Translated, these two words in Kinyarwanda (the Bantu language of Rwanda) mean "Peace and Unity."
Plain and simple, the words are straightforward, yet, what they stand for is something almost impossible. It is a Utopian world that I have yet to see. I would argue that very few countries in this world today have achieved such significant degree of universal peace and unity amongst their people. It's something that we will strive to attain all of our lives. It is part of our humanity--our journey in life. As long as we are on the path towards this thing, we are good to go.
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the country of Rwanda in Africa. I knew that the 1994 genocide in Rwanda was devastating. I say "I knew" this (as if I could ever really know...I couldn't) because I had been listening to stories about the country since high school. I had also read about it in several biographies. Then my 17 year old sister, Sarah, decided to go there this past February 2009. Now, the Rwanda had my full attention. Perhaps I should have cared more seven years ago when my high school started the Rwanda Educational Partnership with the country, but I can't look back. What matters is that I am discovering what matters now.
With a population growth rate of almost 3%, the country of Rwanda has one of the highest densities on the continent. With over forty percent of its population under the age of 14 years old, it is also a country of children. Children who have stories, many of which are stories of astonishing gravity for ones so young.
These are the stories that I want to tell in my summer documentary. To correct myself, I will not be telling these stories myself. I will only be the vessel through which the stories are told. I am not a professional...ironically, I am more familiar with being in front of the camera than behind it. This piece--however scrappy and crude on my part--will be organic and a creation that is formed on its own, without constraints.
The students from Harwood Union High School and the people of Rwanda are going to do all of the talking. I am just there to observe this unique relationship between a rural school in the Green Mountains and a similarly green country in Africa. The story is woven together by the fibers of relationships; friendships formed between people who are different...but not nearly as much as they thought.
