, daily working the fields to produce a 1000 to 2000 francs (2-3 dollars) to pay for their food for the day. The wealth disparity from the residents of Kigali to the rural population is astounding and is sure to increase. Kagame has produced a marvelous and stable state, and while do not possess some of the same fears as others of his continued authoritarian rule, I am skeptical of the history of governments within Africa. Before Rwanda was the “beacon of hope” it was Uganda, and before that Burundi. Today both of these countries are fraught with corruptions, instability, and little hope for a bright future. While Rwanda deserves to be analyzed independently of its failed neighbor states, I cannot express the hope the country deserves. When I discuss the country with others in the future I will speak adamantly about the optimism for its future and the possibility for real development within an Afro-pessimistic narrative viewed in the West. If the country can successfully transfer to a new ruler, and that person can rule for ten, twenty years with stability then there is little doubt that Rwanda can accomplish the dream it has set forth for itself. Nevertheless, ideologies are perhaps the most potent force on this planet. They can spring up within months and take over a population. While the hatchet between Hutus and Tutsis has seemingly been buried there are likely to arise some more conflicts, and if not that then the rural lower class which has to a large extent been ignored by the government. When people are happy, there are likely to be others who are not and I greatly fear the consequences of this in Rwanda’s future. In the end I am only a seventeen-year-old boy from Portland, Oregon, not a professional analyst who has dedicated his life to Rwanda. My experiences and my sense of those experiences leave me hoping for a prosperous Rwanda, yet thinking that Rwanda is bound to follow the same demise trajectory of its neighbors. Hopefully I am wrong.

Ben
As I step out of Kigali International Airport into the humid night air of Rwanda I was astonished by the level of urban development that grew more and more evident on our journey to our hostel. Just like a Saturday night in downtown Portland the city was alive. People on lined the streets at restaurant and bar and motorcycle taxis speed on by our bus, weaving in and out of traffic. In retrospect it is clear that I too had been influenced by the common misshapen and distressed image of African poverty and sickens. Although very different from what I was accustom, it was apparent that Kigali had come a long way from its dark past.

Over the course of our next five days, we meet with entrepreneurs, a senator, leaders in education, health and reconciliation in both the government and non-profit organizations. As I attempt to formulate a visions of where I think Rwanda will be in terms of social, economic, and political development in the near future, I’m left with mixed feelings of pessimism and optimism, which is informed by the information conveyed by those whom we meet with and my overall experience in Rwanda. Throughout many of the presentations and conversations a common thread emerged: The Rwandan government has done a extremely amazing job in transforming the country from a war torn, divided country into a rapidly developing one with greater opportunity for all citizens. This rosy image of the new Rwanda was difficult for me to accept, especially when our group ventured out into the rural villages and observed the obvious wealth inequality. When taking into account the majority of Rwanda’s population live in rural villages, I can’t help but wonder how much of economic and health improvements seen in the city actually trickle down to those in these areas.

When given such positive messages of what has happened since the genocide it is difficult for me to avoid feeling skeptical because you not everything is perfect. However, the improvement are apparent in so much of what I saw in Kigali. People spoke of their belief in Kagame’s government for having developed the country’s economy with its exports of cash crops like coffee and eliminating or completely riding the government of c8orruption. I am not sure whether this overly positive image has been shown to us because the government is always watching or because people genuinely want to escape the international image of Rwanda as a place of conflict and genocide. But, I don’t think it is fair to discredit the actual progress that has been done here.