A person who is in Washington D.C. because of Rwanda Day may think that he is standing in one area of Kigali City, except that the building where the activities are taking place and other things around him will immediately bring him back and realize that he is standing in the United States of America. Another language spoken is Ikinyarwanda.
The date of February 2-3, was eagerly awaited and those who were allowed to participate in this day dedicated to Rwanda have already begun to talk about what has been prepared for them to help them understand where the country has come.
Rwandans from all walks of life gathered in the building of Gaylord National Resort, where various activities were held, including talks about Rwanda’s development journey, Jimmy Kanyambo, the Leader of the Community of Rwandans living in the City of Leeds in England, told IGIHE that coming to this event helps them to meet as Rwandans, to know where the country has come, and to have the opportunity to talk with people who contribute to the development of the country.
The man who participated in the fourth Rwanda Day, said that now many people have changed their views on what they thought about Rwanda because of this Rwanda Day event.
He said, “When we meet a non-Rwandese person who wants to know about Rwanda Day as we have been inviting some people we have brought [some as guests from England] and they ask you to explain what Rwanda Day is? When you explain it to someone who doesn’t know you, I say that it is a group of Rwandans who do not live in Rwanda, who live abroad, who try to follow what is happening in Rwanda so that they can also participate in it.
“It can be very difficult for someone who is not present to see the significance of Rwanda Day. Personally, Rwanda Day changes people’s attitudes, because we already have people living abroad who have been in Rwanda in the past, who know the past, who still have ideas based on that history, but because of Rwanda Day we have people, and today those we brought include people changed by Rwanda Day coming. Where I come from, I have like four people who were changed by Rwanda Day for the first time and are ready to contribute.”
Kanyambo confirmed that in Leeds they work to teach Rwandan values, “because knowing where you come from helps you know where you are going.” He said, “So we teach values to those we lead including culture, teaching children to dance Kinyarwanda, learning to pray, telling them the history of Rwanda, and teaching children to know where they come from to know who they were.”
He explained that during Rwanda Day, those who live abroad will be brought to where the country has reached and they will give their opinions on what should be achieved, thus they will also contribute to the development of the country. Artist Kitoko Bibarwa, who has participated in more than six Rwanda Days, told IGIHE that this is a platform that connects people so that what they do can improve.
He said, “What Rwanda Day has helped to connect people, there are different testimonies, here I meet many people who are different from me as an artist, for the first time I think that there are many who saw me for the first time at the first Rwanda Day in Chicago, you can hear about my benefits I met with people know, there is another person who also had a business and they know him, there is another.
person who has a testimony of progress or what he has been facing in his journey in the outside life, they also came to give him a place. Not only that, there are leaders who are trying to show us where the country came from to where it is today, and show us all the ways, men and plans. The benefits are really psychological for the person who wants it.”
Rwanda Day 2024 takes place after four years of absence due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The last one was held in Bonn, Germany in 2019. Rwanda Day has been held in cities including Brussels, Chicago, Paris, Boston, London, Toronto, Atlanta, Dallas, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Ghent and Bonn.
