Megan Rodgers, a triple major in international studies, political science, and Spanish, spent a semester studying on the SIT program, Rwanda: Post-Genocide Restoration and Peacebuilding.

The phrase “I had no idea what I was getting myself into” seems to be a common one when reflecting on big decisions or transitions, but there truly is no better way to describe my time here in Rwanda. Almost 100 days ago I stepped off of a plane into the humid Rwandan night air, and time seems to have flown by since. 

My initial decision to come to Rwanda was the result of a painstaking decision process in which I decided to forgo my previous plans for a carefree semester abroad in Spain in order to pursue a more in depth understanding of an issue that I am passionate about. So instead of spending my spring popping around Europe, I have spent the past three months living in Rwanda and conducting an in depth study of the genocide against the Tutsi.  

The phenomena of genocide and mass atrocities in the modern global world is one that truly disturbs me and that I am passionate about studying so that we might learn how to avoid such events in the future. My courses here have allowed me to interact with experts, government officials and NGOs who have helped me to understand more fully the root causes of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, the lack of intervention from the global community and how Rwanda has been able to rebuild itself since.  

Additionally, one of my favorite parts of the semester has been conversation that I have been able to have with both victims and perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. These conversations have allowed me to form a deeper understanding of the genocide that goes beyond the academic or intellectual study and reveals the personal context of the issues. I found that my scholarly research of the genocide had slowly numbed me to the real personal effects, and meeting with survivors and perpetrators helped me to overcome that. On that same note, acknowledging the personal effects of the genocide helped me to further understand the complexity of post-genocide restoration and peacebuilding as each individual affected by the genocide has unique needs in order to move on and rebuild and meeting all of these needs is an incredibly difficult task for the government and NGOs to accomplish.  

Another element of the program that I have really enjoyed is the experiential learning model. Rather than having traditional classes, my courses were thematic seminars which were led by various NGOs, government officials and experts in the field. This allowed me to build a deeper understanding of the genocide and the reconstruction process as each lecture was able to contribute knowledge from his or her particular area of expertise. These seminars also allowed me to critically examine the impact of various local and international NGOs as well as government offices, an examination that will be extremely helpful to me as I hope to work in these types of organizations in the future.  

The experiential learning model also allowed me to engage with Rwandan culture in a wide variety of ways. For my first 8 weeks of the program I was able to stay with a host family who welcomed me into every aspect of their lives. I was able to attend church with them on Sundays, join them for a wedding and other family events and even travel throughout Rwanda with them in order to visit their farm and friends who lived in the countryside. I was also able to learn more about Rwandan culture by experiencing daily activities with them such as hand washing laundry, eating Rwandan food and interacting with the domestic workers. Additionally, as we ate dinner together or went on road trips or as my host mom was driving me to school in the morning, I was able to learn about my host family’s perspective on topics that we were discussing in class such as Kagame’s lengthy service in the role of president, the tangibility of nationwide reconciliation and reintegration of perpetrators into society.  

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Rwanda and experienced significant personal growth through constantly being pushed out of my comfort zone. The experiences that I have had here will have a significant impact on my future work within NGOs and government offices as well as my personal interactions with individuals for a different cultural context or who have been affected by conflict. I highly recommend that any future student looking to study abroad consider going somewhere that will allow them to learn about his or her unique individual interests through experiences rather than a traditional classroom setting.