Learning from the survivors of genocide

Trócaire's Lenten campaign for Rwanda gives Transition Year students a chance to do something practical for human rights, reports Louise Holden

In September 2003, 11 schools from the North and South were invited to take an active part in Trócaire's 2004 Lenten campaign for Rwanda. This year is the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, which claimed the lives of almost one million people. The schools project is called Pamoja Kwa Haki (Together for Rights).

The 11 schools have taken part in two training days, organised by Trócaire's education team to develop research and presentation skills and build links with the other schools involved in the project.

During Lent, each school will be visited by Aloys Habimana, a Rwandan human rights worker. When the genocide started, Habimana was a student in his final year at the National University of Rwanda. Compelled by events to cut short his studies, he joined the human rights movement in his country, just as judicial proceedings against genocide suspects started. As a trial monitor, he worked to ensure fair trials for those accused of the most egregious human rights crimes. For this effort, Human Rights Watch in 1999 selected him as one of four people from around the world to be honoured as human rights defenders.

Habimana will address the students in each school as well as attending public events arranged by the Pamoja Kwa Haki students and the key teachers. Students participating in the projects will also be involved in peer education, sharing what they have learned with other classes and, in some cases, with students in the local primary schools.

Towards the end of the project all participating schools will be invited to attend a ceremony in Dublin, where they will be presented with a Trócaire Global Citizen Award. Their projects will be on display and students will have an opportunity to share some of what they learned from being part of the Pamoja campaign.

During the ceremony there will also be music, dance and reflections on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.

In August 2004 participating students from the 11 schools will be invited to attend a Human Rights School in Ireland. Simultaneously, there will be a Pamoja Human Rights School running in Kenya, coordinated by one of Trócaire's partners, the Kenyan Human Rights Commission - this will include students linked to three other Trócaire-funded projects in Kenya. Trócaire is presently setting up a Pamoja website, which will be a "closed" site allowing for interaction between students in Kenya and Ireland.

The linked schools will work on joint projects such as calendars, Christmas cards, educational resources and an international postcard campaign, based on chosen themes.