Educational Study Tour in Rwanda

Hi, my name is Bill and I am going to Rwanda for a couple of weeks in July for a study tour to examine the legacies of the Rwandan Genocide. Our tour leader is Carl Wilkens, who was the only American to stay in Rwanda throughout the genocide and is credited with saving hundreds of orphans. The central question we will be exploring is “How can people live together peacefully when betrayal, murder, and genocide are such a recent part of their history?” Heavy stuff indeed.

I have been a high school history teacher at Madison East High School for over 20 years. My teaching focuses on the history of political violence and I wrote a master's thesis on how to teach about the Rwandan Genocide. I have never been to Africa and this is an exemplary opportunity to examine how Rwanda has recovered in the three decades since the genocide occurred in 1994. We will be visiting memorials, talking to government officials, visiting a prison, talking to perpetrators, going to a nature reserve, and much more. It promises to be a rich experience. Having authentic travel experiences to places with such a heavy history has incalculable benefits for my teaching and thus my students' learning. It promises to be an awesome and eye-opening experience.

The trip is expensive and I hope you can support me in defraying its costs. The flight and tour costs are over $5,000. Your investment will help me achieve a longstanding goal to visit Rwanda and further my understanding of the genocide and its legacies. But primarily this is an investment in my teaching and ability to bring the world directly to my students. I very much hope to get your support in this endeavor and I appreciate immensely any assistance you can give. Thank you for your consideration.