Before coming to Ireland I worked at the National Assembly of Burundi as a Secretary of the Burundi Chapter of the East African Legislative Assembly. I was also involved in a number of youth organisations which looked to promote peace and teach young people to be better citizens.  

I chose to pursue a Masters in International Peace Studies because I wanted to contribute to peace building in Burundi and to help in the development of the country. Already, I have gained a deeper understanding of international politics and how relations between countries work, especially in the context of building peace and sustaining development. I have learned about conflict analysis and how it can help identify the root cause of conflicts, particularly taking into account groups that are exploited or underprivileged.  

From a perspective of my work as Secretary in the East African Legislative Assembly the course is equipping me with organisational and analytical skills.  However, I believe that the Masters will be more relevant to my work with youth organisations. I will share with them knowledge relating to building peace and transforming conflict so that they can be more active building peace in Burundi.

In the past, I facilitated training seminars and workshops but I did not have enough knowledge. Now with my studies I feel more equipped to deliver real knowledge in terms of peace building initiatives to help young people overcome poverty and conflict so that they can be peacemakers and not troublemakers.

For my dissertation I would like to explore the concept of external interventions and the sovereignty of states in conflict resolution. In 2015 political conflict erupted in Burundi. I want to assess the contributions, hindrances as well as the limitations of the international community in this intervention.

I believe that the development of Burundi depends most on young people. The future is bright, there is a new generation of young leaders with vision and skill who are involved in many new initiatives. Hopefully we can make the country great in the near future.

Education is power and I hope to be promoted at work when I complete my Fellowship. I dream of one day becoming a politician so that I can influence the decision making process in my country and in the future I would like to pursue a PhD.