Eliza F.
Ruhango District, Southern Province
Hi, my name is Eliza Foster and I’m the third new member of
GAD from Education 4. I live in what is known as “the melted land” which,
though it sounds like yet another sequel to “The Land Before Time”, is in fact
a hot but lovely area in the Southern Province where I get to teach English to Senior
4, 5, and 6.
This past Friday was my village’s “Day of Remembrance.” All
the schools in my sector gathered together to remember the victims of the 1994 genocide
– we brought flowers to the mass grave, we read the names of the teachers and
students who had been killed, community leaders gave speeches, and students
recited poetry. As I’m sure the other
Rwanda Peace Corps Volunteers have experienced, it was one of those moments in
your service when you are amazed at and challenged by how wholly welcomed you
are into such an intensely personal day in your community.
At one point in the day’s ceremonies, I sat among a large
group of teachers, parents and leaders to listen to music, a Catholic mass, and
speeches. Sitting or standing on the
field across from us were roughly 800 students, mostly from nearby primary
schools.
What struck me most on Friday was not what I heard of
Rwanda’s past, but what I saw in its future. So many students! I found myself
looking at the faces of the children in their school uniforms and could
not help but be overwhelmed by a feeling of optimism for this country’s future,
both in general and in terms of gender equality. I saw at least an equal number
of female students as male (if not more) and thought about how much progress
had already been made in educating the youth of Rwanda. Yes, there are still
many issues concerning education here. Kids still miss too much school due to
sickness, responsibilities at home, hindering fees, and the distance of schools
from their homes, among other issues. I know in my upper secondary school where
my students focus on history, economics, and geography, all their notes are in
English in which they are far from fluent. However, despite the host of issues
the country needs to address, more and more children are receiving an education
– both boys and girls.
Participating in grassroots development is frustrating and I
have countless stories that reflect the persistence of gender inequality, but I
also have stories of my students articulately discussing family planning and
gender balance, of teachers making sure that an equal number of boys and girls
participate in any given event, and of women taking on key leadership roles.
As Caitlan mentioned in her post last week, education is such
a powerful tool of empowerment for marginalized people around the world, from
America’s inner-cities to the villages in which Peace Corps Volunteers are
serving. Seeing those children listening on the field and hearing thirteen of
my own students speaking to the ideas of dignity, tolerance, and self-reliance
in front of nearly a thousand people, I was swept up in the hope that is very
much present in the discourse on development in this country. I DO believe
there will be great and rapid progress in Rwanda. I believe it because I see
the creativity, thoughtfulness and drive needed for such advancement alighting
in the hearts and minds of the students in my community.
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