Photo Reflections of A U.S. Embassy Summer Intern in Kigali, Rwanda

This is part two of a CPD Blog series by USC Master of Public Diplomacy alum Janika Berridge, recounting her ten-week assignment as a management intern in the U.S. Embassy in Kigali. Presented below are a selection of 35mm film photographs by Janika, who challenged herself to take one image each day capturing daily life in and around Kigali. In Part One, Janika reflected on her experiences inside and outside the Embassy. 

My bedroom in the house I shared with two other interns.

Breakfast from the embassy cafeteria.

A local hike to Mount Kanyinya via the Yanzi suspended bridge.

For the embassy’s Independence Day Celebration welcoming hundreds of guests, I borrowed these fabulous red flats from a colleague to complement my blue and white kitenge (East African fabric) dress. Within the first hour of wear (of a 10-hour day), the flats’ red coating began to peel. My colleague and I laughed at the fate of her shoes, and I changed into the red flats I, thankfully, had as a backup.

Inyamibwa Cultural Troupe’s visit to the embassy.

Akagera National Park.

The Belgian Peacekeepers Memorial in Kigali, dedicated to the 10 Belgian peacekeepers who were killed at this site while guarding then Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, at the beginning of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

Inyambo cows at the King’s Palace in Nyanza, Rwanda.

Visual artist Timothy Wandulu of Concepts Arts Studio, in Rwanda’s Nyamirambo neighborhood. Timothy has exhibited his art internationally, and he was a 2017 participant of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Visiting Timothy was a metaphorical walk through personal stories and a physical stroll through his neighborhood.

Kirenge Hills in Nyirangarama, Rwanda.

Halfway through our internship, we hired a cook (a common practice), who came to our house once a week. She would prepare two big meals, which lasted several days. For our first meal, we requested chicken parmesan, scalloped potatoes, and broccoli.

My every day path on the five-minute walk from the embassy to the house.

The first night’s lodging on the three day, two-night Cyinzobe Trail hike in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park.

Lake Cyohoha.

The Susa mountain gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park.

Kimironko Market in Kigali.