Who is Claver Nsengiyumva ,Burundi


In Burundi, it is really difficult to talk about a very clear personal biography for different reasons. One of them is due to the Burundian culture itself which makes Burundian, people with reserved behaviour.
Hellas, this last year was for me an opportunity to discover a remarkable person and who have been for me an opportunity to improve my vision for Burundi and worldwide in general. I could just say here that nothing is happened by hazard. There are many things happened to us and we let them pass without seizing an opportunity to think about the signification. Some times it is a good event and for other circumstances a bad event. So, after an entire year I noticed that is wasn’t a simple meeting with this person that I am going to describe here.

This man who marked me is Claver Nsengiyumva, country director of Survivor Corps, an American NGO which helps survivors of trauma to give back and build themselves their life and become leader .Someone who speaks kindly, calmly, simply and with a remarkable analysis when giving his opinion. I met him in August 2008 when I responded a call from the General Directory of Ex-combatants in Burundi who asked me to in contact with Survivor Corps and talk about its program of assisting survivors in Burundi. During that period I represented a training centre for development of ex-combatants “CEDAC” which helps ex-combatants to rebuild Burundi by their contribution.
I decided then to meet him in the office of CEDAC. Concerning the international NGO, I was waiting a foreign person but what I saw was contrary
Claver came with Ms Patricia Ntahorubuze ,ex project manager in the « Association des femmes juristes du Burundi » .My first look didn’t permit me to discover Mr Claver because he was very simple and when we started with presentation each other ,I found finally who is the country director of Survivor Corps .

Being former combatant I didn’t think that I could meet another person with different ethnic of mine and who can share the same vision as me for the future of Burundi. His outspoken and commitment has finally shown that there some Burundian people who go beyond their ethnic appurtenance and demonstrate a good vision for Burundi. His NGO has finally made an agreement with CEDAC about implementing their project in Burundi with the collaboration of CEDAC.
Sometimes he told me: « Eric, the only mission that we have is to make a change to the world and this is our mission from God and we must do it on ealth »


His belief that what is happened to every person is the result of what he declares touched me .He said “it is why we must always declare good things”.
I should mention that this is not at all easy to spend four years at the control of an organization without adequate financial resources. Sometimes to accomplish certain tasks, I had to use my personal resources which were not sufficient and borrow sometimes when necessary.

My encounter with him helped me to build and develop appropriate links which allow me to accomplish the mission that I am assigned.

Through him, I had opportunity to meet with the staff of Survivor Corps who came from Washington and his advocacy finally gave me occasion of gaining knowledge that would be useful for me in the future.
In January 2009, I found an opportunity of a training organized in Kigali by Survivor Corps and say here it was my first opportunity to travel by plane. At the airport, he looked at me and said: "You are very comfortable for the short trip to Kigali? In just one year, you will have opportunity to travel around the world»

Three months later, I received another training mission in Uganda on behalf of the East African Action Network on Small Arms and October 2009, another training mission on Human Rights for Women in Nairobi.

In December 2009, should be held an international conference on the fight against mines to be held in Cartagena Colombia. When I met him he told me "Look Eric, I want you to posture in my place to this conference in order to meet people who help you get through your vision. » No sooner said than done.
I completed my form and I picked him as my reference and as usual, my application has been accepted without problem.

I went to this conference which was highly interesting, saw the very important people that I met there

What I found on him during the way of more than a year could be described in a whole novel but this little paper is to report to my readers that there are Burundian who think beyond their country and are really committed to helping for a good future of Burundi. May God grant him strength and courage for 2010