We leave for Rwanda in one week.
Yesterday I went downtown for a haircut first thing in the morning. I met Leslie afterwards to go looking for some summer pants for me to wear while away. I am not completely pants-less, but the ones I do have were described as “clown pants” by my sisters, so I felt obliged to get some trouserage more appropriate for travelling than what I had in stock. But I am bringing the clown pants anyways: they are cool, temp-wise if not fashion-wise.
We found some pants had some lunch and then returned home.
I have all my Rwanda stuff in two boxes, having outgrown the original banker’s box and now I have to get it all into one bag. The people at my church have been quite generous and I have fifty pounds of school supplies to pack as well.
Linda has done a test pack and she says her bag weighs forty pounds.
The following is our trip itinerary taken from Rich's Facebook page:
Rich Hitchens
TUESDAY, JULY 20
We will arrive, as you all know, early in the morning. We will make our way to the Centre Saint-Paul - our homebase - in downtown Kigali. We will check into our rooms and get ourselves cleaned up a little before we make our way on foot to the nearby shopping area, which you can see on the Google Earth photo I posted some time ago. There, we will point out some important services that you will be able to avail yourself of. There is an Internet cafe that many of us headed straight to each evening last summer, and there is a nice cafe right there where you can enjoy a drink and some good food - perhaps while you are waiting for a computer to come free. There is also a bank where you can exchange money and a major grocery store-plus where you can get all of your needs met. There is also a marvellous craft market across the street. You will have a chance to avail yourselves of the services, including getting something to eat, then you will be on your own to march back down the hill to the Centre Saint-Paul. This will be your first test – getting home.
Some of you may wish to take a power-nap. We will, however, reconvene in time to get up to our dinner at perhaps the most marvellous restaurant in Kigali – great food and even better location.
Then, early to bed!!!
Notes:
Lunch: Kigali – On Own
Dinner: Kigali – Group Dinner (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu).
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21
We will make our way to the Kigali Memorial Center, the first of our genocide sites. We will visit the memorial grounds and the exhibit, then we will debrief with an educator there at the Center. After a lunch at the Center, we will learn more about the programming offered by the Center and then meet with some young global citizens from the Aegis Trust, a British-based organization.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: Kigali – Kigali Memorial Center (Lunch will be a buffet; cost will be announced the day prior.)
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
over a year ago · Report
THURSDAY, JULY 22
We will make our way to the memorial sites in Bugesera. We will begin with a couple of sites on the edge of Kigali - including the site of the Ecole Polytechnique, the school where terrified civilians, under the protection of Belgian peacekeepers, were abandoned to the killers when those peacekeepers withdrew - before moving on to Nyamata and then Ntarama, two churches that were sites of massacres. These two sites will be our first introduction to the raw nature of the memorials in Rwanda. There, we will see the property and remains of the victims. We will end our day on the road at the Nelson Mandela Village of Hope, which is located near Ntarama.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: En Route (Lunch will be a buffet; cost will be annoucned the day prior.)
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
FRIDAY, JULY 23
We will begin our day - after breakfast - at the Centre Saint-Paul with a debrief after our visits to Ntarama and Nyamata. Thereafter, we will make our way to the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, our hosts, where we will meet with the Commission. No doubt, by that point, we will have lots to discuss. We will lunch at nearby Chez Lando, which itself featured prominently in the genocide. After lunch, we will meet with a women's survivor group (AVEGA) that is located near the Commission.
In the late afternoon, we will make our way to Akagera Game Lodge in Akagera Park – i.e. those of us who are going on the safari.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: Kigali – Chez Lando (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Dinner: Akagera Game Lodge (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Overnight: Akagera Game Lodge
Those in Kigali will be on their own for dinner and overnight at the Centre Saint-Paul. No meals will be scheduled for the Centre Saint-Paul for the weekend for those who do not participate in the safari and who stay in Kigali at the Centre Saint-Paul.
