Perry

My name is Assoumpta, but my friends call me Perry. I live in the rural Karongi district in the western province of Rwanda with my parents, two brothers and one sister. I am the oldest in my family. I am most proud of my accomplishment of completing secondary school in spite of great financial hardship. This taught me discipline, courage, knowledge and values that I would not have otherwise learned while growing up in my village. My greatest life challenge was when my mother was poisoned and almost died. As a young lady I was terrified to lose her, but through medical treatments and prayer, she recovered.

My mother is a Christian and her beliefs influenced me to follow and accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. I began worshipping in my church through choir and found self-confidence and hope from temptations and short-comings; I realized that nothing can be possible without God. I was a traditional dancer in my village, which was where I first met the local Young Life leaders. My involvement in Young Life helped me learn Christian values and gave me self-confidence in public speaking, pushing me closer to the Lord. I am now a club leader and a Bible memorization facilitator.

As a Developing Global Leader, I am studying mathematics and geography at Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences. With the rapidly increasing population in Rwanda and the lack of government resources to meet the demand, particularly in food cultivation, I want to contribute to the field of food processing. I chose this path to impact my family, my community and my country. I hope to invest in students and empower new female leaders. I will be the first in my family to graduate from university.