Editor, RE: “The ideas that are building Rwanda” (The New Times, September 3). Miracles do not just happen out of the blue, President Paul Kagame reminded us again. First, it is correct that it all starts with ideas, winning ideas, for human miracles to happen. But ideas alone dont yield much. Ideas alone dont build a country, as the author of the opinion implies. Rather, in a second phase, as an opted follow-up to a “good” idea, also important is a realistic implementation plan to avoid improvisation that inevitably leads to some kind of failure. And finally, a sine qua non condition for human miracles to happen is hands-on effective work to translate and steer those good ideas and good plans into intelligent action. It is good and quite laudable that concrete initiatives and achievements by “exceptional individuals” who learnt to fish instead of being given fish, are regularly highlighted in media and in other platforms, as models to emulate. But efforts should as well be made not to present those special cases precisely as just “miracles”, “dreams”, or “visions” that have occurred to some particularly gifted individuals. Instead, focus ought to be put on hard work, both mental and practical, that was required, gradually and orderly put and sustained all along each individual initiative up to its fruition. And lastly, in an effort to educate people to become more and more realistic and cool headed entrepreneurs in all walks of life, emphasis on hard work should be stressed, instead of showing us spectacular cases or results of which no one knows what concretely made it to happen. And not failing to also mention luck, often permitting things to happen, however not as miracle. Luck is in no way a miracle—it rather is a pure coincidence in life, a mere concomitance of circumstances: being at the right place, at the right time, with the right other person or persons. Francois-Xavier Nziyonsenga
