Valens Nteziyaremye was 6 years old when death took hold on his country, his city, and his neighborhood. The native Rwandan witnessed the 1994 genocide that killed at least 1 million innocent people in just 100 days. Fifteen years later, the UALR freshman hasn’t forgotten the violence, led by the Hutu majority tribe in an attempt to wipe out the Tutsi tribe and its Hutu allies. The slaughter stripped the country of its leaders, replacing them with orphans, widows, disease, and poverty.

Valens Nteziyaremye, who was 6 when the Rwandan civil war raged, visits Petit Jean State Park in the foothills of the Ozarks, 40 minutes from the UALR campus in Little Rock.

But Valens, along with 28 other Rwandan students studying in Arkansas and South Carolina, intends to change that.

“Rwanda needs our force as young people,” Valens said. “There were men who studied and knew many things, and most of them died in the genocide. We have to help our country and our families.”

UALR and 10 other universities and colleges are helping them do just that, bringing high-achieving Rwandan students like Valens to America and educating them in Rwanda’s most-needed fields of study.

In April 2008, representatives from UALR and Hendrix College in Conway took the two-day flight to the struggling nation to interview its most exceptional students, selecting 25 young men and women to return to Arkansas to get their college degrees.

The consortium of public and private Arkansas institutions was inspired by the work of Bridge2Rwanda, a nonprofit effort co-founded by former Stephens Inc. investment banker Dale Dawson. The mission of Bridge2Rwanda is to help the country rebuild its intellectual capital.

The organization established the Rwanda Presidential Scholars Initiative in 2007, enabling some of Rwanda’s best students to receive four-year scholarships for undergraduate studies in the U.S. That first year, four Rwandan students piloted the program at Hendrix College. The program was so successful that Bridge2Rwanda decided to expand it in 2008.

Valens and friend at Petit Jean

Through the organization, the Rwandan government contracted with five Arkansas institutions – UALR, Hendrix College, Philander Smith College, Ouachita Baptist University, and Harding University – and South Carolina’s Wofford College.

For the past year, the selected scholars have honed their English language skills while pursuing degrees in engineering and information technology, computer science, chemistry, and other maths and sciences. The arrangement made between the institutions and the Rwandan government stipulates that the students will return to their native land with the knowledge and experience to lead the country in a new direction.

“Rwanda needs our force as young people.”
– Valens

After their first year of study, the Rwandan students are well on their way to achieving what is expected of them. Of the 29 students spread out among the six schools, 12 of the students achieved all A’s. The group’s grade point average was 3.7.

David Knight, the vice chair of the board of trustees at Hendrix College and member of the Bridge2Rwanda Board of Directors, presented the idea for the program to UALR. The administration was very interested, according to Vice Chancellor Charles Donaldson who led the UALR initiative.

UALR Vice Chancellor Charles Donaldson, third from the left in the back row, meets with Rwandan children during his 2008 trip to help select students for the Bridge2Rwanda program

Expanding the program

The universities and the Rwandan government have been so pleased that they plan to continue the program for the upcoming fall semester, recruiting more university participants and more Rwandan students. This month, 10 university representatives will travel to Rwanda to select the third and largest group of scholars so far.

“Next year, we have 52 new scholarships available that would start this fall,” Knight said. “We only had 25 scholarships available last year spread across six schools, and we filled all 25 slots. Now we expanded the pool of scholarships. We have all six schools participating in the program again this year, and we are adding five new schools.”

Joining the six original universities and colleges are the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, which will take 10 students; Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., which will enroll six; Lyons College in Batesville, Ark., Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas; and Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala.

“My hopes for the program were that we would identify students that would make the transition and perform at a level that meets our university standards. They have succeeded. They have performed at a level better than many American students.”
– Dr. Donaldson

“It’s an interesting program from a standpoint that it’s the only program I’m aware of where we have a combination of private, public, and liberal arts schools and ranging in size… a very eclectic mix,” Knight said. “To the best of our ability, we interview students individually and determine what their interests are, making a determination where they would fit.”

UALR’s Donaldson is part of the group that will travel to Rwanda this month to select the next set of students. He and Knight hope this group of scholars will include more young women. Last year, only three of the 25 students selected were females.

“A large part of the problem is that there just aren’t that many girls available in the pool,” Knight said. “The Rwandan government is limiting the program to physics, math, and biology, and there’s just not that many women interested in those areas.”

But that could change as the program expands, Knight said. He sees great potential for growth but says organizers are taking it one step at a time.

