The Diary Of Isonga

ISONGA PROMOTION

PRESS KIT

ITORERO BELGIUM

Compiled by J.N. Pierre & S.I. Kamuhinda

14/10/2010

Written by: I. Casman, S. Mpendo, M. I. Royer, M. Rugwizangoga, R. Sebashongero Photos of: J. Bryon, O. U. Rutazibwa, A. Karegire Logo: G. R. Vande weghe

Presse Kit - Itorero 2010 Belgium - Isonga Promotion Page 2


News - Itorero 2010- Isonga Pormotion:

"roots, renaissance and pioneer"

From the 1st to the 5th September, around 80 young girls and boys from the United Kingdom,

Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France and Belgium gathered to attend to the first ever Itorero

in Europe. The average age was 24 years old, but only young Rwandans aged above 18 years old

were allowed to participate. The Itorero 2010 was a project of the Rwandan Embassy and the

Rwandan Diaspora in Belgium.

Three different activities were proposed every day. The first activity started with sport at dawn.

Jogging in the woods while chanting Rwandan songs, refreshed the participants for the upcoming

journey. Urban golf, basketball, football and volleyball were also offered. The second activity was

formed by a series of conferences and debates, where the concept of Itorero, Vision 2020, social

cohesion and the role of youth within the Diaspora was presented by experts and followed by a serie

of questions from the participants. His Excellency Gérard Ntwari, Ambassador of Rwanda in Belgium,

William Ntidendereza, Vice Chairman of Itorero and Alphonse Nkuranga, Executive Secretary of

National Youth Council were among the speakers. In the third activity, we had cultural workshops to

learn Kinyarwanda, dance and theatre. Renowned Rwandan artists such as Muyango, Atome and

Hervé Twahirwa were the teachers during those workshops.

The highlights of the Itorero were the intergenerational informal discussions, networking with young

achievers, igitaramo and a guessing game about Rwandan heroes. At the end of Itorero, the

participants chose the following words to describe their experience and expectations: roots,

renaissance and pioneer. Therefore, the overall name of the 10 different groups (Inganji,

Ingorabahizi, Izogeye, Inyamibwa, Ingenzi, Inganzo, Imena, Imanzi, Indahemuka, Indatwa) within the

Itorero 2010 has been identified as Isonga.

We want to build upon the success of the Itorero 2010 in Europe to further foster our common

Rwandan values of fraternity, excellence and loyalty. DVDs and other publications related to the

Isonga promotion are coming soon!

Joël Ndoli Pierre - Communication & Information Officer - Embassy of Rwanda in Belgium

[email protected]


Which community of values after a genocide?

Democracy supposes a community of values (i.e. demos in Greek).

Our Rwandan culture was filled with shared values, which were

transmitted among other forms in the “Insigamigani”, where the last

sentence ended with “Rubanda ica umugani”. This Rubanda (the people of

Rwanda) is now a society that has committed and endured a genocide,

which is diametrically contrary to a community of values.

During the Itorero 2010 in Belgium, we had an important workshop on social cohesion, values, anti-

values and genocide. We had an elderly man who talked about the values of ancient Rwanda, where

everyone exercised public service through hospitality and solidarity with the conscience of a common

cause (ishyaka).

Milan Kundera, once warned against historical narratives saying that: ‘in the sunset of dissolution,

everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine’. However, the past of Rwanda

reveals certainly a sui-generis common culture. This is the truth, our ancestors held to be self-

evident: the legitimacy of a nation called Rwanda. So legitimate, that God Himself comes to rest in

Rwanda every night, (Imana yirirwa ahandi, igataha i Rwanda).

This truth went through fire without burning, but this fire left deep scars and inconsolable sorrow.

The pain we have endured reminds us of the value of unity. In a country, where we share everything

(culture, language, living areas) divisionism leaves us with nothing.

Challenging the old man’s narrative, a young participant of Itorero 2010 asked why our forefathers

were colonized. There are a number of reasons that have been provided by researchers and

witnesses. The old man told us how the institution of Itorero was abolished by the colonial power,

despite its vocation to foster social cohesion. A more progressive view is provided by President Paul

Kagame: we were and remain poor. Poverty is what has undermined our right of self-determination.

This would explain why, the value of hard work is now enshrined in our coat of arms. Usually the

notion of work has a bad connotation in Rwanda. During colonial time, hard work was associated

with “ikiboko” and constraint, while during the genocide work was an euphemism for massacres.

