AT THE stroke of midnight on December 31, Rwandans ushered in the New Year in style. For some, the New Year found them in church worshiping while others chose to go out to various entertainment spots. Others travelled upcountry to usher in the New Year with their loved ones.

Generally, the New Year celebrations were peaceful, and indeed this is the peace that should mark the next 365 days in 2015.

Like clerics said in their New Year’s sermons, 2015 should be a peaceful year for Rwanda. We should embrace love, peace and unity in everything we do as individuals in our respective capacities.

Without peace, we can’t achieve the Rwandan dream that we all want to see become a reality, one day.

But this peace will only be achieved through individual and collective efforts. Starting at the family level, we should embrace ideals of peace.  

Shun practices that will lead to the disintegration of the family unit, which is the foundation of a country.  Family unity is critical because without it, the church and the country cannot function well.

At the community level, local leaders should continue sensitising people on the values of peace and unity as a critical ingredient to national security and development.  

At the national level, let’s continue to be vigilant and work with security agencies to consolidate our national security. Report any suspected activities aimed at compromising our security as a country. We still have evil forces out there bent on destabilizing the country. The perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and their supporters are still on the lookout to cause havoc.  Security agencies need our support to guarantee a peaceful 2015 where collective efforts will determine how much we achieve as a country.