Meet Our Founding Members

President
Esther Umutoni
Esther is a Rwandan that resides in Maryland. She is a recent graduate of University of Maryland, College Park. Esther has served with Foodcorps while she was a college student. Foodcorps works with communities to help kids connect with healthy food in school. She served at Eagle Academy in Washington D.C where she promoted nutritional health through hands-on lessons, healthy school meals and a school wide culture of health. She has also volunteered with identity, Inc. which is a non-profit that creates academic opportunities for kids that come from lower income households to prevent them from idleness. This program helps students stay engaged academically during the summer but also keeps them out of harm's way because most of them reside in dangerous neighborhoods. Esther enjoys shaping the minds of younger generations whilst learning from them. She believes in leaving the world a little better than she found it which drives her passion to work with kids. She is very excited to be a part of such a unique group of young people she shares her passion with and is ready to serve.

Web Coordinator
Herve C Ngabirano
Herve is born in Burundi and raised in Sweden. He is currently located in Washington DC and pursuing a career as a Software Engineer. He holds a Bachelor degree in Information Systems from St Cloud State University and he has since then achieved multiple certifications that provided new technical skills. Throughout his life, Herve always had a goal in joining an NGO organization that focuses on poverty, education and kids. Joining this NGO is a clear opportunity for him to pursue his passion & goals and he can’t wait to see the many successes of this organization.

Social Media Manager
Gia M Nikuze
Gia was born and raised in Burundi. She is currently living in Maryland where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management. When she was seventeen years old, she got the opportunity to volunteer in a UNHCR program that consisted of feeding orphans in Burundi. From that experience came her passion for cooking; which is for her a way of bringing people together and building strong connections. Her great passion is to see others happy, which is why she joined this project to help children find healthy perceptions of themselves and strengthen their relationships so they can know themselves and feel at peace, complete, whole, and safe.

Chief Financial Officer
Joanna Barihuta
Joanna is a Burundian-Norwegian based in Gloppen-Norway. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Administration from the BI Bergen Business School in the fields of finances, enterprise development, entrepreneurship, business communication and intercultural awareness. Previously, she worked with the company Soundio AS with a business plan, and was responsible for managing finances for various projects throughout her studies. She currently works at IF insurances as an advisor/analyst. Her Christian faith taught her the value of helping others, and being part of a project like A Pledge of Love is a great opportunity to put her core values in practice. She looks forward to the change and impact that she and her fellow friends will bring to the East African underprivileged communities.

Program Director
Divine Mugisha
Divine Mugisha is a Burundian residing in Portland, Maine in the United States. She’s currently working with children and adolescents with mental health disabilities and behavioral challenges between the ages of five and twenty-one as a Residential Family and Youth Specialist. She has also worked with women and children at risk as a Case Coordinator. Divine is enrolled in a Behavioral Health and Human Services program/Social Work(focus in Education )to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the near future. She is devoted to helping vulnerable children and youth with special needs, and is very excited to be working with a strong team to change the lives of the less fortunate children and families in The Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Web Coordinator
Fredette Baramburiye Kamenyero
Fredette is a Burundian-American based in Charlotte, NC, who works as a Flagship Assistant Store Manager at Fedex Office. She volunteers in summer programs as a tutor at the International House in Charlotte, where she teaches English to newcomer immigrants and helps those who are in preparation for the US citizenship test. She also worked at the Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte in the department of immigration as a legal assistant. She is a co-founder of Tamba Burundian Dance Team in Maine, a dance group that united young Burundians by learning about the Burundian culture through dance and the importance of cultural heritage. Fredette holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a Pre-Law Minor from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. She is very excited to be part of a team that shares her vision to help the young generations from the Great Lakes Region improve their lives and their communities.