On October 1st, Rwanda we want organization and Patriotism Rwanda organization jointly hosted a virtual celebration of the patriotism day with the theme “The role of the youth in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic”.
This virtual celebration was also an opportunity for the young people to draw inspiration from the women and men who liberated the country of Rwanda whose struggle is reflected upon on October 1st, the Patriotism day, the day when young boys and girls of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) decided to begin the liberation war back in 1990.
As one of those youngsters in 1990, Lt. Col. Vincent Mugisha stressed on one of the foundation of their victory in the liberation struggle being discipline and that with it Covid-19 could become history in the country.
“During the struggle for liberation we had a visible enemy which is different from the current fight against COVID-19 which is not visible, but the same level of discipline which won the struggle is required if the virus is to be contained and overcame,” Lt. Col. Mugisha said.
Another core foundation, he said, was patriotism-from which the day is named after-which is also visible in today’s youth selfless activities in the fight against Covid-19 such as youth volunteerism.
This comparison was also one of the main reasons for the conference on that day, in that the youth get inspired from the deeds of their elders- who were the same age as today’s youth back in 1990 when they began the struggle of liberating their motherland- to fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
Life after the pandemic
However, there will still be life to live after the pandemic, a point that was brought into focus by other panellists.
“The youth should also think far beyond the pandemic, because the pandemic’s consequences will still be felt long after hence we should think about how to cope with the aftermath of the pandemic to turn its problems into opportunities,” noted Yvette Ishimwe, CEO at Iriba Water group, adding that today’s youth is free from the many constraints that the older generation had. “Therefore, we have an environment that allows us to exploit our full potential.”
Hon. Florence Uwanyirigira also explained to the youth that the pandemic won’t only touch the health aspect of life but also the economic, the social to name but a few and since they are the guardians of the country’s achievements they should therefore do everything in their power to fight against Covid-19.
The celebrations were conducted virtually-in order to adhere to the Ministry of Health’s directives to curb the spread of Coronavirus-and attended by 300 youth who followed it via a live broadcast as well as live tweets across Rwanda we want organization and Rwanda Patriotism organization social media platform.
