The youth will redefine the ‘Rwandan Dream’

Early this week, I asked members of my Twitter network, “if someone was to ask you to define the Rwandan Dream, how would you define it”, and without the 140 character limit Twitter instituted, I was able to expand the question on Facebook to “if someone was to ask you to define the Rwandan Dream, how would you define it? Is it driving a big car and living in Nyarutarama? Or is it something less materialistic”? The different replies I received were eyeopening.Why did I ask the question to my Facebook friends and Twitter followers? Because I’d come to feel that I’d bandied the word about haphazardly, in the mistaken belief that the ‘Dream’ was something that we’d agreed upon. Reading their reactions to the question opened my eyes to people’s differing views on the subject. So, what did the young men and women think? To quote some of them, the Rwandan Dream was about “being happy”, “moving forward and blessing the upcoming generations with the strength and knowledge we possess for a better and sustainable Rwanda”, being“ economically independent and satisfied”, “owning a house you can raise a family in” and “4321.. four wheels, 3 bedrooms, 2 kids, one wife! Land ownership is the holy grail for all Rwandans poor and rich”.One young man, who works for a well known media organisation, wrote “having a place to call home and being able to make ends meet in Rwanda will be the ultimate Rwandan dream. Our franc seems to be doing well but life here is way too expensive. When you tell someone from Kenya or Uganda the amount you earn and the kind of life you live, after converting they gasp in awe coz (sic) it seems a lot yet in actual sense you can only afford an average lifestyle.We are building an expensive monster that will swallow us all. Life is cheaper in countries that are dealing with hyper inflation”.Reading the responses, I came to the realisation that while they could articulate the ‘Dream’, getting a piece of the pie was still a huge challenge.Being a young person is extremely challenging these days. In my humble opinion, it is because our expectations have skyrocketed when compared with those of the previous generation. I feel that my fathers’ generation was, and is, simply happy to have a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs and a job that pays the bills. I think that is because they can remember just how miserable their lives were only a few decades ago. Not so for us.The 20-somethings that are joining the job market have either never known exile or were too young to remember it. They are well read and tech savvy. That savviness is a double edged sword. For while that savvy gives them a competitive advantage, it only makes them dissatisfied. Their horizon doesn’t start and end within Rwanda’s borders. They want the same quality of lifestyle that their western peers enjoy. They want to own the sleekest Apple MacBooks; the nicest clothes and the holiday getaways that they see their American friends post about on Instagram. They expect to receive diamond engagement rings from their boyfriends and to wear Vera Wang wedding gowns on their big day. The only problem is, their expectations and their realities simply do not mesh.I wonder if the young people will, with their $100,000 dreams on $100 paychecks, settle for our simple, time honored dreams (a job, a home, land and some money in the bank) or will they change the game? The answer to this question will determine our nation’s ultimate destiny because I believe that a dissatisfied youth, unwilling to accept the status quo, will be the engine that drives us forward.Sunny Ntayombya is a New Times journalist currently pursuing a post-graduate degree in ChinaTwitter: @sannykigaliBlog: sunnyntayombya.wordpress.com