“We would like to keep expanding the number of students, and ultimately, we would like to expand it to disciplines other than math, chemistry, biology… that’s where we’re focused at this point,” Knight said, noting that he would like to add business, finance, or engineering students.

“I wish I had a whole classroom full of them. They were absolutely great to work with. They turned out to be real inquisitive, real curious, real dedicated to doing their homework, and real determined to make a difference in their country.”
– Chemistry instructor Marian Douglas

Knight also said program organizers will likely want to expand beyond undergraduate studies, moving onto graduate programs or medical schools.

To increase the number of students, he said, the program will need the involvement of more institutions, and it has already tapped most of those in Arkansas.

“If we expand significantly, we’ll have to go to a fair number of additional universities, and financially, we’ll want to expand that to a larger pool of schools,” he said.

But for now, the organizers are focused on this month’s trip to Rwanda, where representatives will interview up to 130 students who have high scores on the national examination. Donaldson said his experience last year in the war-ravaged country was life-changing.

“It breaks your heart to go. You really want to do something for all the students, but you can only select the best,” he said. “It is hard to put into words. We were actually able to go to the genocide museum in Kigali. It was there that they had the mass graves. We saw the names – entire families were listed. The big focus throughout the country now is on reconciliation.”

Dr. Donaldson in Rwanda

A Hard Hope

A country of forgiveness, Valens calls it. He speaks of his country with pleasant longing, about the faith of the people, the fresh food that they grow on their land, the green rolling hills, and the pride he has for his home.

When conversation turns back to the genocide, Valens’ eyes – the same amber eyes that glowed with pride only moments before – look away and out of the four-story library window that overlooks the UALR campus. They look, but they don’t seem to see anything.

It’s hard to talk about, he said. But the young man has hope for his country.

“I can say that I have hope. I know that everything is possible,” Valens said. “I didn’t think that I could come here. I didn’t think it could be possible to study here. It was hard to pay for high school. You couldn’t have hope that you could go to America to study.”

Without any other way to come up with the money, Valens’ father – a widower with six children – sold a part of the family’s land, the same land where the family grows its livelihood. A few weeks later, in May 2008, his son was on a plane to Arkansas.

When he learned that he was a presidential scholar finalist, he didn’t think he would pass the interview portion. Valens, like most educated Rwandans, can speak fluid French and Kinyarwanda, the native language. Having only had two hours per week of English writing in high school, he knew enough of the complex language to survive the interview.

“I would watch his mouth,” he said of the interviewer. “Out of 15 words, I catch one. I say all I can about that word.”

The universities and the Rwandan government covered most of the education expenses, but the visa and some additional fees fell to the student, or in Valens’ case, his father.

Without any other way to come up with the money, Valens’ father – a widower with six children – sold a part of the family’s land, the same land where the family grows its livelihood. A few weeks later, in May 2008, his son was on a plane to Arkansas.

“Our future – it be good, even if our past was bad, I still have hope.”
– Valens

All 25 of the selected scholars spent last summer in UALR’s Intensive English Language Program. Ten of the students, the largest contingent, remained at UALR to pursue their degrees. The others dispersed to other participating Arkansas institutions, and two left the natural state for Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.

A Professor’s Dream

The students began courses last fall, gradually adjusting to the classroom and the culture. Marian Douglas, who taught general chemistry to all of the UALR students that first semester, recalls how much they blossomed as the semester progressed.

“At first, they were really shy, and they interacted with only me exclusively, and by end of the semester, they chatted with everybody,” Douglas said.

She was impressed with how much orientation and daily challenges that the students faced, including common classroom procedures like taking a test with penciled-in bubble sheets.

“The very first day in my class, we take a diagnostics test on Scantrons,” she said. “Well the poor guys didn’t know what to do with them. I had to scurry around to those 10 to make sure they were doing them right. That was a real eye-opener for me. There is so much orientation they have to go through.”

Hendrix College President Timothy Tim Cloyd and UALR Vice Chancellor Charles Donaldson meet with Dr. Daphroe Gahakwa, minister of education of the Republic of Rwanda.

Even after the initial orientation and 10 weeks of basic English classes, the Rwandans still had language barriers in the classroom. Not only do they have to understand the course material, but the students have to learn the English words for math and science terminology.

“Sometimes if I can’t understand the class, I can go back later and take my book and translate. It takes me a longer time to study. For me, I want to know,” Valens said. “Sometimes in a class, I know the question, but I do not know how I can explain in English.”

He says he often has to use online translation sites when doing his homework, looking up English words so he can complete an assignment that is difficult even for his American classmates.

