Your current status does not matter; what matters is your goal,” Gentille.

In life, we sometimes get fixed on our current situations and think that we must accept whatever comes to you, without even trying to change. We often forget that your current situation does not define you and you can still dream and change things.

When I heard my parents’ life stories before coming to Rwanda as refugees, I decided to restore the dignity of my family, rather than submitting to the reality. I felt and still feel it is my responsibility to do so.

I believed that school was the key to change. I worked and tried endlessly to grasp the opportunities to study. I studied not only to assist my family but also to work for communities under situations like my family. I aspired to work for the UN to contribute and to give back to the community.

And here I am, interning with UNHCR, at the beginning of the journey to work towards my hopes and ambitions. Maybe I will be the next Einstein, or maybe someone even bigger, with the UNHCR innovation initiative!

The Impact of My Internship on my Personal and Professional Growth, and the Impact on the Community

Professionally, this internship has remarkably boosted my confidence to build a better future and pursue my career in the humanitarian field. It also has given me a chance to refine skills I need to become a professional humanitarian. I could increase my strategic and analytical capacity and develop problem-solving skills. I also learnt that there is no fixed way of handling issues of refugees. With the ongoing resource limitations, we need to think outside the box to come up with an innovative response to handle or ease those issues.

Personally, I realize that I can one day get out of the refugee camp life forever. I realized how it is so beautiful to live in normal conditions. Living in Kigali while I am doing my internship has increased my desire to strive until I am fully able to leave the camp with my whole family. It is POSSIBLE.

The fact that UNHCR is committed to applying a community-based approach, ensuring the engagement of persons of concern in all actions affecting them, empowering them to exercise their rights and living in dignity has given me a chance to stay motivated to be who I want to be in life and to pursue my career. It has opened a gate towards the difference I wish to see in my family and in my community.

For the community, I often chat with other fellow young refugees, and they have built their trust in UNHCR. They could not imagine how a refugee can work within UNHCR. This is something that positively impacted their perspective on UNHCR’s work. Also, I have been sharing information from UNHCR colleagues with my networks. They were able to get more information related to opportunities like scholarships and other programs.

This internship has been a tool to welcome insights, points of views, and ideas of the persons of concern. This helped UNHCR to know how they could better assist the persons they serve.

I am thankful so much to the UNHCR Innovation team and Community-based protection team in Kigali for this internship opportunity. I am thankful to the Government of Luxemburg for funding this internship. They made a way for me and for my fellow refugees to achieve our goals by working for the UN and by serving our own community.