Bugesera Reconciliation Village Day Trip

Gain a better understanding of the historical and cultural context within which Rwanda’s development challenges arise. Visit the reconciliation Village where victims and perpetrators live side by side

The UN Millennium Villages Project is probably the most famous and most comprehensive development initiative of our time. It was designed to lift some of the world’s poorest areas out of extreme poverty. Our Millennium Village Tour gives answers to those visitors who want to know more about the challenges that so many African communities face, and teaches a variety of interventions that have proven to be successful in the fight against poverty. A truly educational experience, the tour touches on topics such as sustainable agriculture, education, health care, infrastructure, micro-enterprise development as well as peace building and reconciliation, while offering opportunities to authentically experience aspects of the local culture, including food, language and traditions. Guided in part by local inhabitants, the tour offers very personal insights into the lives of the villagers while ensuring that the community and the individuals involved in tourism benefit from the initiative.

Tour itinerary

1. 1

   Drive to Bugesera & welcome

   A 40-minute drive south of Kigali, then an introduction to the Millennium Village Project and the development challenges of Bugesera District.

2. 2

   Ntarama Genocide Memorial

   A red-brick church under acacia trees where almost 5,000 people, many of them women and children, sought refuge in 1994 and were killed. Their belongings remain where they fell.

3. 3

   Farming projects

   Community members show the Millennium Village interventions that changed farming and food security in one of Rwanda’s driest districts.

4. 4

   Lunch in a village home

   A cooking lesson and home-cooked lunch with a local family, with time for honest conversation.

5. 5

   Basket weaving with the women’s associations

   Women from three handicraft associations (246 members aged 19 to 76) show the full weaving process and teach it if you want to try. You leave with a peace basket.

6. 6

   Reconciliation Village testimonies & ubusabane

   In a settlement of 120 households, survivors and former perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi live as neighbours. They share how they live and work together, followed by an ubusabane get-together with traditional dance and local drinks.

Half-day versions and themed visits focused on a single project are available on request. Find Kigali stops on the tourist map of Kigali.