The hard work and additional study time have paid off. UALR faculty has only positive things to say about the highly-motivated students who just completed their first year.

“I wish I had a whole classroom full of them,” Douglas said. “They were absolutely great to work with. They turned out to be real inquisitive, real curious, real dedicated to doing their homework, and real determined to make a difference in their country.”

Donaldson agrees, calling the kids “humble” and “a professor’s dream.”

And the Rwandans enjoy the learning. For Valens, who works in UALR’s nanotechnology lab, experiencing the technology is what he likes most about America.

“At school, you can do experiments, but back home, there is no lab. You can study in books but you can’t practice what you are studying,” he said.

Back home, he said, computers can only be found in schools and businesses. There is no electricity in the houses, no microwaves, no ovens, and most families use a water well. It’s very different from the furnished dorm room he now shares with three other Rwandan students, Patrick Kamongi, Jean de Gieu Mutangana, and Jean Felix Ganishuri.

Life in America

Adjusting to the technology and modernization has been easy, said Valens, who just purchased a 1998 Nissan Altima after being the first UALR Rwandan to pass the driver’s test. The cold winter and the dry heat of summer have been harder adjustments, he said, but the biggest challenge has been understanding the culture.

Valens with fellow UALR students, hiking the “Goat Trail” above Buffalo National River.

In America, he says, “People can do whatever they want.”

Alternative lifestyles are less accepted in Rwanda. Professed homosexuality is virtually non-existent, and even smoking, for a female, is considered rude, he says. He is perplexed by other American commonplace, like divorce (“Why do people here like to divorce?”) and the trend of denying one’s age. (“In Rwanda, everyone is proud to be old. No one is afraid to be old.”)

As for the American food, Valens and his Rwandan friends aren’t fans of the American hot dog or prepackaged foods.

“We don’t like to buy cooked food. We buy fresh food and cook,” he said.

Back home, they go to the market two days a week, but here, it’s Kroger or Walmart. Occasionally, though, he said, they’ll hit up a Chinese buffet because it “tastes good.”

Valens in the skies above Little Rock with Paul Fowler, a Reach Rwanda Foundation volunteer who mentors and assists Rwandan students at UALR

He and his Rwandan friends like their new life in Little Rock, where they have met Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, gone ice skating at the Arkansas Skatium, touched snow for the first time, and walked the Big Dam Bridge. On the weekends, they play soccer at Burns Park or watch DVDs in their dorm rooms with French subtitles.

Never Forget

But the Rwandan students have not forgotten their home or buried its history. On April 9, during Rwanda’s week to commemorate the genocide, UALR Rwandan students gathered with members of the campus community to mark its 15th anniversary. The group watched the genocide-related film “Shooting Dogs,” and the students shared testimonies.

It was a powerful experience, Vice Chancellor Donaldson said.

“There is virtually no one who was not touched by the genocide,” he said of the people of Rwanda.

Donaldson, who attended UALR’s commemoration ceremony, said that one or two of the Rwanda students had to step outside during the event.

“It was too difficult. It conjured up all the experiences that they’ve had to live through.”

During that same week, back in Rwanda, Valens said the media, the schools, and the churches all took time to remember the massacre that ravaged their nation.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that these guys are going to be leaders when they go home”
– Marian Douglas

“Some people choose not to remember that day,” he said. “Too hard.”

Others pray or grieve.

“In our country, we say that crying is for women,” he said. When asked if men can cry about the genocide, he looks away and replies, “Sometimes you can.”

What the country cannot do is forget.

“We say that never, ever forget,” Valens said. “Hold onto that, so that another doesn’t happen.”

Now, most Rwandans are embracing forgiveness, whether the attacker was a majority leader or a neighbor. It no longer matters what tribe a person was in before, and the people have a “don’t ask” practice.

“I find no difference between people. People are all the same,” Valens said. “I think everyone is proud to be a Rwandan. We are proud to serve. For me, I am studying because I want to help my country.”

Making world leaders, said Donaldson, is what this program is about, and he is confident that these Rwandan students are going to “make a world of difference” in their country.

Douglas agreed.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that these guys are going to be leaders when they go home,” she said.

Valens’ home will never be the same as it was before he was six, when death crept into his country. But with the help of UALR and other participating universities, he hopes that he and his fellow pioneering scholars can change Rwanda’s future.

“Our future – it be good, even if our past was bad,” he said. “I still have hope.”

(Editor’s Note:  This story was written by Caroline Tyler, who graduated this month from UALR with a degree in journalism from the School of Mass Communication. She currently is an intern in the UALR Office of Communications.)