The Capital City of Rwanda
Kigali is the capital city and the largest city in Rwanda. Situated right in the middle of the country, it is home to the international airport, an up and coming art and design culture and a plethra of restaurants. Vibrant market stalls jostle for space and sit comfortably alongside internationally styled hotels and boutique guest houses. Wide boulevards are lined with trees, giving the city a lovely 'green' feel.
The city is also very clean - something that everyone plays a part in. The last Saturday of every month is dedicated to a city-wide 'community clean' initiative and by law at least one person from each household residing here must head outside to clean, fix or do some sort of maintenance work to maintain the city. Not even the President is exempt from playing his part!
No visit to Kigali would be complete without a trip to the Genocide Memorial. The exhibitions and burial gardens are a haunting reminder and moving tribute to the million plus Rwandans who were killed in 1994 during the Genocide against the Tutsi people over just 100 days. The wall of names in particular is dedicated to those who died and is a work still in progress. Many of the victims' names have yet to still be gathered and documented and many of the victims who rest in the 250,000 graves are unknown. The memorial also supports those who survived the atrocities including orpans and widows.