KIGALI, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda on Saturday marked National Heroes' Day across the country by paying tribute to the national heroes of the small central African country.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, senior government officials and members of diplomatic corps joined families of Rwanda's fallen heroes in laying wreaths at the heroes' mausoleum in Remera Sector, Gasabo District in the Rwandan Capital Kigali.
Apart from the main ceremony, the celebrations were taken to the grassroots across the country, where Rwandans gathered together at the village level to pay tribute to the heroes that shaped the future of the country.
"The beautiful and prosperous Rwanda we have today is attributed to the sacrifices made by our national heroes we are celebrating today. We are forever grateful for their bravely and heroism," Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, chancellor of Rwanda's Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders and Decorations of Honor told Xinhua in a telephone interview on Saturday.
He added that the national heroes' day remains an important event in Rwanda.
Habumuremyi called on Rwandans most especially young people to stand in the heroes' shoes and work hard to uphold their legacy in terms of promoting unity, patriotism, integrity, hard work and peaceful co-existence.
The Saturday's event was preceded by a week-long nationwide campaign about the values of heroism, which mainly focused on encouraging Rwandans especially youth to embrace a culture of heroism in their daily lives.
Several activities were held during the heroes' week that included discussions about heroic values and sports games such as football, handball, basketball, sitting volleyball and cycling.
The chancellery is responsible for the identification of persons or groups of persons who have distinguished themselves in performing heroic acts and in rendering exemplary service to the nation.
Rwanda's National Heroes are classified into three categories named in Kinyarwanda as Imanzi, Imena, and Ingenzi.
The Imanzi category is the highest order, featuring people who even sacrificed their own lives in the interest of the nation.
This category consists of Major-General Fred Rwigema, who died on the battle field on the onset of the liberation war, and the "Unknown Soldier" representing all soldiers who lost their lives in the liberation.
The Imena category has people with proven track record such as King Mutara III Rudahigwa, Agathe Uwilingiyimana and Nyange Secondary School students who were killed by militias after refusing to divide themselves along ethnic lines.
While the last category, called Ingenzi is for living heroes though the list is yet to be made public.
The National Heroes' Day is observed annually on Feb. 1.
