Rubavu takes reconciliation campaigns to schools

WESTERN PROVINCE RUBAVU — The district Education Officer, Mediatrice Mwangange has said that the district will extend unity and reconciliation campaigns to all schools in Rubavu District in an effort to stem genocide ideology. “The youth in former Gisenyi province were used by the former leaders to carry out the genocide. The ideology still lives in many of the residents not only in Rubavu but the entire Western Province,” she said. “This province is the one in which the Interahamwe and the EX-FAR carried out their final campaign and activities before they were defeated by the Unity and Reconciliation Government to cross to DRC,” she explained. Mwangange was recently speaking during a unity and reconciliation inter-schools debate competition finals in Gisenyi town. The competitions attracted TTC Gacuba and Ecole Science de Gisenyi whose motion was the role of youth in spreading unity and reconciliation. The winning schools will represent the district at the provincial level and be given a prize by the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission which also organised the on going western province inter-schools debate competitions. Mwangange added, “That’s the reason we need to start the unity and reconciliation campaign in schools by teaching students how they can influence their parents and relatives into positive change towards unity and working as a team to rebuild our country irrespective of our ethnic backgrounds.” She said that the district will closely monitor and support the existing unity and reconciliation clubs in schools and facilitate them to reach out to other youths outside schools. She also thanked the Unity and Reconciliation Commission for supporting the province in its campaigns. “We recently had inter-school football competition which brought together all secondary schools in the district. Football playing involves teamwork, it teaches students to work as a team irrespective of their ethnic groups and back ground,” she said. According to Jean Paul Hategikimana, one of the students from Gacuba Secondary School, which won the competitions, such debates were vital because they influence students towards positive changes. “Some of the students come from families which still harbor the ideology. These debates help them get the positive side and they at the end of the day influence their parents and relatives towards unity and reconciliation, a foundation for our country’s development,” he said. Ends