BIO

Gerald grew up in a small village in Rwanda where community members treated each other like family. Gerald, from a family of eight, lived with his parents and siblings until his father left due to health issues. Gerald’s community dealt with significant illiteracy rates, and he often saw his friends drop out of school due to their parents’ devaluing education. Gerald believes his experiences growing up, and the cultural lessons his community taught him, will continue to guide him in the future. 

Gerald’s focus on education has helped him, as he is now studying Statistics Applied to Economy at the Institut d’Enseignement Supérieur de Ruhengeri. Gerald hopes to empower his community through knowledge. With his degree, Gerald dreams of turning “numbers into meaningful stories that help people understand our local economy – from farmers and entrepreneurs to decision makers.” He hopes this will help alleviate poverty, encourage entrepreneurship, and promote a data driven economy to encourage sustainable development. 

Gerald loves to read books as a way to learn and expand his mind. He also likes playing soccer as a way to refocus after studying.