“I am responsible for my family, my country at large, and myself.”

—Emerance Iragena, Entrepreneurship, Class of 2015

My name is Emerance. I was born in 1988 in Rwanda’s south to a family of six children, two girls and four boys. During my childhood, I faced many challenges and met different kinds of people. I learnt from them to be patient and strong in every situation and to respect those who help me in times of difficulty.

In secondary school, I focused on tourism management. Having studied tourism, I wanted to attend a university that could help me pursue my dream of contributing to my country as an entrepreneur in the hospitality industry. I started searching for such an institution and by chance, I watched Akilah’s graduation on television. The graduation showed women my age giving speeches confidently and looking ready to give back to the country.

Akilah has helped me to think deeply about my career.

I was deeply touched and wanted to be among them. I started gathering more information about Akilah. I went to the school, obtained the application forms, and am proud to say that I was admitted. I chose entrepreneurship program because I already studied some hospitality and now I want to get the skills to start and run a business.

Akilah has helped me to think deeply about my career. Building my self-confidence is the foundation for everything I hope to achieve. I also realized that I have to give back to my community. I am responsible for my family, my country at large, and myself. With the empowerment I get at Akilah, I can become a good leader.

My life has changed at Akilah. I have become a new person compared to before. I have learned to have positive attitude, to make smart decisions, to believe that everything is possible, and to know that things don’t just happen but that they are made to happen. I have also learned practical things, such as to use computers, provide good customer care, and demonstrate leadership. And of course, I can now speak English, which I could not do before.

I have also learned practical things, such as to use computers, provide good customer care, and demonstrate leadership. And of course, I can now speak English.

Akilah has helped identify my strengths as well as my weaknesses. I am responsible, willing to help others, a good listener, and patient. On the other hand, I’m not great at standing up for my beliefs if they are not popular. This kind of self-knowledge is important and I learned it through different exercises we do in classes here.

Despite my weaknesses and all the things I sill have to learn, I believe that when I put Akilah’s teachings to practice, I will reach my goals. In the future, I want to create a tourism company because my country is very devoted to increasing international travel here, and I want to do what I can to serve my country’s needs.

If you wish to support an Akilah student like Emerance, please visit our donate page.