I’m sure you’ve heard of the story of the Cathedral and the different interpretations from three builders involved in its construction. The version I’ve found inspiring to date (for there are different versions) is that of the Salisbury Cathedral as narrated by writer John Girard. The story goes that some 800 odd years ago, a traveler passed a group of men who were constructing what seemed to be a grand building. The traveler asked the first builder what he was building and quite unenthusiastically, his response was, “I am a stone-cutter. I am merely cutting stones.” He walked further on ahead and repeated the same question to the second builder. The builder, who took some time to stop what he was doing, told the traveler, “I came all the way from the north to find work. As soon as I earn my pay, I will head back home.” The traveler thanked the builder for his response and went on to the third worker whom he asked the same question as he’d asked the first two. This builder’s response was, “I am a mason and I am building a cathedral.” He continued, “I have journeyed many miles to be part of the team that is constructing this magnificent cathedral. I have spent many months away from my family and I miss them dearly. However, I know how important Salisbury Cathedral will be one day and I know how many people will find sanctuary and solace here. I know this because the Bishop once told me his vision for this great place. He described how people would come from all parts to worship here. He also told that the Cathedral would not be completed in our days but that the future depends on our hard work.” Fifty years into Rwanda’s independence and eighteen years since its liberation, I sense that the national narrative that is emerging today is like the response of the third builder in the Salisbury Cathedral story. Through the power of Rwanda’s contagious Vision 2020, Rwandans, young and old, rich and poor, are committed to charting a future that will be great, and one dependent on hard work. Some of us may not know it and think that our efforts are like the first builder’s – unimportant, small and boring. Some may have the idea that small as that effort may be, it is part of a grand tapestry that we’re all weaving together as a collective future. There will be detractors and naysayers of Rwanda’s vision, but if anything, they serve a purpose. I like to think that the purpose is akin to being challenged to a competition – especially one that you know you are going to win. In fact, this challenge is one where the bar has been set high by our predecessors today. It is not enough to be a director in a company. The question now is how does that company benefit society and Rwanda’s participation on the global stage? It wasn’t enough for us to project a per capita income of $900 as stated in the Vision 2020 policy document. Now we want a per capita income of $1,240, eight years before reaching our target. If we want to be a middle-income country by 2020, imagine where we can, and have to be, by 2050. High standards indeed.It has been said that, “a vision is really like a magnet. It draws people toward it. The vision takes them from the past and commits them to the future.” I like to think that our current national vision is building a future that is great – one that will benefit generations to come. Like the Salisbury Cathedral.
