Senior Appolonie Nahishakiye's story starts in a small village called Bibate, in a small farming country of eight million called Burundi, which neighbors the easily recognized Rwanda. Few, however, know of the ethnic struggle that continues to this day in this small, war-torn expanse.
Nahishakiye is a Tutsi. While that may not mean anything to most people outside Burundi's borders, it meant years of tribal civil war—of Hutus versus Tutsis—within the country. "I was born in a family where I never was taught by my parents to hate another tribe," said Nahishakiye. She didn't even know she was a Tutsi until a girl at school told her not to play with a Hutu girl. “You are a Tutsi," the girl had told her. "She is a Hutu." She went home that day and asked her mom what those words meant. "My mom told me not to listen to that kind of teaching. We are all human," she said. "My mom was a really good example. She never taught us to hurt anyone," she continued. Despite this childhood lesson, Nahishakiye would find herself in near-death situations many times throughout her life because of ethnic hatred.
"My own experience happened in 2002 before I came here," she said. She was living in the city, and had gone to her village to say goodbye to family members before embarking on a trip to the U.S., where she hoped to begin work at the Burundian embassy. "On my way back to the city our bus was stopped. They shot people. Robbers attacked the bus," she said. She looked around as the noise from the shots was still ringing in her ears, shocked to find herself still alive. "It made me ask 'Why? How?' Someone next to me had just been killed." She was taken with others into the forest as a hostage and denied food and water for four days. "By a miracle I got saved," she said, repeating, "It was just a miracle."
Nahishakiye has seen a series of miracles that led her first to America, then to the Church, and eventually to BYU–Hawaii, where she recently graduated with a degree in social work and minor in public management and international peace building. She feels God has granted her life so she can do something for her people. With tears in her eyes, she said that she has asked herself countless times why she is still alive. Now she knows. "My path has led me all the way to BYU–Hawaii. There must be a plan. I'm feeling that I'm changing and with all these blessings from BYU–Hawaii I hope to one day go back and help my country," she said. She mainly wants to focus on women, children, and the elderly in her nation. "They are more vulnerable in many cases," she said.
Not only does Nahishakiye have big plans for the future, she continues to work on projects in the present that can benefit her fellow Burundians. With five nieces and nephews in an orphanage in Burundi, her heart especially goes out to the children. "There are thousands of children on the streets, not only orphans from war but from so many other diseases. There are so many bad conditions," she said. With this in mind, she recently planned a "Stop and Serve" in cooperation with African club, allowing students to write messages to children in a Burundian orphanage. Speaking of this project and other experiences here, Nahishakiye said, "It's really powerful how BYU–Hawaii students can impact someone. We have a power. There is a powerful spirit in this school. We need this power to be shared."
--Photo by Aissa Mitton