Over the past several weeks, 麻豆传媒 faculty and staff, along with a select group of students, have traveled to Kigali, Rwanda. Both students and staff participated in the global peace conference, Peace Education in an Era of Crisis, which took place July 11-13 and was sponsored by Kent State鈥檚 School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State鈥檚 Gerald H. Read Center for International and Intercultural Education, the and the .
While in Kigali, a group of Kent State students is taking part in the three-week Kigali Summer Institute education-abroad program. In between academic programming and the peace conference, the group has been traveling around Kigali to experience all that the region has to offer, including beautiful vistas, music, dance and cultural exchange with the Rwandan residents. Below are some of the scenes captured from their excursions.
Kigali is considered the cleanest city in Africa, thanks to a ban on non-biodegradable plastics and a current phase-out of single-use plastics. Still, heavy use of fossil fuels, including lots of diesel, plus the dry season鈥檚 effects on the clay soil, keeps a haze over much of Kigali.
It鈥檚 not uncommon to see kids in Kigali enjoying toys and games that may seem simpler than most of us are used to, but many, many more children play outside here compared to the U.S.
As a landlocked nation in the heart of the African continent, much of the food in Rwanda is locally grown, very fresh and delicious. It is readily available for sale along the roads in and around Kigali. Giant avocados and mangoes are especially good. Here, Kent State sophomore Gracie Ford, of Canton, Ohio, purchases fresh fruit along a roadside.
Roads in Kigali and across the countryside are filled with 鈥渕oto-taxis.鈥 They鈥檙e motorcycle taxis for single passengers, helmet provided. The cyclists, in packs of dozens at a time, weave among the cars and trucks that clog the streets and highways. In other modes of transport, bicycles are used to haul everything from construction materials to fresh fruit in Kigali, and as this man demonstrates, they鈥檙e usually pushed, rather than ridden, when the loads are heavy.
In between academic lessons, Kent State faculty, staff and students enjoyed a beautiful performance of traditional dance by a Rwandan song and dance troupe. Afterward, the group from Kent State try their hand at traditional Rwandan dance.
In a picturesque valley outside of Kigali, Rwanda, a family tends to their crops, including rice paddies. The farmers head to the fields with yellow, water-filled jugs to irrigate their crops.
Here, Kent State students Jordon Egbert from Toledo, Ohio, and Sophia Lucente from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, peruse through a local artist鈥檚 merchandise in Rwanda.
Top image caption: Kent State students enjoy a beautiful view over the city of Kigali during the three-week Kigali Summer Institute education-abroad program.