The 2024 pre-departure orientation session for selectees who are going to attend Mandela Washington Fellowship 2024 in the United States was held today May 23, 2024 at La Detente.The best five selected to attend Mandela Washington Fellowship were presented and other fellows from the same program provided them them insightful guidelines and advices to be helping them during their leadership training and networking experience in the United States.
The public affairs officer and acting deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy Burundi John Warner declares that the predeparture orientation session was organized to help the selected to attend the Mandela Washington Fellowship understand what to expect, what’s coming, what will happen after the program and the opportunity to meet with the alumni. “You’re not selected because you are doing great things today, you’re selected because you’ve already done great things and you’ve proven that you are leaders in your communities in Burundi. This is incredibly the selective program. I was in Botswana when this program was begun by President Obama and the excitement which surrounded this opportunity for young African Leaders to do this extended leadership training in the US, it generated amazing excitement. This is the wonderful opportunity”, he puts.
Panelists, who graduated from the Mandela Washington Fellowship in past years, encourage the selectees to be the ambassadors of Burundi in the United States and advised them on good behavior as well as they will come across a culture-shock by meeting different people from different countries and different cultures.
As a takeaway, Janvier Manirakiza, founder of Dreaming for Change, advise the selectees to build trust and learn from those successful so as to come back and run some implemental strategies in Burundi. Dr. Tania Gahama, founder of Uzima Association, told them that after the fellowship they can opt to start a new journey. “What we do as leaders, living a life of purpose – a life of significance, is not short distance running, it is a marathon. It can feel like exhausting; it can feel like it is taking a lot of time; but it is okay what we have been doing for many years will one day come to life”, she underlines.
The past years fellows advised of the new attendants not to disappear and look for small jobs and start new life in a new area. Rather, to come back home and use the gained leadership skills and empower the community like Janvier Manirakiza who founded Dreaming for Change and Dr Alexis Nizigiyimana who founded Ubuntu Village of Life.
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