Katie McCabe, Caitlin Foord and Laia Codina, players of Arsenal Women Football Club visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi, where over 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are laid to rest.
Their visit comes during the 31st commemoration period (Kwibuka 31) and was part of the ongoing “Visit Rwanda” partnership between Rwanda and Arsenal. These players toured the memorial, learnt about the history and planning of the genocide and paid tribute to the victims.
These three Arsenal Women Football Club Players arrived in Rwanda, Kigali, on 8 July being welcomed to visit Rwanda, they came to Rwanda after an unforgettable season with Arsenal WFC.
They are in Rwanda for a four-day visit to Akagera park (July 8-11) aimed at promoting Rwanda as a tourist destination and local football development. And Visit Rwanda partnership was launched in 2018, whereas, it is sponsored by Arsenal, men’s and women’s teams are contributing to Rwanda’s tourism, with an 8% increase in tourist arrivals since inception.
Visiting Kigali Genocide Memorial is so crucial for tourists coming to Rwanda, so as to not only learn about the present and the future of where Rwanda is going, but to rather start with our past history.
The visit highlighted Rwanda’s journey of unity and recovery, while encouraging global remembrance and peace advocacy through sport and tourism.
Brenna AKARABO
RADIOTV10