Father's Day: Celebrating inspirational dads

Father’s Day is observed across the world on the third Sunday of June, though it is also celebrated widely on other days by many other countries. It honors all fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and father figures for their contribution to society. Roses are the official flower for Father’s Day. A red rose is worn in the lapel if your father is living, and a white rose if he is deceased. It is a time to recognize fathers and father figures who have influenced people’s life. The celebration started in the early 20th century in the United States to celebrate fatherhood and to complement Mother’s Day. It was first celebrated on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA by Sonora Smart Dodd. She heard about Mother’s Day in 1909 and told her pastor she thought fathers should have a similar holiday. The local clergymen agreed to the idea and the first Father’s Day sermon was given on June 19, 1910. For local film director Jolie Murenzi, whose father, Augustin Murenzi was killed on April 7 1994 at the beginning of the genocide, it’s all about the rules of life that he instilled in her before his sad demise: “He gave me rules of life and values among others, humility and humanity. Laziness, cupidity, envy, jealousy and comparison were sins according to him,” she explains. “I try to live based on those values but he never told me I am special or a princess.” Jolie still feels a deep spiritual attachment to her late father: “I love you dad and miss you. I have forgiven all the killers, including those who killed you. Rwanda has changed into a paradise and you have 8 grandchildren, two from me. RIP dear dad.” Comedian Babu of the Comedy Knights says his father means everything to him, “because he has always been the biggest supporter of my talent. He is actually a very funny guy himself.” He recalls the time his father turned up at their comedy show in May last year, walked onto the stage and proceeded to make people laugh. “Everyone was taken by surprise, including the comedians on stage,” says Babu. “From the very beginning when I started practicing theater in church and with the Mashirika Performing Arts, he has always supported me.” As a child, he remembers that his mother used to discipline him and his siblings “the African way, but dad always came to our rescue by telling mum to leave his sons alone.” “We are look-alikes, so it’s like I can already seen myself in old age just by looking at him. He stays in Kigali, and since my mum moved to Kenya recently, I visit my father more often.” For journalist Doreen Umutesi, it’s all about the sense of protection she derived from her father before his death in 2004. “Basically I believe I’m what I am today because of my father. He raised me to have a strong personality. It hurts me that he is no longer there to see whatever I have achieved today. He died on December 31 2004, while I was in my S6 vacation.” While he still lived, Umutesi remembers her father as one who had “a strong personality and never allowed injustice.” She believes that she took after her dad in this regard: “I think he passed on some of those traits to me. I’m one person who will always speak out whenever I see injustice. I’m a bit aggressive, but in a positive way. I always put up a fight for what I believe in. One thing that I miss so much about my dad is his protection. He was protective of his children, and I miss that about him.” For Dr Jean Felix Kinani, the head field veterinarian, Gorilla Doctors Rwanda, it’s about the love for nature and for Rwandan culture that his father inculcated in him: His father, Dismas Karemangingo is a retired doctor of law who used to work for the Supreme Court of Rwanda. “When I was young, we lived in Lubumbashi, in the DRC. As a man who had grown up in the village around animals and nature, he wanted to give his children a similar experience. So he set up a big farm and stocked it with animals like cows and goats. His aim was to teach us Rwandan culture.” He adds that come Sundays, his father took him to the farm “to instill the love of animals and hard work in me. One day he told me he wanted me to become a vet after observing my love for animals. At the age of 15 he taught me how to drive, so that I could help him on the farm.” Through this experience, he came to like the farm and the animals on it: “At the age of 18 I worked with the farm vet and together, we performed a castration procedure on a goat. I enjoyed this experience so much, and my father kept telling me that one day I would be a vet, which I happily am today”. “I joined vet school in Lubumbashi but did not complete. Later I went to Senegal from where I completed. My father always taught us three things: to keep our Rwandan culture alive, work hard, and to love animals and nature.

Lifestyle

Father's Day: Celebrating inspirational dads