Activists From Rwanda

"od examples, they ignore family responsibilities and are not strict enough with their children the way parents were in the past."

"I love the American dream. I feel this is the place I was supposed to be in. It's beautiful. I love it."

"“This vice is like a pest. It’s never that obvious and by the time you see it, so much has been damaged. We need to fight corruption at all levels, without leaving any type behind. We may assume that we have gotten somewhere when there are some aspects that are blocking our country from progressing,"

"It is sad to see that people are more scared of police than they are of Covid-19, which kills! It seems like we have abandoned the government to fight this battle alone,"

"Women should be confident because they are capable, and the country needs them. They should do all they can such as study University, show that they can also manage to do things and are also talented."

"We know the role of taxes, we also know that developed countries were able to achieve that status as a result of the taxes paid by their citizens... But, in taxation policy, you also consider the taxpayers' financial means"

"There is a saying that many or high taxes spoil taxation. What this means is that if you ask people for taxes that are within their means, you will encourage more people to honour their duties. It is always better to increase gradually"

"Traffic police officers these days tell car drivers to go and pretend to urinate in a nearby place, then put the bribe where they can see so that they come and continue the journey. The Police officer goes and pick it later."

"If a person wants to give a bribe to a given official, they go through a chain of people whose network is difficult to link. For instance, a person wanted to offer bribe [via mobile money] to a prosecutor and passed it through [the phone number of] their former house servant."

"I do not accept the statistic that unity and reconciliation among Rwandans is 94%, because genocide ideology is still visible both among adults and children."

"“If you go to RIB and ask for the data … we have it, not just in my head but in our work, and in all districts.”"

"There is no one to challenge those in leadership; some people misappropriate State funds because there is no one caring, no follow up, money is used as they wish.”"

"“If you are a parent and you accept that someone who abused your child is released, if a parent allows someone to go free after abusing a child, what about the next one?” Plus: “That person deserves to be punished in prison… children from other families should be safe.”"

"In Rwanda, politicians go into politics to grab bread more than to serve citizens.”"

"“This sends a message that there is no impunity for people who try to stop the fight against corruption… Although justice is done, we are not satisfied because this is a capital offence which deserves a maximum sentence…”"

"“Although justice is done, we are not satisfied because this is a capital offence which deserves a maximum sentence.”"

"“However it is disturbing that so many of our citizens experience cases of gender-based corruption in their offices, that is why I call on all employers to immediately put in place mechanisms to prevent and punish such cases.”"

".” (In Rwanda, politicians enter politics to get “bread” instead of serving citizens)"

"Growing up, my parents made reading a top priority. My parent’s emphasis on reading is not confined to our home, they have made it a priority for our entire country. Education is the key to our country’s future."

"The early years of a child are important for the child’s brain development, because the experiences young children have and the relationships they build with the important people in their life, literally shape the development of their brain."

"Unfortunately, in many places, girls and women are held back by legally sanctioned sexism and laws that prevent women from traveling outside the home or obtaining secular work without male consent."

"Serve and return’ is just like any play but it is more important because it brings about interaction that goes in both directions."

"It is only combination of the young and the old, the traditional and the modern, that we can deliver the kind of future, the next generation deserves."

"I have always felt that being independent is one of the most powerful assets a person can have."

"Celebrating 20 years of Rwanda's independence leaves our peers with a great responsibility. The passion of our parents made us the first generation to live in a Rwanda that is full of value and human attraction. It is our duty to protect and leave what our parents were willing to die for."

"It's not good to go into something without putting your whole heart into it."(Si byiza kujya mu kintu utagishyizeho umutima wawe wose".)"

"If I want to show who my father is in one word, I would say that he is an activist. He went through a rough road, but it built him up, it didn't discourage him. You are recognized as an incomparably strong man.(Mbaye nshatse kugaragaza uwo Papa ari we mu ijambo rimwe, navuga ko ari umurwanashyaka.Yanyuze mu nzira y’inzitane, ariko byaramwubatse, ntibyamuciye intege.Mwemera nk’umugabo ukomeye mu buryo ntagereranywa."

"The technology perfectly aligns with our country-wide efforts to increase digital learning, develop Rwanda’s reading and writing culture, and maximize the use of information and communications technology"

"Library for All can make a big difference in the lives of many children and young adults by encouraging the culture of reading in Rwanda."

"Education is the key to our country’s future."

"The successful programme of one laptop per child is already a policy in all primary schools and is expanding to one digital ID per child. This will allow a child to log in anywhere at any time, making it easier to track his or her progress."

"I am sure, we all agree that in the end, knowledge is power."

"We have to get to a place where education is not just a privilege for some but a right for everyone."

"We live in a social media-driven world. With a large number of us with access to Twitter, Facebook and different social media outlets, the news and what is going on in the world is that much closer to us."

"Despite obstacles such as unemployment, Africa’s young population continues to show the potential for innovative young entrepreneurs across the continent to drive the economic transformation."

"The youth should own the development process of their respective countries and feel very much a part of it."

"I hope that in this generation’s lifetime, we can live to see a self-reliant and stable Africa. That we can start to be defined more by our successes rather than the negative images that have become synonymous with Africa."

"Our parents’ generation and our generation grew up under different circumstances. Our parents were born during difficult times and forced into exile at a very young age. They had to fight for their country and identity."

"This kind of accessibility will go a long ways to enhance the reading culture and boost the enthusiasm for learning starting at a young age. I am sure, we all agree that in the end In the end, knowledge is power."

"Did you know that? Is it the responsibility of both parents to ensure baby’s brain development."

"Did you know that babies’ brains develop most in the first 1,000 days at a pace never repeated again? Did you know that the most important interaction you can have with your child is through play."

"Parents can do to support the brain development of a child is to get to know the young child to understand her or his needs and also be able to engage with a child through what scientists call a ‘serve and return’ interaction."

"Play can occur when you’re feeding your child, when you’re changing a child’s clothes or when you’re bathing your child."

"All of these are opportunities for playful interaction and learning between adults and children. Parents need to understand that when you smile back and don’t just stop there and start playing, you’re actually building the baby’s brain connections."

"It’s all about interaction, visual and sound, looking the eye, making the personal connection and being sensitive to the baby’s feelings."

"It is also very important that both the mother and the father play with their baby by taking the time to create back and forth interactions every day. You are helping to prepare your baby, laying the foundation for a lifetime of learning and problem solving."

"It’s the journey of digging deep into yourself and the things you discover if you only dare to dig deep into your memories, your relationship, and your thoughts. It’s been such an incredible journey, but thank goodness I was not alone in it. So many people feeding me, listening to me, editing, hosting me—so it’s not been alone."

"It felt surreal and awful. I’d lost track of who I was and who we were to each other. None of us were the same people who’d lived together in that house in Kigali. Those people had died. We had all died."

"To be a refugee was to be a victim—it was tautological. And not just a victim due to external forces like politics or war. You were a victim due to some inherent, irrevocable weakness in you. You were a victim because you were less worthy, less good, and less strong than all the non-victims of the world."

"I wanted to piece [the] world back together, but the idea of one group of people killing another group of people—people they lived with, people they knew—that chunk of knowledge could never fit itself in my mind. It was categorically, dimensionally, fundamentally wrong. It was like trying to store a tornado in a chest of drawers. That was not how the universe worked."