Today, 27 years ago, a group of Rwandans embarked on a journey that would rewrite this country’s history and forever change the fortunes of the next generations.

Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) had been formed barely three years before to address decades of injustices and ethnic pogroms that had forced a section of its populations to perpetual exile. With all avenues to end that status quo blocked, the only option was to take up arms, a very suicidal venture as they would be facing much superior opponents in terms of equipment, diplomacy and men under arms.

Three and a half years later, they entered the gates of Kigali, holding off a desperate and demoralised army on one hand, and putting an end to the Genocide against the Tutsi on the other. That is the legacy the RPF has imbibed in Rwandans; no task is too difficult if one puts their mind in it.

The liberation war had one unique factor; it brought together Rwandans from all walks of life, backgrounds and upbringing. Executives threw off their suits, herdsmen abandoned their herds and students put down their pens.

It was a union of purpose, a pure melting pot of what the country has become today. Pioneers of the liberation struggle grew up in different corners of the globe, they brought a diversity of ideas, put their heads together and came up with solutions.

It is a powerful lesson that the youth today should be taught and history books include in their chapters. Many young souls sacrificed for their lives so that today’s youth grow up with equal opportunities, where discrimination and segregation sound like some fiction from Hollywood.

The RPF truly reengineered modern Rwanda and its ideology continues to drive and inspire, and despite the many hurdles, the resilience that was born on October 1, 1990, keeps the country running