Paul Rudatsikira, 22, and his family fled Burundi and Rwanda during the 1994 genocide when he was 9 years old. Rudatsikira says he lost 400 extended family members during the genocide. Rudatsikira has been speaking publicly about Africa and its needs since he was a junior in high school.
Last year, he formed the nonprofit Africa Global Partnership, which will connect U.S. citizens who have resources with the people in Africa who need them most.
The project will launch officially in December. I'm not giving a $40,000-a-year scholarship, but I'm connecting them with someone who has the resources to do that, Rudatsikira said. He hopes to establish a network of alumni from U.
S. universities to sponsor African students in medicine, engineering and architecture. In return, the students would promise to spend five years working in Africa after graduation.
In April, Rudatsikira led a group of 21 leaders in the sectors of business, health and law to Rwanda to bolster support for social and economic projects and infrastructure development. One of them was Diane Kennedy, a philanthropist, tax strategist, and author of Loopholes of the Rich and The Maui Millionaires, who was looking for charitable projects for her company. What Rudatsikira showed her was a country in search of investors, not charity, she said.
The Parliament has a large number of women, and women business owners are common, unlike most of the other African countries. They are literally rewriting the constitution. The country is wide open for investors, but they are looking for ones who care about the country as well, Kennedy said.
We're excited about the possibilities. Rudatsikira wants to show people that Africa isn't just about doom and disaster. It is a country where people face trials and tribulations, but are still out there making a difference and working to eliminate poverty.
These are people who have nothing, yet they have everything, he said. These are people who are in great need, but they are overcoming, doing wonderful things to make a difference. And help is not just to be given by celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna and Oprah Winfrey, who have taken on Africa as a cause recently, he said.
The connection can be for everyone, everywhere. I am one person out of many but I am a believer that big things happen in small steps and that if we make a difference in the life of one person, we have made a big leap in making this world a better place. Reach Janet Zimmerman at 951-368-9586 or jzimmerman@PE.
com For information on Paul Rudatsikira and his Africa Global Partnership, visit his Web site at www.PaulRudatsikira.com Paul Rudatsikira, 22, and his family fled Burundi and Rwanda during the 1994 genocide when he was 9 years old.
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