Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/1526531
23 FALL 2024 Louis DiGirolomo '22 shares a photo of Akagera National Park. "The safari was a highlight of my life," he says. T his past summer, 17 members of the TCNJ community traveled to Rwanda for a unique study abroad trip that included faculty, students, and alumni. It was a trip several semesters in the making, with faculty leads Matthew Bender and Cynthia Paces ( both history professors) seeing this as an important time to visit Rwanda because 2024 marks 30 years since genocide occurred there. In 1994, close to one million Rwandans were killed in just 100 days. Most were part of a group known as the Tutsi. The genocide, planned by members of the Hutu political elite but largely perpetrated by everyday Hutus, has had devastating and long-term impacts in the country and the region as a whole. This faculty-led tour examined the origins and implications of Rwanda's genocide, as well as studied how the country has approached the processes of healing, rebuilding, and remembering. "Rwanda is an example not only of the factors that lead to genocide and other atrocities, but also of the challenges and debates that come with rebuilding and healing from them," says Bender. "The 30-year mark of the Rwandan genocide provided a great moment for a delegation from TCNJ to visit the country and learn from its people." Our TCNJ travelers visited the capital city of Kigali, memorial centers, a reconciliation village, governmental organizations, small markets, and Akagera National Park (where they took a safari). All along the way, they were witnesses to the collective resilience of Rwandans. "We were able to interact with scholars, survivors, and perpetrators in a way that would not have been possible through any other learning medium," says alumna Brittany Hamilton '15, who teaches social studies at Hillsborough Middle School. "I was able to see the emotions in their faces, and feel it in their handshakes. You just can't get that from books." Bender, Hamilton, Paces, and some of the other travelers shared their observations in their photos and journal entries.