Jerome Ndayambaje

Jerome Ndayambaje majored in Public Administration at the National University of Rwanda, where he held leadership positions in many student organizations. Jerome worked for the US Peace Corps Rwanda for four years. He currently works as an educator at a leading school in rural Rwanda. After identifying the main problem as poverty in his region, he created a local NGO called Rwandan Family Initiative, which aims to fight malnutrition and promote gender balance in Rwandan society. Its secondary goals are to fight HIV/Aids and teach families financial literacy. Jerome believes that with gender balance and healthy living, poverty can be alleviated because women and men will have equal rights in decision-making and access to food security. Upon completion of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Jerome plans to guide and support the beneficiaries of his NGO’s activities, to identify the problems, explore creative solutions and then take actions to resolve them.