Renovat Niyongabo, IT StudentRenovat Niyongabo is 22 years old and comes from Mwaro, a region up-country where 99% of the Burundian tea is grown. While his roots are rural, his aspirations could be considered cosmopolitan. Renovat sees the great need for the Batwa to know about technology and have access to current information so that they will have the knowledge necessary for advancement. This is the reason he is pursuing his studies in Information Technology at Gasenyi Municipal College in Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi.

Renovat dreams of establishing a school to educate other Batwa in technological skills. He wants all Batwa children to benefit from his own learning about the tools that are available now. In this way, he hopes to combat ignorance and pass along knowledge that will enable others to have a means of supporting themselves.

These dreams come from a deep place in Renovat’s heart. His own family lives an impoverished existence. He has, his entire life, lived in a temporary hut with his parents and three siblings. His father works hard, but still can only manage to bring food back to the family three times a week. As the oldest child, Renovat always looks for ways to assist his father and help provide for the family. He remained diligent in school, hoping this would be a way to work himself out of poverty and bring relief to his family and community.

This August, the chief of this small village was offered the opportunity to identify one student in his community to participate in the Batwa Education Project. The chief chose Renovat, which is an answer to his many prayers for a path to provide for his family. Renovat reports that he has never lived in such a nice home or been given the chance to learn in such a supportive environment. He is so excited to learn – and now he has food each day, a dry place to store his books, electricity for late night study sessions and a mattress to get a good nights sleep each night. He is so grateful and intends to make his family and village proud.

He does dream of owning his own plot of land, building a home for his family and contributing to the Batwa community. He is confident that being conversant in the IT world will allow him the opportunity to make a difference in his world.