Today hard work explains the Rwandan Renaissance, which is relying on Made in Rwanda solutions

such as ‘’Imigihigo, Gacaca, Ubudehe, Giri Inka’’ etc. This strive to develop can be summarized by the

legendary “kwanga kurutwa”, Rwandans hold dear. As Karori Kayigana recently demonstrated, the

value of work is also deeply rooted in our culture. Indeed, we could not have had such an old nation

without hard working devotion.

Speaking about the pre-colonial South-African culture, Nelson Mandela said in a trial during the

Apartheid regime: “There was much in such a society that was primitive and insecure and it certainly

could never measure up to the demands of the present epoch. But in such a society are contained

the seeds of revolutionary democracy in which none will be held in slavery or servitude, and in which

poverty, want, and insecurity shall be no more”.


If a genocide survivor can share with a genocide perpetrator the same country, if a young men born

in Kinshasa or Kampala died in the liberation struggle for a country he did not know, is there a more

powerful evidence of the faith Rwandans have in their Nation State?

Which community of values after genocide? Itorero is one of the best institutions our culture

provides to share and debate about the values of our identity as Rwandans. During the first Itorero

ever to be held in Europe, youth from all European countries gathered together to celebrate this

identity. Because Rwanda revealed to be a driving force in their life, a Rwanda reconciled with herself

is an African dream we, the Isonga Promotion, are proud to take ownership of.

Serge Indemarugamba Kamuhinda is a member of WAF (@wakening abilities for the future), that has

co-organized the Itorero 2010.


A Journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single

step…

The First Itorero of the Rwandan Youth

in Europe

presents

The diary Of Isonga


Day 1: “Twagiye”

It is the 1st September 2010, about 2pm and the sun is shining

high in this autumn sky of Brussels. It seems that the spirit of

Rwagasabo is in the air around us. We are young Rwandans from

Belgium, France, the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland. For now,

the Ishyaka crew is in charge of the organization.

We can’t deny feeling a little bit of apprehension …and a lot of excitement. How are these days going

to be? What are we going to experience? And most of all, is the program going to fulfil our

expectations?

Well, we don´t have that much time to go over those questions as we

are already reaching the estate where we will be staying: it is

called “La Foresta” and located 30 km away from Brussels, close to

Leuven.

We drop our bags, visit our rooms and gather in the Conference Hall for the first meeting. The

organizers welcome us officially, and declare the first Itorero of the Rwandan youth in Europe open.

Joël Ndoli Pierre, one of our Ishyaka mentors and Communication

Officer (Rwanda Embassy in Belgium), gives us a detailed outline about

the 5 days program.The participants are then divided into 10 teams;

each team carrying a special and meaningful name:

Inganji the victorious

Indatwa the ones we are proud to showcase

Imanzi the first ones

Indahemuka the ones who never disappoint

Ingorabahizi the ones who achieve the most difficult tasks

Imena the ones that lead and precede the other in the struggle

Inganzo the ones that inspire

Izogeye the famous ones

Inyamibwa the best

Ingenzi the ones you can count on

Team leaders are chosen and the meeting ends with the well-known “tuzarwubaka”, popular

Rwandan song celebrating the beauty of Rwanda and the strong will of Rwandan men and women to


build a better and prosperous future. The seeds are sown, the journey of Isonga can now start….

Day 2: “Know your past, understand your

present.

Whistles blowing and voices screaming in

the corridor: "Wake up! 15min to get ready

and stand outside on the soccer field! Wake

up!"

It is 6am, time for a morning jog. We start by

some stretching exercises coached by Idrissa Murangwa. You can still see some sleepy faces, but

there is no time to feel sorry for ourselves, on to the woods!

Lead by Joël, Serge, Claude, Atome and Kagabo…The latter is joining us in his tracksuit AND his

camera in his hands!! We spend the next hour and a half of running through the woods, singing

different songs along with the staff: 'Je t'aimé, je t'aimé, Mariaaaaa...', 'Amazi, amazi, amazi...' and

many others.

The ones who are slacking behind the group are pushed by

Hervé and Stephane.

Stopping is not an option. “Yes we Can!”The end of the

morning jog is followed by another quick stretch before

singing the national anthem. When the last words are sung,

we’re eagerly waiting for delivery: 'Ok, shower and breakfast.

We’re meeting in the conference room at 9.30 am.

Our first meeting was about the history and the meaning of Itorero. Two hours in the heart of

Rwanda. We had the pleasure of listenning to Mr Kaliningondo, a real living museum. At 80 years

old, he is one of the last generations of “Intore” who participated in the real Itorero before they were

eliminated by the Belgium colonial power...a witness of time! His testimony enabled us to really

picture what it meant to be an “intore” in the ancient kingdom of Rwanda. In a “history class” can

you really ask for more? Priceless!

