Rwandans in Australia celebrated this year’s Commonwealth Day in a ceremony held at St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane on Tuesday.
Commonwealth Day is celebrated every year on March 2, but Rwandan Diaspora of Australia celebrated it on March 12.
The occasion was attended by various dignitaries such as His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor General of Queenland and Mrs Kaye de Jersey, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Councillor Graham Quirk , the Reverend Canon Richard Tutin of the St John’s Cathedral and General Secretary of Queenland churches together, Members of Parliament and congregation among other.
The commonwealth Day is an opportunity for individuals, communities and organisations to promote the commonwealth’s shared values of peace, democracy, equality by sharing the fruits of progress and prosperity of the countries.
Certificate of appreciation given to Abahizi dance group (photo Rwanda Diaspora of Australia)
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Rwandan Diaspora of Australia Emmanuel Karekezi, described how unity and reconciliation have contributed significantly to Rwanda’s journey of recovering and healing from Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi in 1994.
“We remember and honour these who lost, we comfort these who survived and pay tribute to the sacrifices that brought Rwanda back to life as we remember -Unite and renew,” He noted
The Abahizi Dance Group mesmerized the Commonwealth Day celebrations through various cultural songs and dance and they were thus awarded certificate of appreciation.
Abahizi dance group (photo Rwanda Diaspora of Australia)
The Commonwealth is a voluntary Association of 53 independent and equal sovereign states. It is home to 2.2 billion citizens, of which over 60% are under the age of 30.
The Express News
