On a recent trip outside the country, I opted to use Rwandair. My reason? I wanted to be a witness to the numerous stories I had heard about how Rwanda has been able to pick up the pieces after the 1994 genocide which took a toll on the country’s economy, bringing development down to zero.

It is on record that all farms and agriculture which served as the backbone of that country’s economy were either burned or destroyed during the genocide. Death toll ranged from 800,000 to 1,000,000, drastically reducing population by over 70% with no workers to start reconstruction of the country after this horrendous incident.

I wondered how a country which had virtually been robbed of everything now has an airline which, from my knowledge, connects major cities in Eastern, central, southern, Western Africa, parts of Middle East and counting. I wanted to see and know more. Although, I was simply passing through as Rwanda was not my final destination, I knew I would have an experience that will rub on me forever. And it sure did!

On board, I looked inside the back pocket of the seat right infront of me only to find a brochure of Rwanda’s Special Economic Zones which spells out investment opportunities and calling on all who could look into the elegant future of Rwanda to come on board the development agenda.

As we landed and took off from Kigali, the capital city of the country of a thousand hills, I could see a lot of potential. There lay a land obviously ready to be tapped into and very willing to be used to boost the economy for her own people.

It was obvious the only thing she needed was the will power of her inhabitants including the managers of the economy and even the ordinary people. And this, she had!!! The people of Rwanda did not concede setback after years of economic and even social downturn.

I could see progressive development manifesting itself in agriculture, technology, tourism amongst others. Isn’t it amazing that a country which was dented so much now has tourism being the highest foreign exchange earner? They have taken advantage of what nature has endowed them with- the landscape, wildlife, lakes and their unique culture (dance, music and traditional art of using cow dung to crate cultural artifact)- to draw the attention of those far and wide and to bring returns to the country.

Isn’t it worth noting that the World Bank recently celebrated Rwanda's "remarkable development successes" and also acknowledged it as having helped “reduced poverty and inequality”? The Economist also writes this about Rwanda in the online extra titled, “The world’s fastest developing countries: A Quarter Century Progress” on December 14, 2015:

“Rwanda has made the most progress, which is all the more impressive given that its level of development fell during the genocide of 1994. Rwandans can now expect to live almost 32 years longer than in 1990, and spend twice as long at school”

Some lessons? As an individual, do you simply give up on your dreams just because of one disappointment or the other? Are you able to connect the future with your potentials? We often hear of the saying, “it’s not over until it’s over”. I dare say that once you have life, sound mind and of course, God on your side, anything is possible. It is possible to look beyond your present circumstances and go for gold. The fact that you were disappointed, shuttered, broken or alienated does not mean it is the end of the world.

A lot of inspiration flowed from that land to me. In fact, the progress and gains made by Rwanda after the awful genocide is gigantic!  And this tells me that the turbulence of life never lasts forever. Turbulence can manifest itself in our marriages, relationships, careers, education and many others but it sure will end someday. As long as we are positive-minded, we can pick up the pieces just like Rwanda did. They did not brood over the past; they did not close their minds to positivity. They embraced development, technology and a new breath of fresh air.  Fresh air which paved way for all the good they could get from the land.

And that is what I ask you to do. Embrace new hopes, dreams, and inspiration. Don’t let the past take the better part of you. There is hope in the future. The light is bright at the end of the tunnel; and it will lead you to pleasant places. I tell you, the future is bright! Embrace some inspiration from Rwanda. That positive inspiration which I call “Rwandspiration!!!”

Until next time…

Love xxx

Authur : Theodora Dame Adjin-Tettey (Mrs)   

Lecturer, UPSA

Article was first shared on the Fabulous Woman page on Facebook