The 18th National Youth Forum held in Gikongoro Catholic Diocese from 24th up to 28/07/2019
The Year 2019 was the turn of Catholic Diocese of Gikongoro to welcome young people from all the dioceses of Rwanda. The National youth forum was held at Nyagisenyi Stadium in Nyamagabe district. It gathered 4,960 young people from all the Dioceses of Rwanda and young people from RDC and Burundi accompanied by 354 priests and religious
Objectives
In bringing together all these people, the forum objectives were the following:
- Contribute to rebuilding the Rwandan social fabric and playing a role in the process of reconciliation, following the tragedy of the 1994 Tutsi genocide;
- Strengthen actions against poverty for young people;
- Increase young people’s knowledge of different aspects of their lives;
- To sensitize young people to fight against the use of drugs and narcotics;
- Prevent “human trafficking” and epidemics;
- To sensitize young people to the change of risky sexual behavior;
- Deepen the faith of Young people.
Forum Process
During four days of the forum, four Catechism aiming at straightening the faith and giving a higher impetus to Christian morality were provided to young people as well as the conference-debates were animated on the following subjects:
- The fight against sexual violence and early pregnancy,
- Protecting health by fighting the Ebola epidemic,
- The safeguard of security,
- The opportunities that the Rwandan Government offers young people for their economic development,
- The fight against sexual violence and the trafficking of human beings
The youth during the Forum had the opportunity to join other community members in the sectors of Nyamagabe and Huye district where they were hosted in the community work known as “Umuganda” for the common interest and helped some poor in the region. They created an atmosphere that fostered their spiritual development and they cultivated friendly relations between them and the people who welcomed them.
Resolution and recommendations
At the end of the Forum, the young people committed themselves to:·
- Respect much more human life and fight against all its threats;·
- Kind virginity and chastity until they find their own vocation;·
- Persevere in prayer by taking the Virgin Mary as an example;·
- To attach to goodness and renounce evil, by making Jesus their friend;·
- To be much more involved in the fight against drug use, early pregnancy and epidemics;·
- Intensify their efforts in self-financing initiatives through cooperatives and savings groups.