On March 30th, 2019, NAR staff and 150 youth from affiliated clubs and associations joined Kicukiro District residents and various officials from different organizations for the monthly Umuganda at Nyanza Genocide Memorial site. The President of the Republic of Rwanda, H.E Paul Kagame, EAC Ministers and Heads of Organs & Institutions in Rwanda also attended the Umuganda. This was part of the activities towards the 25th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
This year, NAR adopted the theme “Kwibuka 25 – Engaging Youth in Memory and Healing: Building a better future.” It is in this regard that NAR mobilized youth to visit the memorial site to remember the victims of Genocide and increase youth participation in genocide remembrance and prevention. In addition to youth around Kicukiro, other youth from NAR’s affiliated clubs and associations in Huye, Musanze, Rwamagana, and Rubavu districts also joined residents (in their respective districts) for Umuganda as an activity revved towards supporting Genocide survivors and dialogues for peace.
Through engaging youth in Umuganda and genocide memorial visits, NAR intends to increase awareness among Rwandan youth about the Genocide as a means of preserving its memory, while eradicating its ideology and dealing with its consequences. NAR aims to ensure that young people work together to build a shared future.
It is on this note that in his remarks, H.E Paul Kagame stated that, “When we work together, we achieve more and go even further. We want to join hands and work together in Rwanda, in East Africa, and across the whole continent. We believe in cooperation and working together.”
Various pre-conference activities have been organized by NAR in preparation for the 8th annual youth conference on commemoration policy and practice of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, scheduled to take place on April 18th, 2019.
Carol Allen- Storey, an award-winning photojournalist based in the UK but currently working with NAR during the commemoration period, attended the Umuganda. As she reflected on the day’s events, she said: “On a very personal basis I found the Umuganda event uplifting, inspirational and joyful. The coming together of Kigali’s citizens to work together … their jubilance, the joy I witnessed on their faces as they worked together nourished my soul. Everyone was smiling, everyone supporting one another. The atmosphere was electrifying. Unquestionably, The President, H.E Paul Kagame’s participation and his charismatic short speech was a powerful example to global leaders on how to unite and inspire a nation that was divided with vision and humble engagement.”