Journeyman Stories

Guess what! I am staying one more month in Burundi (I know you know that already, I just wanted to remind you). I also know that you are dying to know the reasons why I am staying. The news is for sale. I am going to give you my bank account for you to deposit the money if you want to know the information But before anything, a plug for my friends Freddy and Caitlin for their awesome wedding ceremony last Saturday. I heard their MC was like a Rock Star (I am wondering who he might be...) Coming back to me staying one more month (I wish it could be more than that), I will be working on a major fund raising campaign for a foundation named “Fondation Roi Mwezi Gisabo” (King Mwezi Gisabo Foundation) whose president is Ambassador Albert Mbonerane (he is the Martin Luther King of the environment here). What a blessing! Our goal? Saving Lake Tanganyika. For a long time considered as one of the best national touristic attractions, the Lake Tanganyika is not what it used to be. Not ...

Guess what! I am staying one more month in Burundi (sorry Toronto paparazi) Have you heard the phrase “be careful what you wish for because you may get it ”? It just happened to me. As you have all read in my last blog (and I know you have), I was talking about making a difference in Burundi. I guess somebody was listening (or reading). For one month, I will be working on a project that I cannot mention for now (the papers are not signed yet lol). But stay tune to your local TV station you are going to hear about it. I can't wait to start. It has been a wonderful experience down here at all levels (getting married being the best one). God has granted me (and I am saying this with all humility) the capacity to help people get or accomplish a dream. And once it happens, I cannot tell you the joy I feel to see somebody's dream come true. And for some reasons, those people seem to find me Just the other day, a good friend of mine came to see me asking for guidance. She kn...

As you are reading this blog, it's a national holiday in Burundi. Nobody went to work today. Do you know why? Because it is my birthday (and I am saying this modestly) This date also marks the anniversary of my third month in Burundi. I have enjoyed every moment of it (most often leading to going to bed at 3 AM). I have met longtime friends, I have made new ones, but most of all, it is the first time I am with all my brothers and my mom since 2002. What a joy for my mom to have his two sons getting married just one week apart! It is a month she will remember for a long time. While working on my wedding, I found time to meet business owners, government officials, superstars (at least one: Yvonne Chaka Chaka) and other service providers. Out of the blue, one prominent figure here in Burundi called me a few weeks ago and asked me if I could help his organization achieve one of its goals: financial autonomy. I was both honoured and pleased to give a hand. This last Friday...

What a week! I don't even know where to start (should I stop here then?) Were you watching TV this last Saturday? I hope you did otherwise you missed my wedding. There is still hope though. Next year, August 6 will be a national holiday for our one year wedding anniversary, and there will be tons of reports and documentaries about it. Then you will get a chance to see what you missed. Seriously. I don't know how I would have made it without my friends and family. I am still amazed how people spent sleepless nights just to make the event a success (I am still wondering how I am going to thank them). Once again, my wedding reminded me that the best investment we can make is to invest in people. The event took several months in the making. There have been some ups and downs, but we made it. The whole story is a book by itself. Things went exactly as planned (in terms of dates), but the path to get there was a learning process for me. I cannot tell you that everything was ...

Can you believe that I am writing this blog on Sunday? Most of the times, my blogs are ready by Thursday, and then I post them on Monday (knowing that you are all sitting with great anticipation at your computers waiting for them) It's been a busy and eventful week. Did you read my last blog? I hope you did, otherwise I won't continue writing this one. The event that I was talking about did in fact happen. She was here! And it was an honour and pleasure to meet her, talk with her, have lunch with her, joke with her, meet government officials with her, be her interpreter and the MC at the event in which she was the guest of honour. She is called the Princess of Africa (and she really is). Her name is Yvonne Chaka Chaka Yes I was with her. I was with THE star of African music for an entire day and evening. I was with greatness. Check out her official website: http://princessofafrica.com/ Chaka Chaka was invited by an organization of which I am part; and she was here in Burundi ma...

It's been more than a month that I am here in Burundi (away from North American paparazzi lol). So far, I have not had time yet to see all my friends , but I am having a great time. I have been to the airport twice and it was nice to see some fellow Torontonians coming down here. My time has been mainly devoted to my upcoming wedding (we are only two weeks away, stay tune to a TV channel near you), but I have been involved in some other stuff as well. I am part of an organization called Heart of Africa Alliance based here in Burundi, and for the last two years, they have been doing some cool things. Heart of Africa Alliance is an organization that was founded by journalists and former journalists who are still working in the communication field, and its main purpose is to promote excellence by giving awards to people who have been working more than others in different fields. Last year was about rewarding those who have been involved in the children rights, and this year it will be...

What an adventure I had last Sunday! In my quest to be back in shape (I really need it lol), I accepted an invitation for a hike. It's a club that has been doing it every Sunday for thirty two years now. I grew up seeing them every Sunday walking the streets of Bujumbura but I had never been part of any of their activities.The club name is "Les Amis de la Montagne" (Friends of the Mountain) I thought it would be a piece of cake. Come on, I have been a Basketball champion (at least as a coach lol), I have climbed the CN Tour four times,so walking should be easy. What an illusion! What I did not know was that, whenever I saw them walking, it was just a forty minutes warm up. After the walk, they go for a hike in the mountains, and that, my friends is something. I learned my lesson. For about half an hour, we were just walking, and I was chatting with longtime friends of the family who are part of the club, and they were explaining to me how things work in the club. I was v...