More information to follow about the cost of the accommodations at the Akagera Game Lodge and about the costs for the safari.
Laundry can be left for cleaning at the Centre Saint-Paul; cost to be announced.
SATURDAY, JULY 24
We will safari.
Breakfast: Akagera Game Lodge (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Lunch: Akagera Game Lodge (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Dinner: Akagera Game Lodge (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Overnight: Akagera Game Lodge
SUNDAY, JULY 25
Those of us on the safari will have breakfast and make our way to Nyarabuye, perhaps the most famous - infamous, I guess - of the killing sites in that it has been the site of contrition for many world leaders. Thereafter, we will make our way back to Kigali.
Notes:
Breakfast: Akagera Game Lodge (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Lunch: En Route (Lunch will be a buffet; cost will be announced the day prior.)
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Laundry will be available for pick-up.
MONDAY, JULY 26
We are off to Butare. En route, we will stop in Nyanza at the imperial palace, which is now a museum. When we reach Butare, we will visit the National Museum and then have an audience with Rwanda's national dancers.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: En Route (Lunch will be a buffet; cost will be announced the day prior.)
Dinner: Butare - On Own
Overnight: Butare - TBA
TUESDAY, JULY 27
We are off to Murambi, the "Auschwitz" of Rwanda. Here, the bodies of the victims are intact. After visiting hell, we will take you to heaven, so to speak, on a visit to a lakeside resort at Kibuye. En route, we will stop again - for a break - at Nyanza, where we will visit another former palace, which is now an art gallery.
Notes:
Breakfast: Butare - TBA
Lunch: En Route (Lunch will be a buffet; cost will be announced the day prior.)
Dinner: Kibuye (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Overnight: Kibuye - Centre Bethanie
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28
We will make our way to Bisesero, where victims held off their killers for some time before ultimately succumbing. Bisesero has become like the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising for the Rwandan Genocide. We will then make our return to Kigali.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kibuye - Centre Bethanie (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Lunch: Kibuye - Centre Bethanie (You will be able to purchase whatever you like from the menu.)
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
THURSDAY, JULY 29
This is a free day. Those of you who wish to visit the gorillas will have this day to do so. The rest of us will be free in Kigali.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – On Own
Lunch: Kigali – On Own
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
FRIDAY, JULY 30
We will begin our discussion of the post-genocide period with a meeting with the Ministry to discuss justice and reconciliation.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: Kigali – Chez Lando (You will be able to purchase whatever you want from the menu.)
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Rich Hitchens
SATURDAY, JULY 31
This is a free day.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – On Own
Lunch: Kigali – On Own
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Sunday, August 1
This is a free day.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – On Own
Lunch: Kigali – On Own
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
MONDAY, AUGUST 2
We will meet with the Ministry of Health to discuss HIV / AIDS and other health initiatives.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: Kigali – Chez Lando (You will be able to purchase whatever you want from the menu.)
Dinner: Kigali – On Own
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
TUESDAY, AUGUST 3
We will meet with the Ministry of Education.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: Kigali – Chez Lando (You will be able to purchase whatever you want from the menu.)
Dinner: Kigali – Group Dinner (You will be able to purchase whatever you want from the menu.)
Overnight: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4
We will meet with the National Elections Commission to discuss the pending presidential election. Then, we will depart for the airport.
Notes:
Breakfast: Kigali – Centre Saint-Paul
Lunch: Kigali – On Own
As alluded to earlier, this itinerary is a tentative one, and it should be thought of more as a to-do list and a hopeful schedule. We will have to adjust accordingly.
There will be additions throughout that will enable us to take advantage of opportunities offered to us. We will be able to provide you with a better sense of the exact timing of each day the day prior. This information about the following day will be provided when we disembark the day prior. We will maintain, however, the ample down-time and free-time that we envision in the schedule.
We anticipate that there will be extra activities available - for those interested - on the second weekend; Saturday and Sunday are listed as free days as it currently stands.
over a year ago · Report
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