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In 1994, members of the Tutsi ethnic group were systematically killed by Hutu militias, in what later became known as the Rwandan genocide.
After the genocide, those members were kicked into the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they continued to kill people who looked like Tutsis.
Many Congolese fled across the border to Rwanda in the aftermath. Two of the Congolese were parents of Isaac Nkurunziza, a graduate of BYU-Idaho in mechanical engineering.
Although Nkurunziza’s parents were Rwandan, due to the early days of colonization, they were considered Congolese as the Congo border was expanded into Rwanda.
“By border drawn, we are Congolese,” said Nkurunziza. “But by blood, we are Rwandans.”
However, even though his parents had the same language and culture, and looked like Rwandans, there was no identification that proved it. So, they were placed in a refugee camp where Nkurunziza was later born.
“I was born there in 2001, and from there, it was terribly hard,” Nkurunziza said. “A lot of people died from malaria and cholera.”
Because the country was recovering and rejuvenating from a genocide, Nkurunziza’s experiences growing up were mainly of struggle.
“I was born a very healthy baby. But, within months, I was shrinking rapidly,” Nkurunziza said. “My parents didn’t have enough to feed me, so they put me in an area where they put all the kids who are shrinking as much as I am, and they would feed us through there.”
Not only did he have to deal with hunger issues, but there was also a disease that came through the camp. Doctors believed that burning the bodies of refugees would help heal them.
“They had to burn us,” Nkurunziza said. “They burnt our whole bodies. I have a lot of burns [from the doctors] using a fork. They were thinking it was going to heal us, but it hurt.”
Amidst all the hardships from the aftermath of the genocide, Nkurunziza’s parents still grew their family. Nkurunziza is one of ten kids.
Isaac, wearing the green letter jacket, stands with family. Image Credit: Isaac Nkurunziza
“The more the kids, the more the help … it’s easy to ration when you have more people,” Nkurunziza said.
His education wasn’t the greatest in the refugee camp either. Nkurunziza and his siblings would attend school, but the buildings were so bad, the ceilings would fall in on the kids.
“We just went there to waste time,” Nkurunziza said.
Amongst everything that Nkurunziza’s family and the rest of the country went through, faith in Jesus Christ was a big thing that helped push them forward.
“We believed in Christ. Every house was singing,” Nkurunziza said.
Growing up a Seventh-day Adventist, he had a firm faith and belief in God. Nkurunziza didn’t find the church until 2018, when he moved to Rexburg and interacted with church members who helped him get settled down. He chose to go to BYUI for the great education, great price, and because it’s a Godly school.
“For my whole life, when we prayed, God always answered,” Nkurunziza said. “In the refugee camp, we always had faith that one day, maybe it’ll happen.”
Isaac, back middle, and his siblings in Africa when they were younger. Image Credit: Isaac Nkurunziza
Nkurunziza eventually got baptized in December of 2024 and he’s felt blessed from it.
“It was hard, I’m not going to lie. None of [my family] are members of the Church,” Nkurunziza said. “I’ve seen a lot of blessings. I’ve also seen a lot of blessings with my family too. It’s a blessing to be in this church where everyone is supportive.”
Luckily for Nkurunziza, he didn’t have to learn too much because his beliefs were pretty similar to the Church’s. The biggest difference between the two religions is that the Seventh-day Adventists don’t have temples.
“Believing is almost the same,” said Nkurunziza.
Although his life hasn’t been easy, Nkurunziza feels blessed to be here and that God has a hand in his life.
“I’m the last person to be in this school,” Nkurunziza said. “But … it took just nine years for God to flip my story. We were living terrible lives down [in Rwanda] and then He said, ‘you’ll be chosen to come to America.’”
Nkurunziza believes that believing in God and Christ is the best way to live.
“You can’t survive without believing in that kind of lifestyle,” Nkurunziza said. “Every day, you look forward to Christ. What can my relationship with Christ do for me this day?”
Nkurunziza says that Rwanda is still trying to come back from the genocide. But with Christ, people can find comfort.
“The aftermath is really, really harsh. People are still traumatized, the hunger is going crazy,” Nkurunziza said. “Sometimes we think life is unfair, and yes, it is unfair in many places, but Christ makes it fair.”
Before Nkurunziza finished up his time at BYUI, he gave back to the community and the people of Rwanda.
One of the things that Nkurunziza does to help is by buying and donating sheep to 90 women in Rwanda. The sheep will give birth twice a year to help them become self-reliant and to be able to put what they are taught to use.
Through his foundation, Dream Nziza, Nkurunziza makes yearly trips to Rwanda to help teach courses that will help the locals to be more self-sustaining.
Isaac and a group of students from BYUI with a school of kids from Rwanda. Image Credit: Isaac Nkurunziza
Each year, Nkurunziza takes students to Rwanda to teach English to students, as well as helping them be self-sufficient and self-reliant. In 2025, eight students from BYUI taught over 300 students from Rwanda.
For more information about the Dream Nziza foundation, and how you can volunteer to help, click here.
I’m a second year communications major but a first year Desk Editor for Scroll. When I’m not busy doing homework or keeping students updated with the breaking news around Rexburg, I like to watch TV and play games will my friends and roommates. I’m also a big sports nerd and they take up about 50% of my life when I’m not in school or working. I love growing my relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I hope to be able to have a career in sports journalism, getting paid to do what I love: watch sports.