DISCOVER
In the heart of Africa, a vibrant country of 13 million people waits to be rediscovered. Though best known as the site of one of the 1990s worst humanitarian crises – the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi – the nation of Rwanda has spent nearly three decades accomplishing the near impossible: rebuilding a modern, unified country devoted to peace and committed to becoming a leading African voice in the 21st century.
Central to Rwanda’s rebirth is their commitment to cultivating forgiveness and common purpose amongst their people. While the 1994 genocide left a devastated country and a legacy that looked as if it would last for generations, Rwanda has become an international model for reconciliation and restorative justice. It is the only country in the world that has chosen to provide Reconciliation Villages for perpetrators and victims to live side-by-side, fully engaging in the acts of forgiveness and reconciliation. Rwanda has eight such villages where citizens once torn apart by genocide and tribalism are now living and working together in peace.
Today – looking at the modern metropolis of its capital, Kigali, or traveling the bucolic countryside dotted with villages and farms – it’s difficult as a visitor to imagine a past so starkly different from today. But Rwandans themselves are keen to remember the lessons of their dark history. The genocide is taught in schools here, as many Rwandans today have never known life under the old paradigm, when everyone was either known as a Hutu or a Tutsi. This is because 2/3 of the country’s population is under age 25. This sizable number of their citizenry have only known life as “Rwandans” – a unified people – under the governance, for the past 22 years, of President Paul Kagame.
Kagame’s administration has been instrumental in bringing peace and prosperity to the region, including incentives for business and forward-thinking environmental policies: for example, Rwanda banned all non-biodegradable plastic bags in 2008, and outlawed all single use plastics in 2020. One of the first things one notices upon arriving in Rwanda is the lack of litter anywhere. This is due, in large part, to the practice of Umaganda: on the last Saturday of each month, the entire country, even the President and his family, participate a day of cleaning, meeting, and building. Over the years this has created a culture of national pride and collaboration to improve one’s local community.
Socially, Rwanda has transformed itself over the past decades into a model country in many ways. Their healing and rebuilding agenda prioritized the huge task of post genocide prosecution and reconciliation. As that huge task has been underway, they have simultaneously instituted policies and practices to create a country ready for the future. For a better understanding of Rwanda’s long-term goals and policies, check out Rwanda 2050, Kagame’s roadmap for the nation’s future.
Rwanda leads Africa in primary education. 97% of Rwandan children attend a primary school of some sort, the highest of any African nation. So impressive is Rwanda’s commitment to the education of its children that UNESCO named it one of the top three nations in the world when it came to improving access to education.
Yet with the youth unemployment rate persisting above 40%, there is clearly much to be done to support the children who will drive this country’s economic growth. There is, in particular, a skills gap to tackle. AESF partners with local school sites with the aim of improving conditions and opening access to modern technology, assisting Rwandan schools in equipping this generation of ambitious, talented Rwandan youth for the future.