2024 Rwanda Delegation— Devon Pernell
Biology ‘25
Going to Rwanda is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I never thought would get the opportunity to go to Africa growing up in the situation I did.
Having this opportunity to learn about the atrocities other people went through then learning how they pushed past it and healed also was a major part since I have problems with forgiveness due to things that happened in my lifetime and I want to try to learn how to forgive. It should help me grow as a person, so far I became closer to my classmates, and look to ask the difficult questions made it feel like my voice was heard, allowing me to convey a story. Even though I always felt like every story mattered it reinforced it and showed how just listening isn't enough.
I'm looking forward to the experience, and interacting with a different culture out of my element. The way they live, their values, while combining with ones I practice, can turn something good into a great thing.
June 5, 2024
First day out here was amazing
From breakfast the people were so nice, and then after a great breakfast we headed to the women center. They are really super women and a great pillar in the community, aiding and teaching those willing to be taught in order for them to have a better chance at life.
The neighborhood we explored was beautiful, the views of the hills, and the streets were filled with life, did not expect that when I first started the class, we are always shown pictures of Africa in shambles and they never highlight it's beauty. Had an amazing experience trying the milk and learning it's cultural importance to the Rwandan people and it tastes good with the doughnuts. When we arrived at the memorial, when we sat down for the brief video at the start I knew it was going to be a hard hitter and I teared up after hearing how a woman was betrayed by her neighbors and her family was massacred, going through the museum, reading the history and understanding no one helped and the signs were present to the outside world infuriated me, and once the images of the bodies were shown I became stuck in a sense, and my stomach felt a little uneasy, my breath made like a ball in my throat and I was just stuck thinking about my emotions. Innocent lives were taken and blamed for crimes since another group hated them, and they were the same people. What hurt the most was when I saw the children room and I think her name was Auriane (forgive me if I forgot) a 4 year old who looks like me, she was stabbed in her head and eyes, I had to sit for a moment and try to grasp who would want to harm a baby like that, her picture has been stuck in my head since. I realized that this wasn't so far in the past when I seen one of the victims wore Adidas sweats and it was like, “yes this happened near your lifetime and it still goes on in other countries “. I left feeling saddened but grateful I was able to take part in the experience. The one thing that brought joy to my heart and us as humans was reading about how the orphans looked out for each other and in a sense became each others family after they all lost their loved ones. Even in hard times when it seems you've lost everything, keep in mind Hope will never be
June 6, 2024
It was a great day today, had some hard thoughts today seeing the aftermath of the church post genocide and the fact the bodies are still there. It was very challenging on my soul to walk by the caskets, seeing the dismembered bodies in them, more than one, not giving a proper burial to these innocent people and not because they didn't want to more so, they couldn't, it's heartbreaking. Going to the reconciliation village was an eye opening experience that helped me think about my views on forgiveness in a sense of if the victims could forgive their killers I should give it a try in situations in my life, their stories were amazing and wrenching seeing the perpetrators so remorseful of the actions they committed. It showed me even those who have done bad can come around and change for the better.
June 7, 2024
Where can I start, from the fruit breakfast to the meeting with the vice mayor, in all seriousness I have the utmost respect in his mission, which is too help educate his country, especially the children in order to keep this country on the fast track it's on in being great again. After the meeting, the village we visited to teach the kids and mothers was amazing. Rwanda is truly beautiful and the kids were so eager to learn, I commend them, and it was a pleasure interacting with the locals. After we went to visit mama Arlene and she is one of the toughest ladies I think I will ever meet, from her quick comments to her amazing life stories. She is so invested in the youth of this country and she and the family she formed have done an amazing job educating the children while also allowing to be children. It was an amazing experience playing with the kids after her stories, from basketball to us working out (pushups ) they loved it and I did too, I hope I inspired them because they inspired me and let me know I'm on the right track. What I took from today is its never to late to be educated, and to always remember the little things in life and strive to be happy and in a sense close to your peers or neighbors.
June 8, 2024
We went straight to work, and at first it was confusing and I was nervous to interact with the teachers but after we practiced some of the warm-ups and became calm and loose around each other it was amazing and we seemed to move throughout our lesson like a knife through butter. I didn't expect to have this much fun, this has been something really, it helped me open up and be comfortable in different places, overall it was a great day where we put in practice what we learned and we formed our own community. The educators always made sure to relate it to a school too, the children are most important to make a country great and they helped me realize that.
June 9, 2024
It was amazing, got some good breakfast and then on the road, was looking forward to seeing the teachers again, the first day of training went so well so I knew we would have a great day on this Sunday. I was not wrong, we went through our practices of story based learning and they incorporated some aspects of it into their lessons and walked through them with us. Many good things. Was very proud and felt very good, glad I made those connections with them. Afterwards we took a walk around the town and while shopping everyone stared at me 😅, it was a little jarring at first but then I understood that not everyone is bigger, one kid asked if I “was muzungu?” , it was funny, I had a great day then the pool was cold but fun and the fish for dinner might've been one of the best dishes I have ever had in my life, the days keep getting better.
June 10, 2024
Today was something the kids off the jump were so happy to see us, and they have a great schedule to start their days before class. I was nervous speaking to them at the start but I warmed up and they became my lil dudes. I stepped into science class to assist the teacher and learn something, the kids were so prideful in their work and they seemed excited to be asked to do something, different than back home. Loved challenging them to draw the digestive system and they did, I salute them I didn't have it down until middle school and these were 5th graders doing that, truly talented. We played with the children too during break and at first they were scared but I put my hair up and smiled and became like a big brother, they like my muscles and I think I inspired some to become big after showing them my arms, lunch was great and had a good time talking with Esperanza before hanging out with the children before classes resumed, mama Arlene was had great hospitality and I would definitely go back to Urukundo Learning Center. The day was a success now I'm tired, the kids wore me out, until tomorrow, may there be new adventures.
