ABSTRACT
Kaganza, a semi-urban village in Northern Rwanda, is a predominantly Tutsi community built by the government and co-operating NGOs for those considered particularly vulnerable: repatriated Tutsi refugees and displaced genocide survivors. From everyday life in the village, it was evident that families, neighbours, and community members in general concerned themselves with the lives of children, especially orphans. The post-genocide Rwandan government sees it as important that children’s rights are protected and their status raised if the country is to achieve its goal of development and national unity. Contrary to children’s status in Kaganza as the imagined future of Rwanda, many children in Mwiza, especially older children in difficult situations, were by many older community members framed in terms of delinquency. To many, these children symbolized their community’s decline. The majority of children and youth in Mwiza were not used to expressing themselves to adults, whether through conversation or creative means.
