Rotarians honour Genocide victims

Rotarians on Friday honoured the memories of victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in a walk-to-remember that started from Kigali Public Library to the Kigali Memorial Centre at Gisozi. Senate president Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo, an honorary member of the Rotary family, led the walk. At the memorial site, the Rotarians laid a wreath on one of the graves and also contributed Rwf1, 110,000 for the maintenance of the site. Pastor Antoine Rutayisire, the president of Rwanda Leaders Fellowship, commended the government for allowing Rwandans to remember the souls of those who died. He said that although genocide had happened before 1994, it was downplayed and only referred to as massacres. He called for a new Rwanda based on citizenship and not ethnicity. “It is commendable that the government has invested in helping the young generation to appreciate what happened so that they can be part of the process that ensures that it never occurs again,” he added. “The youth are the hope of the nation. Learn your country’s history and shape a vision for a better nation.” Ntawukuriryayo stressed that Rwandans are determined to see that Genocide does not happen again. “Whatever happened to the Tutsi should not happen to anyone ever again in the world, especially in Rwanda. That is our objectiv,” he said. Keza Kaitesi, a student at King David Academy said the visit to the memorial site was a deep learning experience. The Rotarians came from five clubs of Mont Jali, Club Doyen, Kigali-Virunga, Gasabo and Butare. They were joined by Rotaractors from the College of Education and the College of Business and Economics as well as Kagarama Secondary School, King David Academy and Agahozo Shalom.