Dear Friends of COBURWAS, I delighted to have this opportunity to sincerely thank you all for the kind notes and congratulations messages to us for being recognized among the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. I am so humbled and grateful to be in the 2013 class of the Top 99 under 33 Foreign Policy Leaders. I share the happiness and excitement with my fellow Founders and executive leaders at COBURWAS/CIYOTA, the best team ever in the whole world that I would ever ask God to bring in my life. Over the last 8 years, since I was 14 years I had the unique opportunity to work with these selfless, committed and visionary youth who like me believe that sustainable solutions come from within (even in the refugee camp where people live in despair). By first believing in the power of young people regardless of their circumstances, in 2005, we united refugees youth from Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and Uganda so that we could think together, work together since we were suffering together. We formed a COBURWAS family of youth from all these countries in which every child felt protected together in an environment that allows him/her to forge a better future and to thrive. We piloted a number of initiatives like: 1.) Community service which includes building structures for the most vulnerable people in the community, 2.) The tutoring program to enable refugees’ children in primary school to pass national/ government exams, 3.) Opened up COBURWAS students’ hostels/ homes in the nearby town (80km) to enable about 100 refugees’ boys and girls per year to attend and complete secondary school. 4.) Established COBURWAS Nursery and Primary school to provide special education and care including meals and healthcare to vulnerable children, most of whom had lost their parents. 5.) Set up COBURWAS farming projects which would enable us to raise our own food and a little money to run and sustain our programs. Today we are happy to see hundreds of children accessing quality education from our primary school, while we also encourage and support a thousand others in primary schools in refugee communities and neighboring communities. Every year COBURWAS enables students to complete high school, and this year of 2013 we have been able to send some of our students to Universities on the continent and in the United States of America. So many changes have happened and we think that this is just the beginning. I strongly believe in myself but with experience, I believe that I am stronger when I am with the team and on this matter, with the COBURWAS team and COBURWAS supporters. Our continual progress in empowering young people and creating new hope starts in us but is also strengthened by many individuals and institutions which came to our rescue and allowed us to lean on their shoulders. As always, I think that COBURWAS is still growing. We need more mentorship, education and a growing team in which we will be able to work with more of Africa’s youth, the leaders who will solve the current complex challenges in our diverse communities. We are hopeful that we will be able to unite, and educate more and more children in schools and prepare them as leaders who will take their communities and Africa to the next level. By working with other youth around the Globe like the UN Youth Advocacy Group for the Global Education First Initiative, we will see every child in school very soon. With sincere humility from my heart, respect for my brothers and sisters in COBURWAS (with whom we equally share the recognition) and appreciation to all of you who support us in all your capacities (including those who liked us on facebook), I feel honored to be announced among the 2013 class of the top 99 under 33 Foreign Policy Professionals from 37 countries in the Diplomatic Courier honorees. God bless you, Joseph Munyambanza and the COBURWAS Team diplomaticourier/lists/top-99-under-33/2013/1705-joseph-munyambanza coburwas.org/executive-teamnew-page/
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 00:50:55 +0000