To know national heroes is to know Rwandans; their values, collective history, heritage, and culture, who they are, and what makes them great. The Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders and Decorations of Honor (CHENO) defines a hero as any person who pursues objectives they undertake to obtain a special achievement for the public interest and with high proven integrity, sacrifice, and noble courage in their acts, and who avoids being a coward in their actions in very trying situations. READ ALSO: Rwanda’s leading lights who exemplified heroism Rwanda will on February 1 mark Heroes Day, a day on which the country pays tribute to its nationals who demonstrated the highest values of patriotism and sacrifice for the well-being of the country and its citizens. As the day draws near, The New Times compiled different platforms where you can find resources to help you know more about national heroes. The Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders, and Decorations of Honour (CHENO)’s website has resources that can help you to explore more about national heroes as well as the institution. It also contains archives of past National Heroes Day celebrations and different articles about them. ALSO READ: Youth urged to embrace heroic values Apart from the National Heroes’ Mausoleum which is located in Remera, near Amahoro Stadium, there are other sites that CHENO encourages people to visit. Those include Nyange Heroism Site also dubbed ‘the Heritage of Rwandan Identity’ located in Ngororero District, as well as the Heritage of Humanity heroism site, formerly called ‘Centre St Pierre’ in Rubavu District. The library is located at the headquarters of CHENO in Gisimenti, Kigali. It has different books, articles as well as archives of various recordings about national heroes. The books include Umurage w’Ubutwari loosely translated as “The Heritage of Heroism” which currently has five editions. New editions are always published on February 1 and October 1, every year. There are other books that talk about heroes such as “Félicité Niyitegeka: Sa Compassion jusq’au don de sa vie au fond l’enfer du genocide au Rwanda” loosely translated as “Félicité Niyitegeka: Her compassion until the gift of his life in the depths of the hell of the Genocide in Rwanda” written by Jean d’Amour Dusengumuremyi. In the library you can also find Umuco w’Ubutwari mu Rwanda loosely translated as “The Heroism Culture in Rwanda”, a book that is used to teach young people about national heroes and heroism as well as Intwari z’u Rwanda “National Heroes” which talks about national heroes in depth. ALSO READ: 25 years later, Nyange remembers gruesome attack, student heroes Then there are social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. If you visit them, you access varied information about National Heroes as well as the preparation for National Heroes Day which is set to happen on Wednesday, February 1. Apart from the aforementioned platforms, you can find songs about national heroes on YouTube. Those include Umuco w'Ubutwari by Intore Tuyisenge, Duharanire Kuba Intwari by Danny Vumbi, Mwabye Intwari by Clarisse Karasira as well as Turate Intwari by Bahoze Diane, which won a Heroism competition in 2021, among others. In addition, you can also read these books.
