Dear editor,

Reading in your paper yesterday about a four-year old child who was defiled by a man in Musanze district was shocking.

The chilling and ugliest part of it is that a neighbour, another woman connived with the HIV-positive defiler while the child’s mother was away.

Parents should revive the traditional communal upbringing of children as a source of pride for families, communities and the entire country.

Children are the young trees of the forest. So they form the backbone of Rwanda. Citizens should nurture children into responsible adults.

It is also important for parents, leaders, and guardians of all children to ensure that people who violate the rights of children through defilement, rape, sodomy and other criminal tendencies are arrested and prosecuted.

All forms of child exploitation and neglect should stop. Parents should also strive to prevent marriage break-ups as the effects of broken families hit children hardest.

Huye