Summer Institute Staff travels to Rwanda with humanitarian Carl Wilkens.
Traveling with a delegation led by Hamburg School Superintendent Mark Crawford and Board President Greg Wichlacz, in July 2009 Summer Institute directors Matt Meader, Lori Raybold, and Drew Beiter spent two weeks examining genocide memorials, listening to the testimony of survivors, and seeing how the country is recovering. The trip was funded by private donations through the generosity of the Hamburg School Foundation and Churches in Action.
"The trip had a significant impact on all of us," said Lori Raybold. "Both personally and professionally, seeing the cost of genocide first hand is something that has a huge influence on our teaching, and reaffirms our belief in the the power of education."
"The trip had a significant impact on all of us," said Lori Raybold. "Both personally and professionally, seeing the cost of genocide first hand is something that has a huge influence on our teaching, and reaffirms our belief in the the power of education."
One experience that was especially memorable was the time the group spent with student members of the "Never Again" Club at Gakoni High School. "These students had the incredible job of going out into their communities to act out plays on reconciliation and tolerance," commented Matt Meader. "The Rwandan government has really put an emphasis on human rights education, one that in many ways, has a lot in common with what we?re trying to do with the Summer Institute here at home."
