Tuvugane

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Tuvugane Tuvugane is a community organization made up of Burundian youth with a goal of creating solidarity for a better Burundi. Burundi is more than just the country.

Tuvugane’s vision is to witness full development of Burundi as a country, and as a people. Tuvugane is made up of ambitious Burundian youth with a goal of creating Solidarity for a Better Burundi. It is the people, the culture, the tradition, and the various Burundian communities. Ultimately, we would like to create solidarity in the diaspora and promote or support our fellow Burundian youth innovations. We pledge to be devoted to the propagation and sharpening of academic skills, social skills and talents, the discussion of current issues, and development of leadership skills. Although we are based in Louisville, we hope to collaborate with Burundian youth in the United States and abroad. We invite anyone who is Burundian or has passion for Burundi to connect with us.

📣 THE TUVUGANE NEWSLETTER IS OUT! 🗞️✨We’ve got updates, opportunities, community highlights, upcoming events, and more—a...
09/18/2026

📣 THE TUVUGANE NEWSLETTER IS OUT! 🗞️✨

We’ve got updates, opportunities, community highlights, upcoming events, and more—all in one place! 💙

Whether you’re part of the Burundian diaspora, connected to our community, supporting our work, or simply want to stay in the loop, there’s something for you.

📖 Read this week’s Tuvugane newsletter and catch up on what’s happening!

👉 https://app.smore.com/n/78ftc-tuvugane-inc

Read it. Share it. Stay connected. 🌍🇧🇮

Tuvugane — Expanding Our Impact.

Who are your people?
09/05/2026

Who are your people?

Some pain does not disappear simply because the moment has passed.To the person who witnessed a death by su***de, discov...
09/04/2026

Some pain does not disappear simply because the moment has passed.

To the person who witnessed a death by su***de, discovered someone after a death, tried to intervene, received the call, or has been carrying painful memories alone: what happened to you matters, too.

You may feel numb. You may feel angry, guilty, confused, afraid, or deeply sad. You may replay what happened and question what you could have done differently. These can be human responses to an overwhelming and traumatic experience.

Please remember: you are not responsible for carrying this alone, and you do not have to earn support by being the person “closest” to the loss.

This September, Tuvugane holds space for people impacted by su***de in every way. We honor those we lost. We care for those grieving. And we remind witnesses and survivors: your healing deserves compassion, time, and support.

If you are struggling, tell someone you trust. Reach out to a counselor, therapist, faith leader, doctor, trusted friend, or local support service. If you are in immediate danger or thinking about su***de, contact emergency help right away. In the United States and Canada, call or text 988.

Tuvugane — let’s talk, let’s listen, and let’s make sure no one heals alone.

***dePreventionAwarenessMonth ***deLoss ***deBereavement

Heya Family happy new month!September is Su***de Prevention Awareness Month, and at Tuvugane, we are not afraid to talk ...
09/04/2026

Heya Family happy new month!

September is Su***de Prevention Awareness Month, and at Tuvugane, we are not afraid to talk about the things that keep us stuck.

For many in the Burundian diaspora, life abroad can come with invisible weight: pressure to succeed, financial responsibilities, immigration challenges, homesickness, grief, loneliness, and the expectation to always appear strong.

But these struggles are real. They exist in our families, friend circles, churches, workplaces, and communities. Silence should never be the price of being seen as strong.

This month, we hold space for those we have lost too soon. We honor their lives with love, compassion, and remembrance. And we encourage everyone who may be struggling today:

You are not alone. You are not a burden. Your story is not over. Tomorrow needs you.

Reach out. Check on someone. Listen without judgment. Let’s make our community a safer place to say, “I’m not okay.”

Tuvugane — Let’s talk. Let’s listen. Let’s keep each other here.

If you or someone you know may be in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number, a crisis service, or the nearest hospital. In the U.S. and Canada, call or text 988 for immediate crisis support.

***dePreventionAwarenessMonth

Three sponsors. Four scholars. One community.Congratulations one more time to the Tuvugane Class of 2026 — Esther Maseru...
08/31/2026

Three sponsors. Four scholars. One community.

Congratulations one more time to the Tuvugane Class of 2026 — Esther Maseruka, Bukuru Manirakiza, Egide Nduwimana, and Floris Irakoze. A future UN advocate, a sports leader, a lawyer, and a fintech founder. All Burundian. All ours.

And thank you to the people who made it real: Anita Shimirimana, five years and six scholarships in. Monica Lakhwani, two years and four scholarships in. Refustays, three young founders funding their first.

Every one of those scholarships started the same way — with one person deciding to give. Anita did it five years ago. Monica did it two years ago. Refustays did it last year.

So: are you next?

