We all saw young people with luminous green vests during the Covid-19 Pandemic, making sure distance was kept, hands washed, face masks worn, and supplies delivered, those were most likely the famous Rwanda Youth Volunteers. And no, they didn’t start their work in 2020 during the pandemic; they started many years before. In a colorful day on May 7, the youth volunteers, commonly referred to as “abayufu” by the in communities, celebrated their 10-year anniversary of impacting communities and participating in the development of the country. ALSO READ: Development work is not done in isolation, Kagame tells youth volunteers These young people work selflessly, sometimes putting their health on the line, to ensure that every single Rwandan accesses different government programs, an invaluable contribution without which the country would suffer. Just imagine two million of them scattered across the country to the grassroot level. Thanks to them, vices like malnutrition and school dropout are almost history, while epidemics and pandemics are effectively contained to have minimal damage on Rwandans. They also help in community policing, as they support responsible organs in crime prevention. About 78 percent of Rwanda’s population comprises people below the age of 35. This makes it more important than ever to include youth in government and across leadership structures to foster and accelerate the needed change in our communities. Thirty years have passed since compatriots within the same age bracket took up arms and liberated the country and stopped the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. ALSO READ: Youth volunteers at the forefront of fighting stunting Surely, there are people to look up to. Like they say in Kinyarwanda “isuku igira isoko”. Youth volunteers have understood the assignment of their generation, and they are doing it amazingly. There could not be more perfect builders of this country than the youth. They therefore need support from everyone, including the government, parents, and society in general. They need to be recognized and valued because volunteerism does not mean one is redundant.
