BDO South Africa members pay tribute to Genocide victims

Members of BDO South Africa alongside BDO EA Rwanda on Sunday, July 24, paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi laid to rest at Kigali Genocide Memorial. BDO SA and BDO EA Rwanda are member firms of BDO International. During the visit, the visiting delegation had a guided tour of the memorial site, where over 250,000 Genocide victims are laid to rest, and laid wreaths at mass graves in honor of the victims. As part of the tour, they explained how Rwandans were divided by colonialists which led to genocide against the Tutsi. They also learned about the resilience and transformation journey of the genocide-devastated country. Pierre Jacobs, Financial Services Partner at BDO SA, writes in the book of visitors. Jacobs urged the world to take responsibility to ensure genocide never happens again in the world. The delegation is in Rwanda to showcase their expertise during a financial services roadshow that started at Marriot Hotel, on Monday, July 25, where banks, insurance companies, and microfinance institutions among other companies are invited to participate. Pierre Jacobs, the Financial Services partner at BDO South Africa commended Rwanda for the efforts that have led to resilience and transformation despite the atrocities that ravaged the country. “Despite the sadness and cruelty caused by genocide, I have been amazed by the friendliness of people, the hope, the energy, and the willingness to change. If you look around you, it is a thriving country. It is the hope of Rwanda that helped to overcome and flourish,” he said. He said that it is very important for BDO to learn and understand genocide history so that employers and employees are models in rebuilding the nation and ensuring genocide never happens again. “As a firm striving for better collaboration across the continent, we need to understand each other, have a deep understanding, and build good relationships. From what I have seen is that the world did not act strongly enough when they had to,” he said adding that the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is an example of how the world should not have a blind eye on cruelty happening in different countries. “There are many across the world right now where the world is simply not acting. People should intervene much earlier to stop the killing of people. People didn’t intervene earlier when more than one million people were killed in Rwanda,” he said. Jacobs urged the world to take responsibility to ensure genocide never happens again in the world.

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BDO South Africa members pay tribute to Genocide victims