Message from Rwanda: Home of Innocence and Genocide Memorial Centre

Saturday, October 16, 2010

This morning, we visited Home of Innocence, an orphanage and transitional home founded by Ten Talents International that houses 10 older boys. Most are orphans or would otherwise be on the streets alone. A few are here because their parents are temporarily unable to care for them. Some of them have watched their parents die of AIDS. One boy, T, whose age is between 16-18, is thought to have been orphaned by the 1994 genocide. Their living expenses are financed by sponsorships through Ten Talents.

Photo courtesy of Mr. B's teammate, E.

Photo courtesy of Mr. B's teammate E.

Photo courtesy of Mr. B's teammate E.

Photo courtesy of Mr. B's teammate E.

Photo courtesy of Mr. B's teammate E.

We gave donations to this home and the boys that live there. Some donations included clothes, food, games, books, soccer jerseys, wrist bands, and soccer cleats. They were ecstatic to receive the gifts. Deb's Black History Brain Bowl jacket went to T, who wore it very proudly. We have a soccer match planned with these guys later this week. I say match because there is some debate as to who will win the trophy. We spent several hours talking with these boys and telling them a little about ourselves and where we were from. Much of the time was spent playing with them. We played with their new pig skin football (thanks to Ellen), threw a frisbee, and played a very modified game of soccer. It was a lot of fun. They seemed genuinely well-behaved and respectful. They all had their own sense of humor and level of energy. Each one's story was shared with us. It is difficult to put into words how I felt as I played with them while knowing those sad stories and wondering how they must feel inside about their life so far. They seem very happy on the surface, but surely the pain comes to the top and boils over at times. I ask myself how I would cope if I switched childhoods with them.

Once we left Home of Innocence, we visited the Genocide Memorial Centre. 250,000 genocide victims are buried there. As I entered the memorial and began to see the story written by those who lived through the massacre and by those still in pain to this day, all I could think about is how unfair life has been to so many here in Rwanda. What can cause people to become monsters and brutally massacre their own neighbors, including babies in their mother's arms? Everyone here knows a victim, is a victim, or knows someone who committed an act of genocide. Surely, there is tension everywhere as people try to move forward and forgive. Seeing and reading what I read in the memorial leads me to believe many have not forgiven and that moving forward has been ever so little. It's 16 years later, and people are still conflicted between the ideal of forgiveness and the desire for progress and the reality of being haunted by what they have experienced and the desire for justice for loved ones lost. Although the labels have been abolished officially, legally, people still know where they stand if cornered and identify to some degree with those old labels based upon how the genocide affected their family. There are still wounds that won't heal. As those convicted of these unthinkable acts are set free in the name of healing this country and putting the past behind them, many of those who would have belonged to the Tutsi tribe are discouraged and disappointed with the leaders making this decision. It hurts to see what innocent people have suffered through and continue to cope with every day. Tomorrow is Sunday and we will be attending a local church along and visiting one or two more homes for orphans or young people who have no place to call "home".