University of Rwanda Day 2 and Genocide Memorial

This morning we had day 2 of the global health practicum. Today we learned about the Rwandan healthcare system and infection prevention and control in Rwandan hospitals. It was very eye opening and very helpful information as we are beginning to plan our infection control projects. We are becoming friends with the Rwandan students! They are so fun and so curious about the United States. On of them even asked me “So when are you going to invite me to America?” haha we have so much fun getting to know them! After class we went to lunch and I don’t think you’ll ever guess what I had! Beans, potatoes, and rice for the win! I don’t know about you but I am sensing a pattern here! Today we spent the afternoon at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. I don’t have many words for what I saw today. It was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever witnessed. The images and stories they told today were so graphic and horrendous. At the end of the exhibit they had “The Children’s Room” and it was huge photos of a bunch of the children who died in the genocide. Each photo had information about each child and how they were killed. I couldn’t handle that part very well. Not a single person was spared, not even a baby. The amazing thing to me is how the people of Rwanda have bounced back from such a dark past. The genocide is not mentioned ever in public and there is heavy emphasis EVERYWHERE about “being one”. There were some amazing stories at the memorial about forgiveness and heroism. I was blown away. I think the reason these people were able to rise above their disastrous past was because of their loving, kind and forgiving nature. That is the only thing I can think of. Once again I have to say that the people here are INCREDIBLE. I don’t have much else to say about this afternoon. I cant believe the horror of the events that happened here. It is crazy to think that most of the adults I interact with here witnessed the events first hand, lost those they loved to the genocide, or even knew people who participated in the events during that time. Visiting the memorial gave me an extremely different view of public health and the health issues we will see here. Not only did they have to completely rebuild their healthcare system, educate a new generation of health professionals and create an entirely new infrastructure for hospitals and clinics, but they are now faced with generations of illnesses like HIV and extreme psychological trauma. I am really glad we visited the memorial at the beginning of our trip because I feel like I understand Rwanda and the people much better. Although I could never completely understand the atrocities that happened over 20 years ago, I certainly benefitted from the small glimpse I got at the memorial. 

 *(It took me 3 days to be able to write about the genocide memorial. I couldn't talk or write about what I saw until I had taken the time to think about everything and recover from the memorial. It was very heavy.)* 

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