So now, the very first questions are answered. Why are we here? What does the whole concept of

“Itorero” really mean? Why is it so important for us to know and understand our traditions? Why is it

important to share about our customs, our values and social organisation? We understand what

values were the underlying fundamental of the Rwandan nation. How they were ensuring our

cohesion and unity. And how today more than ever, despite the division and crises we endured, they

still define us as a people, the people of Rwanda.


These highly enlightening hours were followed by different

workshops. Choice was to bemade between Kinyarwanda

classes, dance or drama trainings. Saying that these were

really a lot of fun would be an understatement... Much

thanks to Atome for his amazing drama lessons!

The second meeting was about the genocide, its genesis and consequences.

Dr. Mukimbiri, Communication Officer - Rwanda Embassy in France, shared his studies with us and

detailed briefly the mechanisms behind such crimes against humanity. It was also the opportunity to

see how groundless, in the case of Rwanda, the division was.

At the same time, the Itorero spirit was teaching us

the power of our culture, and its role in building,

preserving and consolidating our national unity.

All in all, the second day was a hectic one!

We were so involved in the discussions that some

meetings lasted longer than planned. We wanted to

hear more, learn more, discuss and argue more.

Breaks had to be postponed or simply cancelled. But

as true Intore's-to-be, you didn't hear us complain!

Later during the day, a golf class was organised outside on the soccer field by Oscar Karekezi, an

event organiser, for those who wanted. At the same time a workshop about employment was held

inside. Stephane Kageruka, a manager recruiter, gave us useful tips about jobs interview process.

Norbert Nsabimana , a personal development coach and entrepeneur, shared with us his successful

professional experience in the “business world”.

After a well deserved and anticipated dinner, one last meeting was held with Guido Huysmans and

Convents who talked about the history of cinema in Rwanda and the film festival Hillywood! Aimable

Karirima also talked about his new documentary on Muyango n'Imitari.

It was finally time to call it a day. But before heading to our rooms, we all had to make a “mandatory


stop” by the living room where we could all relax and talk about the amazing day we had!

Lesson learned: Know your past in order for you to understand your present and design your future.

Day 3: “We are the future”

Here comes the third day! 6 am sharp, once again: “Time to wake up!! You have 15 minutes to meet

us downstairs!”

This time the Ishyaka crew supervising us has decided to be stricter: at 6.15 sharp, the latecomers are

asked to go on the side and do push-ups, the same treatment is applied to all the team leaders

whose teams were not completely on time! As a result, half of the participants ended up starting the

day with a couple of push-ups, but still with a big smile on their faces, of course!

We are now used to the running rhythm and everything seems to go perfectly during this morning

“muchaka muchaka”. The troop’s morale is higher than ever!

After a quick shower and a hearty breakfast, we are back to the conference room. It’s only the

beginning of the day- around 9.30 am- but most of the participants feel like taking a brief nap;

probably a boomerang effect of the morning push-up.


However, this general state does not last long: Muyango accompanied by his son Loïc introduced the

song he specially dedicated to us! “Ni murambe”. It did not take us more than a few seconds to start

singing heartily the following chorus:

“Ayiyeeeeeeee, ramba (2)

Twabareze neza byakijyambere

Kubaho n’ukubana, nimurambe

U Rwanda rwacu rwateye imbere”

It is in this lively atmosphere that the first presentation started. Mr Musare, first Counselor of the

Rwanda Embassy in Belgium, outlined the origin, aim and main pillars of the vision 2020. A discussion

was opened and everyone had the opportunity to comment and share his/her own meaning of the

vision 2020.

Before ending the meeting, each team received a specific point of the vision- Good Governance,

Leadership, Human resource, private sectors, infrastructure development, to name a few- and had

the assignment to discuss and debate about them for the future.

It was then time for each one of us to join the workshop of his/her choice; as said earlier:

Kinyarwanda, dance or drama.

After lunch, His Excellency Gérard Ntwari, Ambassador of Rwanda in Belgium, was given the floor to

talk about the various missions of the Embassy and the role to be played by the Rwandan in the

Diaspora.


The Ambassador’s speech was followed by an exhaustive presentation about

the WAF (@Wakening Abilities for the Future), an association of young

Rwandans co-organising the Itorero Belgium 2010. The presentation was

given by Oria Vande weghe, PR, and Olivier Mullens, President. WAF is a

network, to awaken and connect professional skills among young Rwandans

in the Diaspora.

