JOURNEY

• March 1, 2023 – In a recent Leadership Development Workshop, we explored the question, “How can you make sure the pain of your past doesn’t determine your future?” What stood out and meant the most to you in this workshop? Confiance said: “I can overcome the negative consequences caused by pain by not allowing it to deform me. To always look forward and put my ways in God’s hand and be optimistic for the future. The story of Jabez touched me, meaning that despite current pain or challenges I can still trust in God and be optimistic about the future.”
• September 8, 2022 – Confiance talked about the biggest change in his life since the end of the COVID restrictions: “The biggest change was shifting most activities online. Before COVID-19, most meetings were physical but things have changed. If I am planning for an event, I first see if it can be done virtually.”
• September 13, 2021 – Confiance shared his favorite song and what it means to him: “My song is Imana ni Urunkundo by Merry Melody: https://youtu.be/i7h-cU1AvqQ. This is a Kinyarwandan song that always reminds me that God is love. In all the hardships of this life, God is always by our side. When things go well in this life, most of the time we forget God. He never forgets us. This is the song I listen to during tough and difficult times.”
• July 16, 2021 – Confiance shared what resilience means to him: “I understand resilience as being able to keep going, despite obstacles. It’s the ability to keep striving for my dreams despite challenges and failures.”
• March 1, 2021 – Confiance said his biggest lesson from 2020 was: “My biggest lesson during the year of 2020 is the value of family and friends. After all we do and wherever we go, when things go wrong, we end up with our family and being helped by friends as Covid-19 showed. I learned that I need to not take my family and friends for granted.”
• July 1, 2020 – We asked our students what makes them proud of their culture, and Confiance said: “My favorite thing about my culture is respecting elderly people. For example, in case we have got a few seat like in a bus or church, a child will stand up for older one to sit! I do practice such a good habit in our culture whenever and wherever possible.”
• March 30, 2020 – Confiance speaks Kinyarwanda, English, and a little French.
• March 30, 2020 – Confiance said his favorite drink is milk, fresh milk in particular.
• September 1, 2019 – Confiance spent his summer volunteering at the hospital near his home and helping to educate the community about non-communicable diseases, like diabetes.
• May 18, 2019 – Within the last semester, I learned that I need to do all I can for my success and when it doesn’t go the way I wanted I have to trust in God that it’s for the better for me. This is because in the last semester, I surprisingly passed lessons that I didn’t expect to and others failed. From the leadership training, I learned that for better use of money I have to make a budget and that I have to manage time effectively for success in all of my activities.
• February 9, 2019 – When asked to define servant leadership, how that applies to his life now, and his future career, Confiance said: “I would define servant leadership as leadership in which a leader serves as an example to his/her subordinates by motivating them. Here I mean as a servant leader you include your subordinates in all you do, not imposing on them. They will respect because you serve them! Today as a leader in the different areas, I try to implement the principles of servant leadership and I will endeavor to do so throughout my career!”
• November 19, 2018 – Confiance wants to be known for loving and serving God! He also wants to be known as a hard-working and confident person! This semester he hopes to manage his time well!
• July 7, 2018 – This last school year, Confiance’s greatest challenge was staying on top of his schedule, but he was able to take responsibility for his time and make a daily schedule to stay on top of everything he needed to accomplish! This summer, Confiance will continue taking classes, and is looking forward to volunteering at the health center in his community as well as helping kids who have had to drop out of school. He is excited to be working towards his career goals and giving back to his community!
• May 12, 2018 – The two things Confiance values the most are studying and praying, studying because it is through learning and education that you are able to achieve your dreams and work for a better future, praying because it connects him to God and helps him to feel God’s company and protection.
• March 25, 2018 – When Confiance was younger, he wanted to be a doctor, because he wanted to help bring health to his community! In five years, he hopes to see that dream become a reality, and be a medical specialist!
• February 27, 2018 – Confiance said the person who inspires him the most is Nelson Mandela, because he fought for peace in Africa and was a good example of a freedom fighter.
• January 25, 2018 – Confiance said he recently read a book called The Best of Yourself, and the line that stood out to him the most was, “courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.”
• December 18, 2017 – Confiance’s Christmas traditions include- buying new clothes and shoes, eating special meals and drinks, and dancing! A word Confiance thinks his friends would use to describe him is “courageous” because he always does whatever he can do to help him and his family!
• November 11, 2017 – Confiance thanks God that he is able to be a student at University! He loves Christmas because it reminds him of Jesus’ birth, and it is a time he gets to come together with his family to celebrate!
• October 8, 2017- During his summer holiday, Confiance had the opportunity to use what he has learned to teach a group of students, he loved being able to do this and put a lot of effort into his teachings. Confiance is excited to start his journey in his career and looks forward to gaining valuable leadership skills and further impacting his community.