Sponsor a scholar. Apply as one. Or send this to the person who should see it. Applications for the 2027 cycle open soon.

We love our Tuvugane family 💙

None of this happens alone.Safe Summer, Strong Futures ran five full weeks and sent 14 students out employable — and beh...
08/31/2026

None of this happens alone.

Safe Summer, Strong Futures ran five full weeks and sent 14 students out employable — and behind every one of those weeks was a partner who said yes. Yes to hosting a session. Yes to sitting through mock interviews. Yes to funding a program before there were results to show. Yes to opening a door for a young person they had never met.

Thank you to EMAN , G&G Financial Services, Employment & Buisness Supportive Services LLC, Deborah Esther | Author | Scholar | Creator, Naomi Sengiyumva , Selinya Carew, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust , Aaron Green, Cedar Rapids Public Library, Gosple Tabernacle Church, Goodnews Church of God, and The Fun Station. You gave time, space, money, and expertise, and you did it for kids who are not your responsibility. That is what community actually looks like.

To every professional who showed up to coach a resume or run a practice interview: a student is walking into a real interview this fall using something you taught them. You may never hear about it. It happened anyway.

We are already planning next summer. If you want your name on this list, come find us.

Welcome to the family, Refustays.Refustays is three young Burundian business owners who decided their success only count...
08/31/2026

Welcome to the family, Refustays.

Refustays is three young Burundian business owners who decided their success only counted if it travelled backward as well as forward. Last year they funded their very first scholarship.

Congratulations to our 2026 Refustays Scholar, FLORIS IRAKOZE. Floris’s mission started with a farmer in Kayanza who finished a good harvest with nowhere safe to keep the money. Fewer than 15% of adults in Burundi have a bank account, and Floris has decided that is a design problem, not a destiny. He is studying Economics and Computer Science at Carleton College and building toward mobile savings, harvest-cycle microloans, and digital payments that work on basic phones, in Kirundi, for the people the banks skipped. His belief: “Where someone is born should not determine their access to opportunity.”

Refustays — thank you for going first, Murakoze cane.

There is a moment when a young person stops saying “I don’t have any experience” and starts saying “here is what I bring...
08/31/2026

There is a moment when a young person stops saying “I don’t have any experience” and starts saying “here is what I bring.” We watched that moment happen many times this summer.

Our Safe Summer, Strong Futures students finished the program resume-ready and interview-ready — for real, not on paper. They built resumes from scratch and learned how to turn a summer job, a church volunteer shift, or caring for younger siblings into language an employer actually respects. They sat through mock interviews, got real feedback, and did it again better. They learned the handshake, the follow-up email, the questions to ask at the end, and what to do when you don’t know the answer.

They walked in nervous. They walked out with a resume in hand and a story they know how to tell.

Employers: these young people are ready. Give them the interview and see for yourself.

Some teachers never really leave the classroom.Monica Lakhwani spent her career educating students in Kentucky. When tha...
08/31/2026

Some teachers never really leave the classroom.

Monica Lakhwani spent her career educating students in Kentucky. When that chapter closed, she opened another one — funding Burundian men in the Commonwealth as they finish their degrees. Two years in, four scholarships awarded.

Congratulations to our 2026 Lakhwani Scholars:
BUKURU MANIRAKIZA — Business Administration with a focus on Sports Administration at the University of Louisville, earned while working night shifts at UPS. He credits his mother, “the hardest worker I know,” for the standard he refuses to fall below.

EGIDE NDUWIMANA — born in a refugee camp in Tanzania during the 1993 conflict, now in his third year and headed to law school to advocate for people who cannot afford to be heard. He wrote that this award “would remind me that other Burundians believe in my potential and my future.” Egide, we do.

Monica — thank you for finding a whole new way to teach. Murakoze cane.

Five weeks. 2 cohorts. That’s all it took.Safe Summer, Strong Futures wrapped its full five-week program, and what walke...
08/31/2026

Five weeks. 2 cohorts. That’s all it took.

Safe Summer, Strong Futures wrapped its full five-week program, and what walked out is not what walked in. 14 students spent the summer learning the things nobody sits you down and teaches you: how to show up, how to speak in a room full of adults, how to take feedback, how to manage your time when nobody is checking on you, how to carry yourself like the professional you are about to become.

Week by week, the skills stacked. Communication. Workplace readiness. Financial basics. Professionalism. Accountability. And underneath all of it, the part that matters most — students who started the summer unsure of themselves and ended it certain.
A safe summer is the floor, not the ceiling. Strong futures is the point.

To our students: you did the work. Every session, every early morning, every draft you rewrote. We saw it. Here’s to the first of many 💙

Address

450 N. Whittington Pkwy
Louisville, KY
40222

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