Youth using the past to build their future

On Friday, 15th April 2011, a group of 75 Riviera High School students joined by a few supporting students from other schools walked in commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi from Kinamba, Kacyiru to the Kigali Genocide Memorial centre at Gisozi. The project was named; ‘Path to Remembrance’ under the slogan “Let’s use our past to build our future” which was founded by three Senior six students of Riviera High School (RHS); Emma Rwigema, Jessica Mutoni and Magnifique Karake as an annual moral contribution to the country during this difficult yet hopeful time of Genocide commemoration. The walk was not just for the Riviera students but also for the Rwandan youth. These youth believe that in order for the slogan “Upholding the truth: Preserving our dignity” to be true, we ought to know that truth from a relevant source. As founders of the project, they seek to show the world that just as we, youth, once destroyed it, we should now take initiative to build our country. Guided by Dieudonne Nagiriwubuntu, a tour guide at the Genocide Memorial Centre, students were able to understand the purpose and history of the memorial site, the significance of the mass graves and the history of Rwanda up to date which until then, was unknown or unclear to many of youth today, many of who were still children or not yet born in 1994. According to Emma Rwigema, one of the walk’s founders, all youth should understand the general message of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. “Come and see for yourself, be changed by the truth, realize and appreciate the current good governance and use it to aim further into a bright future,” Rwigema said.“What we need most is to love our country and build it. Let’s know the shortcomings of the dark and then seek out the light,” advised Rwigema. Ends