'Life changing': Father and sons travel to Rwanda for a different perspective

Making a life-changing trip usually doesn't happen early in life but for Jesse Harris, 13 and his brother Josh, 12, a trip to Rwanda with their father Craig has been eye-opening.

The three of them have been in Rwanda for a week.

Craig Harris said he chose the central African nation for a family vacation because of the stark contrast between life there and what they are used to.

"I wanted to have the three of us go on a journey, an adventure where we could all get a little bit of a different perspective on life, different perspective than maybe we get in Prince Edward Island," he said.

"So we chose Rwanda both as just a journey and as a way we can serve with some local organizations."   

Living local

The Harrises stayed with a local family in the capital city of Kigali.

They travelled to the Akagera National Park for a 120 kilometre, seven-hour trek during which they saw giraffes, elephants and other animals.

Craig also met a friend who started an educational academy in the country 10 years ago, one that Craig helped produce a fundraising video for when the school first launched.

"It was really neat to come 10 years later and see how they've expanded from one campus to now supporting 132 across the country," he said. 

'A lot different than it would be in Canada'

Jesse says the trip has been illuminating.

"The experience for me is a lot different than it would be in Canada," he said.

"When you're travelling in Rwanda you would see kids who don't go to school, on the streets with other kids and adults who are asking for money and need help ... it's a great experience to come here and see what it's like."

The trio didn't just see the differences in the streets. They were connected with a local rotary club and through that, were able to visit an orphanage, spending a day with the boys there.

'No one is unconnected from it'

The Harrises also took in some of the darker parts of Rwanda's past.

They visited the genocide memorial, learning about the conflict that ravaged the country in the early 1990s.

Craig said the widespread nature of the genocide was apparent when they spoke with locals.

"The reality is here no one is unconnected from it. Everyone we've talked to has either lost family or relatives due to the genocide." 

'Life changing, definitely''

The group also visited a village for survivors of the genocide who shared their stories. 

Hearing from the survivors inspired Josh and Jesse to try and help out when they return to the Island. 

"We're going to work on a project building homes for the genocide survivors," said Josh.

"We're going to try to get people to raise money for the homes. For a home it's about $1,700." 

Craig said it is evident to him that the decision to bring the boys to Rwanda was the right one.

"Life changing, definitely. I think it's been amazing to watch both of them, how they respond," he said.

"They've experienced the best of what Rwanda has to offer, they've experienced some of the hardships people have on a daily basis ... both of them have said they want to live here but I'm not so certain my wife is going to be ready to pick up and move to Rwanda."

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