Our District and Our Country
Primary 3 · Social and Religious Studies
Our District and Our Country
Lesson 2 of 3
14 min
Let's begin
A letter comes for Keza's family. It has travelled a very long way, from an uncle who works far overseas.
On the front of the envelope he has written the address. The last word, written biggest of all, is RWANDA.
Keza looks at it for a long time. She knows her house. She knows her village. But what exactly is Rwanda? Today you will find out — and you will learn the flag, the anthem and the symbols that belong to you.
Think of the bird from the last lesson. It starts on your roof and flies straight up. As it climbs higher, it sees more and more.
So your home is inside your village, your village is inside your cell, your cell is inside your sector, your sector is inside your district, and your district is inside your province. Each one fits inside the next, like a small basket inside a bigger basket.
Nothing has moved. You are still lying on your own bed. The bird just went higher.
Rwanda has 30 districts. Each one has a name. You have almost certainly heard some of them: Musanze, Huye, Rubavu, Nyagatare, Karongi, Muhanga, Gasabo.
Your district is where the local leaders work. It is where the big secondary schools and the district hospital are. When a road needs repairing or a school needs a new roof, that is district work.
Do you know the name of your district? If you do not, ask someone at home this evening. It is a good name to know.
Those 30 districts are gathered into groups. Rwanda has four provinces, plus the capital, the City of Kigali. Their names are easy, because they simply tell you where they are on the map.
| Province | Where it is | Something famous there |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Province | The top of the map | The volcanoes, and the mountain gorillas |
| Southern Province | The bottom of the map | Nyungwe forest, and the old palace at Nyanza |
| Eastern Province | The right of the map | Akagera park, with elephants and zebras |
| Western Province | The left of the map | Lake Kivu, and its fishing boats |
| City of Kigali | In the middle | The capital city |
Do you see how much easier that is now that you know your cardinal points? The Northern Province really is in the north. The Eastern Province really is in the east.
Careful, though — there is no "Central Province". The middle of Rwanda is where Kigali sits.
A capital city is the city where a country is governed from.
Kigali sits in the middle of Rwanda, spread across several hills. It is our biggest city. It is where the President works and where the members of Parliament meet to make the laws for everybody. It has the big international airport, where the planes bring visitors from other countries. Kigali itself has three districts: Nyarugenge, Gasabo and Kicukiro.
Look carefully at the flag next time it goes up at assembly. It has three stripes lying on top of each other, and one shining sun.
Blue on top, yellow in the middle, green at the bottom. Say it a few times.
There is one more thing worth knowing. Rwanda chose this flag in 2001. The flag before it had red in it, and red reminded people of the terrible things that happened during the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. So Rwandans chose a new flag with no red at all — a flag about peace, work, hope and light. Our flag is a promise about the future.
Our national anthem is called Rwanda Nziza. It means Beautiful Rwanda. It is a song of thanks for our country and a promise to look after it.
An anthem is not an ordinary song. When it is sung — at school assembly, at a big match, when the flag goes up — you show respect:
A symbol is a thing that stands for something bigger than itself. These belong to every Rwandan, including you.
And one more name, which is not official but which everybody uses: Rwanda is called the land of a thousand hills. Go outside and look at the horizon. You will see exactly why.
Tip
The flag, from the sky down to the ground. Look up and you see the blue sky, with the sun shining in it. Look down and you see the green grass. And in between them sits the yellow stripe.
Sky on top, grass at the bottom. Now you can never put the stripes in the wrong order.
The provinces name themselves: north, south, east, west — and Kigali in the middle. There is no Central Province.
Answer first, then tap Show answer to check.
Which is bigger — a district or a sector?
Answer: a district. A district is made of many sectors, so the district is the bigger one. Remember the order, from small to big: village, cell, sector, district, province, country.
Mugisha's family lives near the volcanoes, in the district of Musanze. Which province do they live in?
Answer: the Northern Province. The volcanoes are in the north of Rwanda, and Musanze district is in the Northern Province.
Name the colours of the Rwandan flag, from the top stripe down to the bottom stripe.
Answer: blue, then yellow, then green. Think of the blue sky above and the green grass below.
The national anthem starts at assembly, and Keza is halfway through eating a mandazi. What should she do?
Answer: stop eating, stand up straight and still with her arms at her sides, keep quiet, look at the flag and sing. The anthem is a mark of respect for the whole country.
Uwase says, "Rwanda has five provinces: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central." What is wrong with what she said?
Answer: there is no Central Province. Rwanda has four provinces — Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western — plus the City of Kigali, which sits in the middle of the country.
Why is there no red on our flag?
Answer: because red reminded people of the blood shed in the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. In 2001 Rwanda chose a new flag with no red — one about peace, work, hope and light.
Note
What you learned today:
Quick check
Put these in order, from the smallest to the biggest.
Tap the cards in the right order.
