More than 300 students, their parents, teachers and staff of Ecole Belge de Kigali have visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial to remember victims and learn about the history of the Genocide against the Tutsi for Kwibuka22. École Belge de Kigali is a Belgian curriculum school with students of more than 29 nationalities. It is part of the Association des écoles à programme belge à l’étranger.
The group started their commemoration event with a Walk to Remember from the Kigali Public Library in Kacyiru to the Kigali Genocide Memorial.
The visit was an opportunity for the children and their parents to learn about the causes, reality and consequences of the Genocide.
Maïti Gilet, Director of Ecole Belge de Kigali, said most of their students are under 18 years old, so they weren’t alive during the Genocide and that visiting the memorial allows them to learn the country’s tragic history.
“Our students weren’t born until after the Genocide. That is why we decided to visit the memorial. We want our students to know what happened during the Genocide. They only knew what they heard on radio or saw on TV before coming here.”
Speaking at the memorial, Jean Luc Guissard, Director of the Secondary School, said that they are putting much effort in educating their students in order to eradicate genocide ideology. They are going to achieve this goal, he said, by introducing a course about genocide in their curriculum. He also thanked the Aegis Trust for its efforts to preserve the memory of the Genocide and support survivors.
Ecole Belge Commemoration Photos
