When thinking about study abroad, Rwanda was never my initial thought but i’m beyond glad that it was my global experience.
Arriving in Rwanda felt surreal, such a strong feeling of familiarity followed with feelings of new. During my time in Rwanda I promised myself I would be intentional, in conversations, in course content and with new friendships. I talked to many people with different perspectives, laughed day in and day out and walked away inspired.
My program was on Nation Building in Rwanda focused on four categories of Ecotourism, global health, human rights and sports development. As a psychology major I didn’t consider that my trip would involve so much of my discipline but I learned quickly that wherever people are there is bound to be psychology. I learned about how community helps people heal and find hope for their future. In the context of Rwanda because of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis, there was feelings of isolation and betrayal. Getting to experience first hand how the citizens of Rwanda united during this time to help heal each others wounds truly inspired me to look into how I want to incorporate that into my future career goals of clinical psychology.
One of the most impactful organizations we visited for me was Never Again Rwanda. NAR focuses on educating and building up future generations of young Rwandan citizens while also giving them the space to have open dialogue and discourse about current topics to create sustainable peace. A theme that resurfaced often through our program was Reconciliation. Victims and their families live and work in harmony with ex. perpetrators willingly choosing to turn their pains into economic benefits and ensure that generations to follow don’t find themselves repeating history.
Rwanda has changed my life in many ways, always reminding me that a conversation can lead to new knowledge or experiences. Upon my return I finally had a research topic I wanted to discover: How can community be a resource in the healing processes?; with a focus on youth and children psychology I am hoping to start my research soon! Study Abroad opened up my perspective of the world, as much as I would like to say I was a global thinker before studying abroad I was stuck in a bubble in Seattle. Coming back I feel inspired because of all the possibilities I was able to discover. Three weeks –> altered my whole persecutive.