After a short break, we

came back to the

conference room to listen

to a panel discussion made

of witnesses of Rwanda's renaissance: Former

Ambassador to the UN, Manzi Bakuramutsa,

leader of Avega Agahozo, Sylvie Gwira, a former

aid to the president, Faustin Musare and Antoine

Rutagwera, a leader of the Diaspora in Belgium.

This highlighted the intergenerational dialogue of

the Itorero.

The second discussion panel was made of “young achievers” living in Belgium: Soraya M.

Hakuziramye (Financial Sector), Olivia U. Rutazibwa ( Political Scientist and Journalist), Hervé

Twahirwa ( Arts - Music), Diogène Ntarindwa (Arts - Theatre), Norbert Nsabimana (Entrepeneur -

Human Ressources) and Innocent Kimenyi (

Entrepreneur - Ecological Sector). It was a

truly inspiring moment for each one of us. In fact,

we could all relate to at least one of the

achievement stories. It felt like we were personally

challenged to look inside ourselves for our

strongest assets and develop them not only for

our own sake but also for the others. All the

participants’ wish at the end of the discussion

was to take part in such a panel one day and also “aspire to inspire”.

After the discussions, it was already dinner time before we could relax a little bit while anticipating

the moment when we would all gather in the living room to listen to Atome. We had a wonderful

opportunity to watch parts of his play “Carte d’identité” and in between each set he would take the

time to explain the genesis of his project, the motives behind his art and the importance of the duty

to remember… With professionalism and generosity he managed to give us the best of his art and we

can only thank him, from the bottom of our heart.


The third day then ended on a festive note; participants had the time to share a drink , play cards or

discuss with the Ishyaka crew… a great time before going to bed!


Day 4: “Together we are stronger”

And then comes the day we have heard so much about… It is 9am and no jogging plan. Instead 20

minutes of muchaka muchaka on the soccer field lead by our dear Kagabo. We line up behind our

team leaders, the “BIG Game” is about to start.

Joel holds a loudspeaker, Loic “the master of the game” does not have any but we still get the rules

explained. It’s a “2010” version of the traditional “sakwe sakwe”. Enigma must be solved and all

answers are related to the themes discussed during the 3 past days.

The “treasure hunt” starts: observation, attention, reflexion, team spirit, strategy all our senses are in

actions! 4 hours of pure adrenaline….Ingenzi is the first team to solve all the enigmas but the

competition is still on.

It’s now 2 pm, we have had lunch an hour ago, so it

is now time for the battles! Basketball, soccer and

dance competitons are organised. Here more than

scoring, it is all about cohesion, solidarity, fair play

spirit and creativity….

The dance competition was one of the

strongest moments of this memorable day.

The sky is crystal clear, Muyango sings and

we perform.

One after the other we hit the “dancefloor”

on “Abo mubona n'Inganzo” , “mpore

mpore” and our dedicated “Twabareze

neza”.. It was a strong moment of

communion. Those who were not

performing were clapping “amashyi amashyi!” or accompanying Muyango in the chorus when they


knew the lyrics. We might not have the best techniques

and steps, but we were dancing with our hearts, and our

spirit. The Itorero football team won a game against the

"Intare team" from Brussels. At the same time, a basket

ball tournament was taking place during which the

participants from Switzerland run the show.

However, all good things come to an end…the results of the game will be given tomorrow, during the

closing ceremony. We are going to be evaluated not only on our performance, but also on our team

spirit, fair play and ingenuity.

One hour break for a small rest and a refreshing shower, its 7pm and we have got to be

“fresh&clean” before the barbecue starts…

Next on the programme of this Saturday is the “Igataramo”! Short before 9pm, Oria gathers all the

girls and gives each one of them the “Imishana” she brought from Brussels, the boys receive their

“Imikenyero” as well. It is dressed up in these wonderful traditional costumes that we all sat in the

Conference hall.

Like it used to be in such Igitaramo in Rwanda, songs and dances follow. Space was given to each to

express his talent and aptitude. We hardly want to believe it, but tomorrow is our Last day in

“ITORERO”.


Igitaramo:


Day 5: “It is not end, it is only the beginning”

We wake up with pain in our hearts, tears that start to shed... The last day has arrived. Each of us is

going their own separate ways, back to the normal life and daily routine.

Friendships and ties have been made and these

bonds between all the Intore participants, although

very new, are already unbreakable. These five days

had something very special, something very unique

and we are all aware of it.

We start the day with the very last wake up call, this

time its 10 o'clock. Even the “wake up” call will be

missed dearly. We shower, get dressed and have

breakfast.

After breakfast we all meet up one last time to discuss these past days and brainstorm per group on

how we can improve and adjust the Itorero. What are the “Imihigo” (Challenges) for the coming

edition.

