Youths are a pivotal component of society. The development and progress of any society is in most cases dependent on how vibrant the youth are. You know, they are the future of a nation. History has it that most of the progressive liberations were significantly spearheaded by the youth, and these are the ones who have brought sanity to most states of the world. The age between 17 and 34 is very cardinal in giving a human being a proper direction in life to be responsible, hard working, God fearing and generally to shape a worthy destiny for, not only the individual’s life but also for his or her family, society and country. People who have made their mark in history in the world of sports, acting and politics have been youths or have gotten their preparation from their youthful times. However, in some countries a big segment of the youth have been misled and made to plunder their own societies, this has been due to many circumstances most of which have been political, social or having roots from their families. Development with a prudent background, depends on how the youths are positively prepared to take up the constructive roles, the past Rwandan governments invested so many years and resources in negatively tuning the youths into hate and divisionism. They grew up with resentment and hatred in their hearts, and this was portrayed in their heinous actions up to the time when the seeds they planted, led to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The youth after years of negative tuning, were consequently used as instruments to execute the genocide to the extent that even orphans, who were raised as brothers and sisters from infancy turned around and started killing each other. Lucky enough a liberation struggle which was pioneered by other Rwandan youths came to arrest the precarious situation, and has henceforth restored sanity in the country. The Rwandan government is preparing the youth and children to be central in its future; this can be seen in the way their future is being prepared through education, sex education, cultural and moral mainstreaming and so on. Early in the week, some members of the national basketball team together with the youth from Peace and Love Proclaimers (PLP) moved to different secondary schools passing a message of forgiveness through reconciliation, hard work and rallying people to show love and affection to orphans On this aspect, the president of PLP Marc Gwamaka said that all children irrespective of age, family background or current circumstances are entitled to love and affection, on this he called upon everyone to give this to all children especially the orphans. Recently a group of youth from various African countries was in Kigali as part of their continental campaign to stimulate the youth in taking up the mantle of Africa’s progress. The youth organization dabbed African Youth Unite for Change (AFYUCh) held a two day symposium in which over 100 youth were trained in self confidence, unity and reconciliation, leadership skills and positive living as pillars of bettering the African Continent. The philosophy and direction of the existing leadership plays a very important role in shaping the present and the future of its youth, on this point Rwandan leadership should be commended for its role in empowering the youth. Recently while he was addressing the official launch of Imbuto Foundation’s fifth Youth forum, President Paul Kagame urged youth to own the country’s development path if the desired prosperity of this nation is to be attained. “People who are proud of being who they are or the successes they have witnessed and achieved have had to own these processes without any exceptions,” President Kagame said. He further called upon the youth to actively participate in the country’s transformation process. On the same occasion the First Lady who is also Patron of Imbuto Foundation, Mrs. Jeannette Kagame, advised the youth to be disciplined in order to realise their future dreams. She also encouraged them to be innovative and competitive but also allow parents and leaders to guide and nurture them as they set out to achieve their goals. Imbuto foundation has been at the forefront of empowering Rwandan youth and motivating them to be responsible and productive citizens of tomorrow, this can be witnessed in the way it rewards the girl child who have excelled in academics. Rwanda is gifted with brilliant and enthusiastic young men and women, some of them have already started impacting others positively, if they continue inspiring others to live positive and constructively the present and the future will be bright. The youth make 60 percent of the Rwandan population and if this segment is prepared with the right mindset and equipped with the right skills, even the sky won’t be the limit. Ends
