The First Lady Mrs. Kagame poses with the winning girls.
“Shoot for the moon even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” This is an English proverb meaning that as long as you’re dreaming something, dream big, and have a great goal, even if you fail, you may end up doing great things.
They are some of the key words, First Lady of Rwanda, Jeannette Kagame used to encourage the Best Performing Girl, (a BPG) or Inkubito z’Icyeza for national examinations for 2020/2021 to do more and dream big as they join Secondary, high schools and Universities across the world.
The best performing girls have been celebrated for the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020. Their day coincided with International Day of the Girl Child for 2022 themed “Our time is now—our rights, our future.”
It is marked on 11 October, annually, and aims to increase public awareness of the problems that girls worldwide suffer, including lack of access to education, inadequate nutrition, forced child marriage, legal rights, and medical rights.
Locally, International girl child for 2022 and best performing girl was celebrated in Musanze district, Northern Province.
“Today, we came to celebrate you. But also, a special day to remind you about the potential within you and targets that you have been able to achieve every day. This especially, challenges you to think about the steady and able citizen you can be,” Mrs. Kagame said.
“This is great time to work together with best performing girls about their future and development. It is also the right time to remind them about continuing to dream big. Their dreams are supposed to expand and go far,” she added.
A total of 784 best performing girls were awarded on the day.
The First Lady urged fathers of daughters to be more involved in their lives, teach them moral values, and shield them from harm when speaking to the crowd.
The First Lady talks to young girls as the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Prof. Jeannette Bayisenge looks on.
For 17 years, best performing girls have graduated from prestigious institutions around the world; they have become senior members of the Rwandan government, doctors, lawyers, engineers, journalists, technology pioneers and entrepreneurs.
“Fathers who are present, did you know you have a big role to play in your children’s growth, thinking and their reproductive health? You are the first male figure a girl projects a real man. If she gets a good example from it, she is able to learn and make healthy choices,” Mrs. Kagame noted.
She pointed out that fathers should have more interactions with and pay attention to their daughters since doing so “greatly strengthens them.
A 15-year-old Lycee Notre Dame de Citeaux (LNDC) girl named Elliot Jolie Keza told media she is grateful for the honour to be recognized by the First Lady because it gives her greater bravery.
“Girls feel like they are in a culture that treats them as humans, just like everyone else, when they are empowered in this way,” Keza said.
Since inception, Imbuto Foundation, aligned programs with national, continental and international development frameworks, and as such in 2005, the organization embarked on a journey to achieve three objectives including having all girls enrolled in school, ensure that they stayed in school and completed all levels of education and, encourage them to explore and excel in all subjects, for example science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
