TODAY Miss Rwanda 2014 will be crowned at a colourful event  at Petit Stade in Remera. In the build up to the D-day, the girls spent two weeks in a boot camp. Timothy Bamwita visited the camp and captured what transpired. 

The day began with aerobics and physicals at the gym at 5:45am which went on for over an hour before breakfast. Then, came training sessions that followed a similar routine. The training sessions were meant to boost confidence, etiquette, how they carry themselves as ladies, perfecting the cat walk and the art of public speaking.

On top of this, the contestants met a series of motivational speakers.  Among the notable speakers were Dr. Jean Baptist Habyarimana; the Executive Secretary of Unity and Reconciliation Commission who talked about the Ndi Umunyarwanda project with a major focus on what unites  Rwandans rather than what divides them and Mr. Didier Munezero who highlighted the importance of vocational education skills to the contestants and Rwanda as a whole. 

Ms. Jeanne d’Arc Umulisa from the ministry of Gender and family Promotion talked about girl empowerment as one way of boosting emancipation in Rwanda. Other key speakers were  Fred Murangwa from Rwanda Development Board and Butete Redemptor from the ministry of Youth and Information Communication Technology (ICTs) all highlighting the role ladies have to play in conserving the Rwanda culture, investing in Rwanda and the role of ICTs in empowering the youth in Rwanda.

At the end of the camp, contestants were more confident. Emmanuela Erica Urwibutso one of the contestants said the boot camp broadened her knowledge on many aspects besides making many new friends.

For Mouna Dukunde, it was a worthwhile experience spending time with strangers that treated her not as a competitor but as a friend and many a time shared different ideas.  But it wasn’t work all day. The contestants got time off to relax. They often went to the cinema for movies, played basketball and visited museums in Nyanza and Genocide sites.

The day usually ended with personal rehearsals of the catwalk, correcting each other, sharing ideas about the competition and entertainment which mostly took  the form of dancing.