April 10, 2008

By Kellie Ahern

Over spring break, Dr. Erin Kenny and senior Rafe Preston traveled to Rwanda. Preston documented filmmaker Patrick Mureithi’s entry into the Rwanda Film Festival, as well as the people and land of Rwanda. Dr. Kenny spoke with Rwandan officials about setting up a Study Abroad program for Drury.

Building on the legacy of Drury University as a site of reconciliation after the Civil War, the trip was largely inspired by the work of Patrick Mureithi, a Kenyan filmmaker based in Springfield, Mo. In Rwanda, Mureithi documented a series of 3-day reconciliation workshops entitled Healing and Rebuilding Our Community (HROC). These workshops brought together 10 survivors and 10 perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.

Mureithi recently shared his documentary film Icyzere: Hope with the Drury community. He also involved Drury international students to help him translate much of the film’s dialogue.

“I've been involved with photography for several years, and I took as many pictures as I could,” says Preston. By the end of the trip, Preston had taken more than one roll of traditional film, as well as more than 100 pictures on his digital camera.

“I documented as much as I could,” says Preston. “I filmed out the window of our car as we drove places. I filmed kids, cars, bikes, motorcycles, women carrying things on their heads, churches, hillsides, more kids, and, of course, the film festival.”

“The premise of the festival is to show the progress Rwanda has seen in the years since genocide,” says Preston. “Watching so many films on genocide really makes me feel bad for the Rwanda people. I learned a lot about the whole ordeal.”

While Prestonphotographed Mureithi, Dr. Kenny met with two university presidents and three ministers of national government to see about setting up a study abroad program. Kenny says that “all parties were very receptive to welcoming Drury students,” especially the possibilities of involving business students in entrepreneurial ventures within the auspices of the Kigali School of Finance and Business. Kenny was also fortunate to learn more about fair trade coffee production in the southern part of the country. “People I talked to are hopeful that the Drury community could also host Rwandan university students. In 1994, when the world turned a blind eye to the genocide, thousands of children were left orphaned. They’ve come of age now, and the global community has a responsibility to invest in these young people who don’t have the support of a traditional family.”

In addition to attending meetings, Dr. Kenny also attended six nights of African-made films and met with filmmakers, producers, and actors. “The entire experience was very impressive. Since the release of Hotel Rwanda, there has a great deal of optimism and hope around young artists and the emerging film industry in Rwanda. These people are actively re-shaping their world after the most unimaginable violence and chaos: they are truly visionary.”

Both Kenny and Preston left Rwandawith a great deal of respect for local filmmaker, Patrick Mureithi: “I learned that Patrick is the most genuine person I've ever met. It really takes a lot for someone to leave the comfort of the U.S., not to mention his wife and kids to come to a country that is still recovering from genocide to shoot a documentary to try to help them have some reconciliation with the past and some hope for the future,” says Preston. “It doesn’t take much to see that Patrick is a man that cares for our global community.”

“He really models what it is to be an engaged global citizen,” added Kenny. “I truly hope our trip was just the beginning of a long-term, sustainable relationship with the people of Rwanda. They have been through so much, and they have much to teach us about building a positive future.”