The Kigali Genocide Memorial Museums was opened on the 10th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, in April 2004. The museum is built on a site where over 250,000 people were buried in massive graves during the 1994 Genocide. These graves are a clear reminder of the cost of ignorance. The construction of the center was stated in 2000 by Kigali city center in partnership with Aegis Trust from United Kingdom.
The Kigali genocide museum is a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the 1994 Rwanda genocide and serves as a place for people to grieve those they lost. This museum in Kigali was created by a joint partnership of the City Council of Kigali and the UK-based Aegis Trust. Here you find a permanent exhibition of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and an exhibition of other genocides around the world.
In April 2004, on the 10th Anniversary of the genocide that split Rwanda apart, the Kigali Memorial Centre was inaugurated. The Kigali center provided an opportunity to offer a place in which the bereaved could bury their families and friends, and over 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide are now buried at the site – a clear reminder of the cost of ignorance.
The Kigali museum also known as Gisozi genocide memorial center includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the genocide in 1994. There is also a children’s memorial, and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The Education Centre, Memorial Gardens and National Documentation Centre of the Genocide all contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who lost their lives, and form a powerful educational tool for the next generation. Nothing good can come out of the Genocide.
The Aegis Trust then did a great task of collecting data from all parts of the world to make the three graphical exhibits. The text for all three exhibitions was printed in three languages, designed in the United Kingdom at the Aegis head office by their design team, and shipped to Rwanda to be installed.
The genocide survivors’ response to the creation of this memorial Centre was unpredicted. However in n the first week, over 1,600 survivors visited the center each day, then in the first 3 months of opening, the memorial center received about 60,000 people from different backgrounds out of which, over 7,000 of were from the International Community.
Up to today, the center receives many visitors from across the world. Most of the visitors to Rwanda for gorilla tracking safaris visit different genocide museums around the country. It should be noted that Rwanda has many genocide memorial centers among which include Nyamata, bisesero, Ntarama, Nyanza, Gisenyi and Murambi among others.
African Jungle Adventures can take you around all genocide memorials in Rwanda and share stories about the genocide from survivors found in these places.
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OTHER GENOCIDE MUSEUMS IN RWANDA
Murambi Genocide Memorial Center