ON Sunday all roads led to Kigali Serena Hotel for the inaugural Mother’s Day Awards Gala. Although Mothers’ Day has always been celebrated in many parts of the world, this was the first time Rwanda was officially celebrating this special day.It’s a day when individuals and society, in general, pay special tribute to all mothers.  The organisers of the Awards should be commended for starting what will perhaps be an annual event that will recognise and celebrate to the role of motherhood and its importance in national development.Mothers’ Day should become a special annual event on the social calendar of the country.Rwandan mothers and women, in general, have played an active role in the development of the country over the last 19 years.  They hold leadership positions in both public and the private sector. They have inculcated special values and attributes as mothers in these positions of leadership. They lead as mothers and offer service above self.Rewarding mothers is a vote of confidence in the role of women in transforming the country. Like they say, when you educate a girl, you have educated a nation. And so when you reward mothers, you have rewarded the country’s unsung heroines, people in whose hands the future generation is being moulded. At the Sunday event, 70-year-old Maria Yohana Mukankuranga was crowned Mother of the Year.  She gave a moving speech highlighting the importance of being appreciated and rewarded as a mother. The humility she demonstrated was a reflection of how it feels when any mother is recognised and appreciated for their special role in society.