Day 2 here in Kigali and I went on a tour to talk to perpetrators and survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi’s that occurred in Rwanda. Our first stop was to the Genocide Memorial which was a church where 10,000 victims lives were taken. At this memorial they have the clothing and coffins filled with remains. Rwanda has really preserved their past in order to learn from it and move forward. Afterwards we went to millennium village, where perpetrators and survivors of the genocide are living amongst each other in peace. We got a tour of the village and how the people live there. It’s a very simple life. They farm, visit each other at their homes, hangout and cook food, family style. After seeing how the people lived in the village we sat with about 20 people who lived there and heard their stories about the genocide. It was wild to hear their stories from both sides of a perpetrator and a survivor. They live in this village in peace working with each other. That was one aspect of the Rwandan reconciliation effort is to learn how to forgive and rebuild a community that once lived in peace with each other. After the interviews, we ate lunch with the people in the village. We were invited into one of their homes and had a home cooked meal of traditional Rwandan Food. It consisted of potatoes, plantains, chicken, beans, rice and other vegetables. Once we were ready to say goodbye, we were given traditional Rwandan handwoven baskets as gifts to leave with. This was another unforgettable experience that left me in awe.