About Rwanda

When I took a class on post-catastrophic societies at UChicago, which focused on the genocide in Rwanda and other nations--I never imagined that I would one day live and work in Rwanda. While my professor talked about her experiences in Rwanda, I listened--but not hard enough. It just never occurred to me that one day I would have a platform for which I could talk about my own experiences in Rwanda. With this, I give you a tidbit on Rwanda--all learned from Professor Stansell, Peace Corps, and Google.

Rwanda, also known as Les Milles Collines (Land of A Thousand Hills), is the second smallest country in Africa, followed by the Gambia.  The phrase 'Les Milles Collines' refers to Rwanda's mountainous terrain--which is home to about half of the world's 700 remaining mountain gorillas.

Rwanda is located in East Africa, with Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo as neighbors. It gained independence on July 1st, 1962 from the Belgium-administered UN Trusteeship. The current head of State is Paul Kagame, elected in 2000 and re-elected to another seven year term in 2010.  In a move to better integrate Rwanda into the East African community and to break the country from its colonial past, Kagame decreed that the nation's school system would be transitioning from French to English speaking. This policy is responsible for why I'll be going to Rwanda to teach English in secondary schools.

Even though the genocide in Rwanda will always be an important part of history, Rwanda shows few signs of it's past trauma today.



  • Rwanda is the first country in the world to have a majority of women in Parliament (56%). This rate is also the current highest rate of any country. 
  • It's capital, Kigali, is named one of the safest and cleanest cities in Africa--no doubt this is partially due to a law that bans plastic bags in Rwanda. (Rwanda is the only developing country besides Bangladesh to do so!)  
  • On January 1, 2002, Rwanda adopted a new flag, coat of arms and national anthem. It's flag reflects peace and tranquility (blue), wealth (yellow), prosperity, work and productivity (green). 
  • The real GDP growth rate in 2010 was 11.2%. 
  • 43% of Rwanda's population is under the age of 15. 
  • Rwanda's current life expectancy age is 57.5. 
  • 56.5% of Rwanda is Roman Catholic. 
  • Rwanda has three official languages: English, French and Kinyarwanda (most commonly used). 
  • The average daily temperature in Rwanda is 70 F, due to it's high elevation. Rwanda has two rainy seasons: one long rainy season (March to May) and one short one (October to November). 
  • Rwanda is in UTC+2, making it 7 hours ahead of EST. 
Additional Resources about Rwanda (Suggested to me by Peace Corps): 
Websites: 

Literature: 
Bill Berkeley: The Graves Are Not Yet Full 
Rosamond Carr: Land of A Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda 
Dian Fossey: Gorillas in the Mist 
Philip Gourevitch: We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families 
Jean Hatzfield: Machete Season 
Stephen Kinzer: A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It 
Samantha Power: A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide

Films: 
100 Days 
Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda 
Gorillas in the Mist 
Hotel Rwanda 
Shake Hands with the Devil 
Sometimes in April 






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