Some of the suggestions were:

- To have more hours of Kinyarwanda and a sort of method like “Kinyarwanda as a foreign language”

especially for those of us with few language knowledge.

- To have one project in Rwanda where all Itorero-participants would give a hand.

- An Itorero of two weeks...

After that each group was assigned an area to clean up and put in order. This was not a problem,

everybody was happy to do so. Then came the time to pack our belongings and

drop them in the conference room before having lunch.

In the beginning of the afternoon, we welcomed the parents, friends and everyone who wanted to

congratulate us for becoming Intores!

The results of the game were given out, Ingenzi team won the competition, directly followed by

Imena praised for their discipline and fair play spirit, of course no one was forgotten in the

congratulations. The “BIG GAME” was not about “winning”, it was more about “learning”, “sharing”

and “taking part”. Two lucky Intores won plane tickets to Kigali during the tombola.

And then we were finally baptised! “ISONGA” meaning “the ones who leads”. This name came out of

a meeting among team leaders who indentified three words to describe our promotion: Roots,

Renaissance and Pioneers.


Of course, we had to end this amazing event with a couple of dance and singing performances. The

Isonga girls performed and were so beautiful doing so. The Isonga boys performed as well... Looking

around you could only see LOVE on every face.

Love for our country, love for one another, love for our parents, love for our elders, love for our

culture! It was an amazing moment, which honestly, made us all quite emotional.

5 days were not enough but it was a real success.

Big thanks to the Ishyaka Crew Joël Ndoli Pierre, Oria K. Vande weghe, Serge I. Kamuhinda , Stephane

kageruka, Théophile Kagabo, Atome Ntarindwa Diogène, Robert Kano, Hervé Twahirwa, Freddy

Gashonga, Olivier Mullens, Idrissa Murangwa, Claude Birasa, Robert Murenzi and Loïc I. Muyango for

making this all real...Your initiave, action and dedication will surely inspire many others because

“When small men decided to cast big shadow , it means that the sun is about to set” Lyn Yiutang .

This was truly one of the best times of our lives!

~~~Isonga Oyée!!~~Ijabo riduhe Ijambo!


Written by:

Rachel Sebashongero , Stockholm, Sweden

Michaella Rugwizangoga,Kaiserslautern,Germany

Iliza Casman, Anvers ( Flanders), Belgium

Photos of:

Olivia U. Rutazibwa, Anvers ( Flanders), Belgium

Jessica Bryon, Brussels, Belgium

Alain Karegire, Brussels, Belgium

Rachel, Michaella and Olivia Iliza


Isonga's Testimonies

Just under a month ago I attended the first « European Itorero » which was held in the North of

Belgium. It brought together Rwandan youth living in the Diaspora in different countries such as

Belgium, the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, etc.

Although I was one of the youngest participants, I by no means regret being a part of this experience

as it was very rewarding and I learnt so much.

I’ve appreciated the multi-cultural aspect of Itorero : because although most of the people who were

there came because they were Rwandans, we all came from very different backgrounds, according to

the places we grew up in, we did not all speak Kinyarwanda, neither did we all speak French as we

also had some participants from the UK. This language barrier however did not stop our

communication as some of us acted as intermediaries to translate, as well as being translated to.

I also enjoyed the program that was very diverse. In fact, Itorero proposed sports activities, as well as

conferences that allowed us to understand our History better and cultural workshops such as the

theatre that was supervised by the comedian Atome…

I really enjoyed Itorero as it also helped me to meet and stay connected to other Rwandan youth I

had never met, first of all within Belgium but also from the UK and France…

Marie Royer Ingabire

I really enjoyed the whole Itorero experience! This ranged from the informative conferences with

great speakers, the traditional activities such as Kinyarwanda dancing to early sports activities.

It was a great privilege for me to be able to connect with other Rwandan youth in the European

Diaspora as we had strong similarities and unique diverse differences.

Coming from an Anglophone background did not prevent me from enjoying myself as all Insongean's

were very friendly and welcoming.

I believe that programmes such as Itorero are very beneficial to us as individual Rwandan youth who

are the future of our Rwanda tomorrow.

It helps unite us on the basis of being Rwandan to help us achieve and build on ideas to develop our

motherland, drawing on our diverse experiences from our different Diasporas.

I look forward to being a part of the next Itorero!

"Ijabo Riduhe Ijambo"

Samson

The Diary Of Isonga

Documents

news itorero

concept of itorero

end of itorero

vice chairman of itorero

rwandan embassy

community of values

rwandan diaspora

isonga pormotion