Rwandans today mark Heroes Day with celebrations taking place at the grassroots across the country, under the theme; "Upholding Heroism to Build the Rwanda We Want”.

While the day will be marked at the village level – the smallest administrative unit –, in the capital Kigali, President Paul Kagame will lead other government officials and families of the country’s celebrated heroes to lay wreaths at their graves at the National Heroes’ Mausoleum in Remera.

Today’s events were preceded by a weeklong nationwide campaign about the values of heroism, which mainly focused on calling on citizens, especially the youth, to embrace Rwanda’s four main values of unity, working hard, patriotism, and integrity.

Today, Rwandans will gather in their neighborhoods to reflect on the significance of Heroes Day and the selfless contribution of the country’s celebrated heroes across generations.

They will also seek to recommit to the very values that characterised those that sacrificed their lives for their country and common good.

It is a day on which to emphasise the role of everyone in the continued collective effort to develop a better country, officials say.

The Minister for Sports and Culture, Julienne Uwacu, said that as the government starts its 7-year term, celebrating Heroes’ Day is an opportunity to look ahead and encourage the young to learn from the elder statesmen and women so they can play their own role in building the country.

"The young people of Rwanda today have the opportunity to start from somewhere, to build on what has already been achieved,” she said.

The minister said: "Let’s all strive to be heroes within our communities but, most importantly, let us nurture and encourage our children to lead responsible lives so that they can build on what we have already put in place.”

"No one will come from elsewhere to take care of our country. It is our core responsibility as Rwandans,” she told journalists.

Over the last one week, the campaign about the values of heroism was marked by sports activities, conferences and talk shows.

The campaign, which took place from January 24-31, sought to raise public awareness about the Heroes Day and to inculcate the right values that every Rwandan should embrace in order to contribute in the development of their country.

The chairperson of the Elders Advisory Council, Dr Augustin Iyamuremye, told The New Times, yesterday, that marking Heroes’ Day is especially important for Rwandan youth because they still have time to do great things for their country.

"The youth still have a long time to live and they should strive to build their country by successfully accomplishing their duties in an exemplary way. They should always look to do great things for the community and country so that future generations will look at what they did and get inspired to do the same,” he said.

The country has progressively identified gallant men and women who have loyally and exceptionally served their country in different capacities and whose deeds inspired many across generations.

Rwanda’s heroes are in three categories: Imanzi, Imena, and Ingenzi.

The Imanzi category, the highest order, features people who registered utmost achievements at the expense of everything, including their own lives.

They include Maj Gen Fred Rwigema, who died on the frontline the day after the launch of the country’s armed liberation struggle in October 1990, and the ‘Unknown Soldier’, who represents all the men and women in uniform who lost their lives during the campaign the liberate the country.

The Imena category comprises of people whose track record includes extraordinary acts for the country and were characterised by utmost sacrifice.

This category includes King Mutara III Rudahigwa Charles Léon Pierre, Michel Rwagasana (special adviser to late King Rudahigwa), and Agathe Uwilingiyimana, the female prime minister who was slain by genocidal government forces within just hours of the start of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Others in this category include Félicité Niyitegeka, a Catholic nun who offered shelter to fleeing Tutsi during Genocide only to be killed by the Interahamwe militia alongside the people who she had hid in her house at a parish in Rubavu District; and the Nyange Secondary School students, whose school was attacked by the remnants of the genocidal forces and Interahamwe militia on March 18, 1997 – six of the students were killed on that fateful night.

The Ingenzi category is comprised of living heroes but their list is yet to be published.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw