As I type this article, my mind goes back to a particular morning in 2011. I recall a ten year old girl who was very pissed off, on the verge of tears, eyes bowed down to the ground.
A manly voice said, "Babu (a classmate) will represent the class. He is the only one sharp enough to go there.” The English teacher had just nominated a kid, who according to him, would be able to speak in public articulately at the Imbuto Foundation primary school debate competition.
Everybody seemed to agree on the choice, except she couldn’t understand why she was not the one chosen. All other teachers had chosen class representatives to go for the competition, except she was a class representative but not trusted enough to represent her peers, at least that’s how she understood it. I am her, she is me.
Fast forward, I’m twenty years old now. I have four certificates of best speakers acquired at different times in different debate competitions. I was the champion of IDebate Rwanda 2017 camp debate championship. I have also been a debate trainer with IDebate Rwanda for a period of a year and been part of the Post-Genocide Generation US Tour team 2020.
Also, the career by which you (dear reader) know me involves public speaking skills, good articulation and sometimes being able to convince your way up. So maybe I finally got better and I can perfectly speak my mind now.
Most people who meet me now probably think I have always been confident and eloquent. Well, I have a different memory of the young me. I didn’t hold a grudge against my primary teacher who didn’t choose me to represent the class despite being in position, because deep down I knew back then I was not going to a good job anyway. However, I’m not entirely self-made; I owe a great deal of it to IDebate Rwanda.
I crossed paths with IDebate Rwanda in 2016 and officially started reaping my public speaking fruits a year later. If you know IDebate Rwanda, then you know you will be amazed but mostly humbled by the students it harbours. I started from the beginner class and saw myself climb to the trainer level.
The first thing you learn there is that ‘your voice matters’ (in Jean Michel Habineza’s voice). Habineza is the founder of the life-changing IDebate Rwanda that helps you gain confidence in speaking, critical thinking, policy debates, and developing a culture of reading.
It doesn’t end there, after gaining the necessary confidence, because now you firmly believe that you and your voice matter. You go on to learn different tools that now will make your voice be heard in an impactful and reasonable way.
It doesn’t end when you graduate from high school either. The acquired skills saw most of us, alumni, admitted to the best universities across the world, venture in entrepreneurship activities or securing our dream jobs. Most of IDebate alumni are also active citizens in different fields, social, economic and political.
Join me as I shout ‘Happy Anniversary to iDebate Rwanda’ as it turns 10 years. Habineza or JM as everybody calls him got everyone one tearing up as he gave his remarks at the anniversary celebration on Sunday July 10 at Marriott Hotel.
Having to convince the rather conservative Rwandan society that debate is a thing, getting parents to encourage and send their children, getting schools to prioritise the skill and most importantly getting young folks of Rwanda to understand that they matter, their voices needed and that they are able to take part in the shaping of our very own country which desperately needs its youth to focus and take on the lead, I personally commend the efforts. 10 years has been quite a journey and my life changed forever.
"Debate or public speaking is not only for the privileged students from good schools, rich families, the city or abroad. Every Rwandan child deserves the opportunity to exhaust their potential as much and that’s our next task, by expanding to the rural areas and schools,” Habineza said.
Thank you very much IDebate Rwanda for changing my life and I’m excited to see many more other people’s lives gaining sense and purpose. Cheers to another decade of impact.