RWANDA

R

anda

WCPCI TRIP 2019

The Wellington College Peace and Conflict institute (WCPCI) specialises in teaching students how to become peacemakers in today’s turbulent society. Beside eye- opening charity trips to Calais to help the refugees there, the students have travelled to Rwanda on several occasions, observing the way the Rwandan people have coped with and recovered from the genocide of 1994.

Wellington pupils visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a stark reminder of Rwanda’s history; one of the most striking features of the museum is that it does not attempt to conceal the graphic horrors of the genocide. However, the WCPCI team were struck by how the local population had moved on, coming together with unity.

Compared to their previous trip to Rwanda, WCPCI noticed the emergence of the young in Rwanda as a political force: the young people of Rwanda today are keen to learn from the conflict of the past but they will not be defined by it.

Pupils spent lots of time playing with local children noting the quality of education in Rwanda, with children studying GCSE standard science. They were also fortunate to be invited to the Rwanda Peace Academy, who have since formed a relationship with the school. They learned about The Kigali Principles, an act that aims to protect citizens in view of preventing another genocide. This act has been signed by 47 countries.

Having meet with representatives of the United Nations Institute for Research and Training (UNITAR), WCPCI now plans to develop a Peace Builders’ Programme and develop their syllabus whilst working with UNITAR to help people with careers in the UN.

KINDNESS