Luce Viens first came to Rwanda in 2011 as a tourist. She checked in to a five-star hotel, but walked out a few days later in search of a more authentic Rwandan feel. Today she is the main manager of the Kayonza Project, a humanitarian, cultural exchange and discovery project that links visiting foreign students and tourists to tailor-made community projects in the Kayonza area. She gave Moses Opobo a recap of the project’s activities.

Trace your journey to Rwanda

I came in November 2011, at the suggestion of a friend, Kareen Lemieux. When we eventually came, we all immediately fell in love! It was my first time in Rwanda and indeed Africa. I was booked into a five-Star hotel, which all felt crazy after a few days because that was not the Rwanda I had come to experience. The hotel I was staying at could have been in London, New York, Paris, or any big world capital. I had to decide that this was not how I want to stay when I travel.

What inspired the trip, and why Rwanda?

I came to discover tourism in Rwanda, because the only thing we know of Rwanda outside Africa is the events of 1994, and the gorillas.

Immediately I got the opportunity, I said: "Okay; I want to know first-hand what happened in 1994, but I also want to get in touch with the people, so it was not just about the history, but real people in the Rwanda of today. Back in Quebec, Canada, where I come from, I’m a travel agent—meaning I work in the world of tours and travel.

When I returned to Canada after my short trip in 2011, I decided to share my experiences with people. It was just impossible for me to keep all that beauty in me.

Tell us about the Kayonza Project  

In 2011, after touring the country and falling in love with its beauty, I met a lady called Helene Cyr, co-owner of Kayonza Vocational School. She worked with Rwanda Development Board at the time. I told her about my new love affair with Rwanda. I told her that I wanted to do something here, but didn’t know exactly what. All I knew was that somehow I wanted to find a way of getting people to travel down here for something a little more than just seeing the gorillas.

My idea was to get people from Canada to visit Rwanda, but to cultivate and maintain a sense of proximity to the local community.  I believe that we can’t know a country if we don’t know the people that make up that country. If you go to see the gorillas, the only human contact you make is with the wardens and tour guides, but that is not enough.  So in January 2012, a month after I first conceived the idea, I approached Helene to ask if she could join me on my crazy project.

The idea was to bring people down to Kayonza to help around the local community according to their specific needs at a time. I remember the first day we cleared grass and trimmed hedges along the road with school children.  

What does the project aim to achieve?

To give Canadian students the opportunity to meet and share with Rwandans. It brings students from Canada and Rwanda closer together so that they may grow from the experience. It also avails tangible humanitarian benefits by working with the local population of Kayonza. The project seeks to demonstrate to students that the future truly belongs to young people, wherever they are in the world. The students discover Rwandan culture through personal contact and exchange, but also through structured and planned visits.

Kayonza Project is basically about cultural exchange with a humanitarian heart.  It is a discovery project designed primarily for students, but that can be tailored to the interests of specific groups.