CHARLES KWIZERA finds out the beauty of Ingando training

Ingando is taken from the Rwandese verb "Kugandika” which refers to halting normal activities to reflect on, and find solutions to national challenges.

But to many students, waiting to join higher institutions of learning, the idea of undergoing Ingando training were their contributions for a better Rwanda is needed hits them hard. 

Many among them think that going to Ingando is abusive of them and when it comes to that time, many start feigning sicknesses and find all possible ways they can utilize to dodge the training. Some go as far as forging medical papers, to make sure that they don’t go for Ingando.

Unity and reconciliation of Rwandans is a fundamental process for peace and development in our country, because Rwanda had, for long time, been characterized by bad leadership based on discrimination, exclusion, extreme abuse or denial of human rights to its populace.

Unity and Reconciliation Commission was established in March 1999 and the main objectives were to offer civic education, conflict mediation and community initiatives.

Civic education has three units namely the syllabus unit, civic studies and participatory mass education unit. When the NURC was established, it formally developed Ingando as a tool to build coexistence within communities.

The first beneficiaries were ex - combatants from the DR Congo. The programme later expanded to include students joining the university.

However, the commission has lately included in the programme private students in higher institutions of learning mostly due to the significance and importance of Ingando. Nevertheless, students who have undergone Ingando speak with satisfaction about the programme. 

"Of course, you cannot realize the importance of Ingando not until you have gone through it because most times the picture in the minds of those who have never attended is so uninteresting,” says Antoine Mugwiza, a second year student at Butare University.

Civic education as a whole has its responsibilities; developing the national syllabus, promoting national unity and reconciliation, using civic education to create a culture of tolerance, unity and reconciliation, periodical training of Rwandans in terms of teaching the Rwandan people.

Through such training, an evaluation of national unity and reconciliation initiatives could be achieved. Coming as a new image to students, most of them expressed gratitude and spoke out on the changes they have experienced after completing this solidarity action.

Clarisse Mukandori was born and raised in Rwanda. She had been watching since her child hood, all the bad practices by the former genocide regime.

She says after completing the recent phase, she has realised the positive side of joining solidarity camps and what this means to the Rwandan generation of today.

Prior to her high school completion, Mukandori could always ask her parents what the Kinyarwanda name ‘Ingando’ meant. However, they could not give her satisfactory answers about the true meaning.

She always lived with both fear and curiosity as to what she expected to meet when she finally had to join Ingando. Her fears were erased when she got involved and after she had been taught a couple of topics explaining what social life means and the solidarity of Rwandans in general.

"When we were told to pack our things and head to the National stadium to board buses towards Nkumba, I felt scared but later; all my fears were erased as I started learning more and more.”

She adds that if all the Rwandan generations had undergone such trainings like these, Genocide in Rwanda could not have happened.

"Ingando has the ability to save the young generation from engaging in mass killings like our predecessors did. They were trained as the strongest unit in the government but today, we are the strongest unit that is determined to prosper our nation,” she says.

Mukandori also suggests that if Ingando could be attended by all Rwandan youth country wide, sustainable development would be reached easily. 

For James Mwesigye not going for Ingando would have been a loss of a life time.

"Like any other A-level finalist who was waiting to join university, I was skeptical about the idea at first and also wished for anything that could make me miss it. But after the one and half months I spent, I was so happy to have got the chance.”

Mwesigye says that the knowledge about his country he got from Ingando was so overwhelming in that it added much to the little patriotism that he had.

"We were taught about working together as one in order to develop our country and that with that unity, nothing could be impossible,” he added.

In Alphonse Tuvugimana’s view, no single Rwandan youth is supposed to shun Ingando where people are taught the values of the country and all the programmes that are in place for development and they are also shown the part that to play in the implementation process.

What is clear here is the fact that Ingando trainings are so good and every student must look forward to attending them.

Ends