Rwandan Ambassador to Visit University for International Education Week Event

Photo Submitted

Ambassador James Kimonyo, from Rwanda

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Rwanda’s ambassador to the United States, James Kimonyo, will visit the University of Arkansas on Thursday, Nov. 10, where he will meet with Rwandan students and take part in the re-enactment of a traditional Rwandan engagement ceremony.

Ambassador Kimonyo was invited by Rwandan students attending the university and members of the Rwandan community in Northwest Arkansas. The university currently has 25 Rwandan students -- 20 undergraduates and 5 graduate students.

The ambassador’s visit coincides with the annual immersion program sponsored by the office of international students and scholars and the university’s multicultural center as part of International Education Week. This year’s immersion program highlights Rwanda’s culture and offers members of the university community a chance to immerse themselves in that culture.  Rwandan students will transform the stage of the Verizon Ballroom at the Arkansas Union into a Rwandan home and yard, and re-enact a Gusaba, the traditional engagement ceremony. The ceremony will include a traditional Rwandan meal, music and dance.

Ambassador Kimonyo and university Chancellor G. David Gearhart will be the chief guests for the engagement ceremony dinner.

The immersion program will be held from 5:10-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Verizon Ballroom. It is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required through the event website.

“A Rwandan engagement ceremony is a negotiation, sometimes an hours-long battle of wits before a wedding is approved,” explained Denis Rugia, a Rwandan student leader, who has helped organize this event. “The groom has to bargain with the bride's family for his new wife, and usually asks a community leader to do the bargaining. According to tradition, the bride's delegation always refuses to give up the bride at first, but if they eventually agree, the groom's delegation presents cows to the bride's family as dowry.”

“Our students will be acting this out as realistically as possible, with traditional wedding music and Rwandan dancers – but no real cows,” said Cynthia Smith with the office of international students and scholars. “It should be very entertaining and educational for everyone who attends.”

Kimonyo and Gearhart will both speak at the end of the ceremony, and there will be an opportunity afterwards for people to visit with the Rwandan students and take pictures of Rwandan costumes and artifacts.

Kimonyo is trained as an engineer, but has been instrumental in the political and socio-economic reforms in Rwanda since the mid-1990s. Prior to his diplomatic career, Kimonyo served as the governor of the Eastern and Southern provinces respectively, and was appointed to head the Department of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction where he played a vital role in the repatriation, resettlement and reintegration of former Rwandan refugees.