As Rwandans pause to commemorate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, this year, there are changes to how people will remember the victims of the Genocide due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown.

The usual commemoration discussions at village level and elsewhere that attract big gatherings during this upcoming period, walks to remember and night vigils will not be held where they used to be.

Instead, related talks will be streamed on local media channels and social media where necessary. By and large, the nation, and the world, will still remember the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Timelines have not changed much. The initial official commemoration week, as usual, starts from April 7 until 13. The regular 100 days of commemoration will end in July.

Should the pandemic subside at any point during these 100 days, and the government announces an end to the lockdown, we shall carry on as usual. We will, for example, visit the Genocide Memorial in Bisesero in end June, if the lockdown has been called off by then, and lay wreaths and so on and so forth.

In the meantime, while we are still in the lockdown, here are some six ways you can commemorate, as an individual or as a family at home, as we continue to stay home and abide by our government’s advisory on preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.