The Head of State was speaking to the youth yesterday at Gabiro Combat Training Centre in Gatsibo District while closing the XI edition of Itorero Indangamirwa.
The edition brought together 568 trainees, 430 Rwandan residents and 138 Rwandans residing in 20 countries across the world.
Kagame reminded them that the training they received was not only about military drills, but, it is about their daily tasks and mindsets.
“You see the good and the bad in all the places you live. We want you to take the good and use it to build yourself and your nation. And we need to learn from the bad, to protect yourselves and your country from it,” Kagame urged the youth.
“When you build something, however big or small, you work to protect it from any harm. It is the same for our country. We each have a role to protect what we have built together,” Kagame added.
Kagame said that the essence of Itorero comes from Rwandan culture about investing in every Rwandan citizen to ensure that they can become the best they can be.
“It is about ensuring every Rwandan strives to be useful members of society,” he noted.
He reminded the youth that knowledge is important when facilitated by good values.
“Knowledge is important, but if you do not have any values, the knowledge you have gained becomes useless,” he said.
Kagame encouraged youth interested in joining the army to do so, adding that it is the profession joined by best people.
“It is an honor and a pride to know that you are capable of defending yourself, your home and your nation. That is how those of us who joined the army at your age understood it,” Kagame told the youth.
Leave a Reply