The ceremony which took place at Nyanza Genocide Memorial yesterday was attended by government officials, representatives of umbrella organizations of genocide survivors, representatives of international organizations and envoys to Rwanda.
The garden is one of parts making Nyanza memorial where over 11,000 genocide victims are laid to rest.
Nyanza is particularly known as the place where thousands of Tutsis were killed after they were abandoned by UN peacekeepers.
They had sought refuge at the former ETO-Kicukiro, (currently IPRC-Kigali), which was protected by UNAMIR peacekeepers, until the Belgian contingent decided to leave the country, leaving them in hands of Interahamwe militia.
Jeannette Kagame said the memorial was built to demonstrate a place where tragedies took place that “it is an unforgettable symbol reminding us that life went on.’
She laid a foundation stone to the garden in 2000 six years after the genocide was stopped.
“When we laid the foundation stone at this garden, it was few years after stopping the genocide which took lives of our beloved ones. It was too earlier that people didn’t think that life would be possible,” she noted.
“As years passed, the hope for life improved and the country progressed. Then we thought that the garden should be part of the memory and hope for life,” added Jeannette Kagame.
The memorial will portray truth on genocide, share testimonies of survivors and resilience with the aim of eliminating genocide ideology. It also reminds us of the task to preserve history, remembrance and promoting humanity.
“We need a place like this in a garden helping us to come together and keep the memory of those who departed,” said the First Lady. were killed for innate personality.
The architect Bruce Clarke, conceived the design of the garden after engaging with genocide survivors on creating other forms of keeping the memory and after visiting genocide memorials and historic sites.
He closely worked with IBUKA, umbrella of genocide survivors during the project.
Bruce Clarke said that the garden was sophisticatedly built and depicts hard times Tutsi passed through.
“Each symbol in this garden represents sorrow, loss of hope and rebuilding of hope. It is not an achievement of one person,” he said.
The president of IBUKA, Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu said that those visiting the garden will find the right place to reflect on what happened during the genocide. “We will be in conversations with ours in comfortable place having symbols of life. It will be a moment for everyone to understand that life exists and building hope for the future,” he observed.
The memorial garden is made of different sections including stones depicting victims killed during the genocide, how environment took part in rescuing hunted Tutsi, open holes representing where some genocide victims were thrown and rivers flowing through marshlands and the section of forest to remember among others.
The memorial garden built on around three hectares is expected to be completed within a year at Rwf 700 million. 
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