A group of forty students from various international universities in collaboration with the International Genocide Studies Centre (IGSC) this weekend completed their three-week study trip to Rwanda. The academic arrangement which was organized in partnership with the National Commission for the Fight Against the Genocide (CNLG) provides an opportunity for exchange programmes between these students and their Rwandan counterparts. In an interview with Aloys Mahwa, the IGSC secretary at CNLG, he commended this year’s intake saying that their interactions with local students and other people during their time here gave great inspiration and courage to many Rwandans. “Though the benefits of these studies are largely academic, their stay here has impacted many people especially survivors equipping them with ability to deal with their cruel past and forge away forward,” said Muhwa. “The avenue for exchanging ideas and knowledge between the locals and the visiting international students not only enriches people with knowledge, but also helps to put our history in its proper context”. “There are many misconceptions in the US about the genocide in Rwanda. Coming here has enriched us with a better understanding of what happened, different from how it has been portrayed,” pointed out Meera Bhardwaj, one of the students from the US She added that their group being a diverse with different academic backgrounds, their study here is going to impact them in a diverse sense. Through IGSC establishment, a Rwandan academician and social activist Prof Bea Gallimore founded an organization called STEP-UP which mobilizes resources to send professional trauma counselors to train local counselors in trauma intervention. The organization which started with helping over 60 rape victims of the Genocide has facilitated training for over 150 counselors in different parts of the country since 2006. This is the 5th lot since the start of the exchange summer programme which takes place annually. Rwandan students also go to the USA and other countries under the same academic arrangement. Ends
