One girl praised economic initia-
tives to help women start businesses
and learn finance. Another described
her vision for mentoring programs to
the poor, rural areas to educate about
sexual health and rape prevention.
She felt responsible to do something
to help society:
“You know, it’s not common for
all of us to express our opinions
through theatre. It’s good that we
discuss social justice but the plays
have a large role in spreading the
word.”
After the performance and talk-
back, the program executive director
and a parent approached me. They
were affected by the messages and
ideas arising from the performance.
“We try so hard to get them to
speak about and understand the
importance of women’s empower-
ment for the future of Rwanda,” the
executive director said. “This shows
in theatre that men and women are
equal. Doing skits helped them use
their voice and leadership. I hope we
will have this program again.”
As we talked, I came to an
understanding of my own. These
skits resonated on a deep level with
the organization’s goals about girls
empowerment. Moreover, their per-
formance gave voice to a major theme
in Rwanda’s development initiatives.
From the executive director’s point
of view, the youth became engaged
in politics and development as she’d
hoped—but never imagined—through
the theatre program. I figured the
youth may not “do arts,” but they do
social justice.
10 IMAGINE l spring 2017
Youth activism post-genocide
I was curious how these youth came
to be so politically and socially aware.
Throughout the program, I spoke with
many people. Within ten minutes of a
conversation with an adult, the topic
of the genocide came up. In a tragic
few months, the Hutu sect, instigated
by the colonial Belgian government,
killed nearly a million Tutsis.
Because of the scars from the
past, adult survivors remember the
genocide like it was yesterday. Today,
their children, like many younger
generations growing up in the shadow
of a major social trauma, possess an
outlook and perspective informed by
the tragedy. They are the ones who
carry on the learning. For example,
when the genocide was over, Rwan-
da’s current president, His Excellency
Paul Kagame told them, “We are no
longer Hutu and Tutsi. We have to
come together now. Rebuild. We are
now all just Rwandan.”
One of the first things Lissa told
me about being Rwandan was, “No
one my age knows what tribe we are
from. We don’t care because it doesn’t
matter which tribe: we are one people.
Rwandan.” Lissa lived in a new truth,
conscious of erasing the separation
and pain caused by division along
tribal lines.
New consciousness of oneness
arising from the genocide extended
not just to national identity, but to the
welfare of women. President Kagame
had been a soldier in the genocide
in a time when women were deeply
oppressed. They couldn’t own prop-
erty, have any money in their name,
and were subject to physical abuse in
the name of being under a husband’s
ownership. As the killing went on, he
reported seeing mothers huddle chil-
dren into back rooms, plan escapes,
keep whole families safely in hiding,
protecting each other and surviving.
He felt their power as leaders and
upon becoming president, mandated
Rwanda adapt its views to accommo-
date women as leaders. In a powerful
decree that women held the same
value, powers and privileges as men,
Kagame appointed women for office
in parliament for the first time. Thus
began a movement empowering girls
as future leaders.
In this case of the youth in the
theatre program, their vision for
gender equality was inspired by the
organization and the executive direc-
tor’s vision. It’s no accident that as a
woman, the executive director has led
programs nominated by the African
Union as exemplary for girls’ empow-
erment. She has been dedicated to
upholding programs offering support,
skills and opportunities to girls and
women to be empowered in their
families and the economy.
I felt honored and dumbstruck to
see the alignment of her organization
with the international development
efforts. It got me wondering, what
can the U.S. learn from a country like
Rwanda?
The future of peace
I came to lead a theatre program to
support youth voice, and came away
learning more about myself, peace
and Rwanda than they likely learned
from me. I felt honored and privileged
to be part of peoples’ lives in Kigali
and reflected on how this affected me
personally:
I nearly cried at their selfless gen-
erosity and tenderness this week. This