Many of us coming back home are inspired to return with the heart to serve our country expect things to work a certain way and rightly so because we have one of the most efficient governments in the world.  I was blessed with a great landing where I had a one of a kind boss and passionately driving colleagues who endeavored to do their best every day, without whom I would have definitely sunk as I navigated my way.  This was by far one of the best learning experiences and I am eternally grateful it to be afforded a once in a lifetime opportunity to play a part in shaping Rwanda’s ICT future.

As with everything great, there are a few rotten tomatoes who could easily ruin the entire basket.  By few bad tomatoes, I mean E.Ps a.k.a enemies of progress, people who are usually up to no good and unfortunately aren’t going away.  These people will sometimes fight you for the hell of it, be first to tarnish or smear you and/or your work because you question their inaction and therefore see you as a threat.  There are also those who least expect i.e. pretend friends or comrades in the fight for what is good but are behind the scenes conniving to discredit you, steal opportunities from others or worse sell lies just to win favor…the list goes on.   Expect that you will encounter one or more of these and you must be courageous to challenge and take on them so as to be a L.P a.k.a Lover of Progress :-).

Martin Luther King Jr once said, “our lives begin to end when we become silent about things that matter.”   Nation building requires courageous people to speak up when things aren’t going as they should so we correct them for the better.  Social media,  particularly twitter, is also great outlet and has given many of us a platform to not only share the great things happening in Rwanda, but also speak up for change.  I was inspired to tweet in a quest to share great stories about and from Rwanda to counter folks whose one goal is to smear Rwanda.  Soon they came attacking and I found great joy in taking them on because all they did was make noise while Rwandans at home are working hard, everyday, to build our great nation.   Some of those dissenting voices are well funded to do just that, and we have to speak out by challenging them and their supporters.  We CANNOT stand by as people smear our country or President!  This also inspired tweets calling for better services and with time more Rwandans joined in.

You see, our education system isn’t one that supports speaking up.  Walk into any classroom, you will rarely find students saying a thing.  In most homes, you can’t debate the issues let alone question/correct your elders without getting in trouble.  So here I was, 14 years after leaving in a country where speaking up is mostly appreciated and rewarded in the classroom.  After my Senior 4, I went to the US and straight to university where at least 10% of my grades came from constructive participation.  In addition to that I came to Rwanda straight from grad school where I’d spent 2 years going through rigorous training of policy analysis and critical thinking for problem solving.  And so with all that, I came home with a burning desire and mission to make a difference, naturally inclined to question and demand for better.  While some of this was well received, there were some who painted me wiseacre, big-headed, arrogant, ignorant, attention seeking for a high position, crazy, disrespectful and even abnormal (lol).  I encountered situations which tore my heart apart, stole my happiness many a moment, demoralized me and temporarily turned me into a cynic.  It was courage and great counsel from my mother, great friends and mentors who kept me going.  All these made for great life changing lessons where I have come to learn a lot about myself particularly, my people and for this I am eternally thankful.

Our families spent over 30 years seeking refuge in foreign lands and out of this came courageous  liberators who spent decades and gave their lives to ensure Rwanda was home to ALL Rwandans.  In 1990, they went to battle in spite insurmountable odds and debilitating loses, they never gave up.  Instead, they retreated, regrouped, engaged in dialogue, fought – at a high cost – and four years later WON.   This is one of the greatest examples of courage and strength of the Rwandan Spirit.  We stand on great shoulders and have no excuse to not achieve that which we set out to do.

In the words of the incomparable Bob Marley, Get Up, Stand Up, Stand Up For Your Rights – and the rights of others.  COURAGE will be the fuel you need to do just that :-).