June 11, 2024
June 13, 2024
Today was a great day, I was a little skeptical because I had tweaked my leg playing with the kids but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see Nyungwe national park and walk on the canopy and I’m happy I participated. It was beautiful and our guide was super nice , at first I was scared of the heights but after seeing some classmates terrified I had to put on a front to make them feel at ease and it wasn’t scary anymore, I helped a friend who was scared by easing her through the walk while she was scared and she overcame her fear and even started looking over . That made me feel amazing and proud of her. The hike was fun and it helped me work out my cardio some so a win is a win. The burger after I devoured and the ride back to the hotel was long but it was great a lot of scenery, I must reiterate, Rwanda is beautiful and I would love to come back. We went to a restaurant like chipotle and I got two burritos it was so good. Then ended the night with ice cream and being around the young people our age was great everyone was enjoying themselves in the shopping center. It was a lovely day
June 14, 2024
Day 1 aegis
Today was something, we went to a market to get a feeling of locals and it was overwhelming at first, I felt bad not going to buy every ones items but I did buy some things and they had really nice items. After we went back to the genocide memorial and practiced Story based Learning with the staff it was fun and interesting to learn with different individuals and get a sense of how their mind works. We had to cooperate after a break where I got to relax we shared our experiences of growing up in our respective countries and we opened up. I had to take some time to myself because I re opened an old mental wound of my late brother Amani Alcindoor, and in the talks it made me realize I would rather have the presence of security Rwandans have in the sense of gun control because in America there is more guns than people and kids are killing kids. It was a tough conversation but glad we had it. We spoke about more but that stuck with me the most. For dinner we went to this amazing indian restaurant called kurry kingdom and the food was amazing. Our days here are coming to an end but I reiterate I probably will come back in the future it's incredible and the country and people are stunning. Thank you for giving me your time and have a nice day.
June 15, 2024
Day 2 aegis + art
Was nice learning about their practices in educating the people about peace and forgiveness. I learned forgiveness is not a straight and narrow path but is really a journey to undergo. It's something special and fascinating to be honest. After talking with some of the people there it was nice to get to know some of them deeper during lunch and I realized our lives are completely different, I told them about my daily pay back home and they said some people don't make that a month, it's crazy to wrap your head around it. After we left the genocide memorial we went to the Ingabo museum and the artist King Ngabo shared his passion and life work with us. After some light hearted games to clear up any sad feelings we had from our talks before we got there. The art told many stories that I truly appreciated, the one that stuck out to me the most was the story of the man who left his village to go west and it wasn't what he expected. It conveyed to me that we may think something is magical until we truly see it ourselves, we allow ourselves to be blinded by stories without having evidence. It was a good day yesterday and I can not wait to uncover the mystery of tomorrow. Stay safe and stay up.
June 15, 2024
Azizi life
The day started off well, at the shop, I got a neat rattle for my nephew and had these really good snacks (bread filled with beef) and then we was introduced a little to the cooperation they run. The ride into the village was nice they welcomed us with open arms and treated us like their own, we learned many things to do with the village life and it was fun but a little challenging, they have my respect, the kids go everyday to get water before and after school from the stream and it's a walk, I was tired when we got back. The bathroom was different and was a reminder it's not America but it was a cool experience, we made some neat bracelets while I had a conversation with our guide and one of the young men, we truly can find common ground in any situation and I love that. After we had went to this nice restaurant and it tasted really good, but I thought about how many Rwandans only eat meat once or a couple of times a year because of the price and it's hard to fathom. I felt wrong eating the meal that was served for dinner and found myself looking into the distance, I realized I should be grateful for everything I have back home and what I'm able to do/ eat. Today humbled me and taught me some lessons in life I'll carry forever and I am forever thankful for the azizi life experience. I hope their sun never sets🤞🏾.
June 16, 2024
Too
I tried to dance, it didn't go as smooth as I hoped, 😅, it was nice trying to learn about Rwandans history in terms of dances to tell a story, other than me failing because I was born with two left feet it was beautiful watching my peers have a nice time having fun. After we left it was a long ride to Akagera park where we stayed in a really nice hotel, on the way there we seen water buffaloes, monitor lizards and impala, first time seeing them up close so I must say it made this trip 20 times better. We spent some time by the water and relaxed. Still it's crazy knowing that Rwandans are happy even though they don't have everything. It's admirable, they are rich in a different way. The more important way. It's only 2 more days out here, excited but sad to leave, gonna miss some of the people, got close with my peers here and hope we keep it up back home.
June 17, 2024
Safari game ride
The game ride was breath taking, it was long but it was my first time seeing these animals in person, I saw my favorite animal on the safari, a hyena and that pretty much made the day. It was nice to end the trip with something that would leave us in awe, after that it hit me during dinner were done here, so it was nice and I'm ready to head back home but I appreciate Rwanda in a whole new way now and I won't prejudge a new destination now. I was told too Many lies about this country and the only knock I had against it was I couldn't be close with my family. It was amazing and I would definitely do it again, the most fun thing I learned was the urukundo special.
View Devon’s StoryMap below where he connected his experience in Rwanda to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.