Marambi and the ride through the forest.

Monday 20th
We awoke for our last breakfast at Solace before our days journey through Rwanda

The roads are all very much improved so the drive was much quicker and comfortable compared to even last year. As we drove out of Kigali we went from the finely groomed diplomatic centre through the more commercial areas and finally into the country. Even in the  rural areas there was much development with new houses being built and most of the roofs looking bright and shiny with little evidence  of rust.

After a brief stop at Nyanza which is a dairy centre with good loos  and delicious yogurt which they make locally. 

Then on to Marambi a large genocide memorial site.

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The group walking up to the school where the genocide took place.

The memorial is a school where 50,000 people where butchered by the militia while French peace keeping troops did nothing. Only 34 people escaped alive to tell the tale.

The place is a very sombre memorial where bodies have been preserved in lime in the classrooms.

It acts as a warning for everybody about the dangers of racism and propaganda and how all people should be treated equally. The denigration and dehumanisation of any group must be actively resisted and the evil exposed before further evil ensues.

The mood was lightened as we drove out by the cheerful children running after the bus shouting "Muzungu" the kinyarwandan word for white rich people.

We then made a stop at the Kamembe diocese where we met  the archdeacon, and dropped of the water filters we had bought before starting our journey through the wonderful Nungwe forest  the highestt high level rain forest in Africa