Our esteemed readers, we would like to bring to your attention the recent selection of Ms. Dianah Mukundwa, an SFB female student majoring in accounting that she was selected among so many to represent Rwanda in Washington, D.C. at the President’s Forum for Young African Leaders, the highlight of which was a town hall meeting with President Barack Obama on August 3-5, 2010. Ms. Mukundwa is one of more than 110 young Africans who attended this forum held at White House and several other high-profile locations. The forum provided unparalleled opportunities for networking with other young African leaders and opinion-shapers. It also provided a young Rwandan to take advantage of President Obama’s offer to introduce her to his network of contacts in the American diplomatic, business and civic society communities. Following the President’s instructions, doors were opened for and to Ms. Mukumdwa at the prestigious Aspen Institute’s African Leadership Initiative conference, a session with Secretary of State (Foreign Minister) Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several nongovernmental organizations.

Sharing her transformative experiences as a young leader at SFB, helping guide, inspire and assist her fellow students and those in the larger Rwandan society sends a powerful message to America and to President Obama. Rwanda is on the move. Its young people can be as mature, thoughtful, and committed as their counterparts in America and in other parts of Africa. Young people like SFB’s own Dianah Mukundwa are earning for Rwanda the right to be taken seriously by the great nations of the world. We are proud of her and proud of her eloquence in telling SFB’s and Rwanda’s story to the leaders and people of the United States, and to the young leaders of Africa with whom Rwanda will forge relationships based on her trailblazing, in the years to come.