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SUMMER INSTITUTE STAFF TRAVELS TO RWANDA
Summer Institute Co-Chairs (from left) Matthew Meader, Lori Raybold, and Drew Beiter (far right) pose with a student at Gakoni High School, Eastern Province, Rwanda, July, 2009.
Traveling with a delegation led by Hamburg School Superintendent Mark Crawford and Board President Greg Wichlacz, 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."
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."
Summer Institute staff pose with Carl Wilkens (far right) and the students of the "Never Again" Club at Gakoni High School in Rwanda.
To see a captioned Picture Gallery of the trip, please go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/andrewbtr1/RwandaPictures# >>
To understand more about the incredible life and mission of Carl Wilkens, please go to http://worldoutsidemyshoes.org