Dear editor, I recently read in your paper about the Global Youth Connect. This organization made up of University Students from the United States of America, spent four weeks here on a sensitization campaign about human rights, reconciliation, dialogue and importance of cultural diversity. Rwanda is still widely known for its dark chapters of the 1994 Genocide, and not much is actually told of a country that has gained fast economic, social and political transformation just fourteen year after the mayhem. I was particularly delighted by the urge the Americans had to share knowledge with their Rwandan colleagues on important topics like reconciliation and culture. While Rwandans learnt a lot from the American culture, which is quite rich and progressive, the Americans returned home with a clear and practical experience on how the Rwandan Genocide occurred. On top of returning to USA with the best version of a country on the move, the Americans left behind useful projects, which helped different vulnerable groups of people. They trained street children in modern dances and plays depicting Rwandan history and human rights. They also conducted other activities that included interviews about the rich Rwandan cultures. This gave rise to comparisons on the Rwandan cultures vis-à-vis American, as a way showing a possibility of people adding value to their cultures for benefits. Let me hope that many other groups of people from other countries will emulate the Global Youth Connect. Kimisagara
