Benson Wereje

 Benson Wereje has been an Educate! student since 2006. He is in his second year at Makerere University (the top university in Uganda and 24th in Africa), studying education. He comes from Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, where he has lived since he fled the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. Benson’s story fleeing to Uganda, separating from his parents, and making a new life for himself in Kyangwali is incredible. His experience, and all that he has been through, inspired him to start COBURWAS, a community organization in Kyangwali. COBURWAS stands for Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, and Sudan, all the nations represented in Kyangwali. The mission of COBURWAS is to unite the people of Kyangwali based on the common purpose of bettering their community.

COBURWAS has built an orphanage with the help of Think Humanity, raised funds to give scholarships to three students from Kyangwali, counsels members of the community, and started a hostel in the nearby town of Hoima where they send 33 students to receive an education at the Hoima schools. To raise money for their projects like the orphanage, hostel, and the scholarships, COBURWAS, mobilizes 100-200 members of the community to help them harvest. COBURWAS is led by Benson and the other Educate! students like Rachel Uwimana and Joseph Munyambanza, and has over 100 members in Kyangwali.

Benson’s vision for his future is to return to Congo and work to end the tribalism that has plagued the country. When asked, “Where do you come from?” or “What tribe are you?” he simply responds by saying, “I’m African.” In his future, he wants to encourage others to think the same way, uniting people around the common vision of bettering their community.

Benson and fellow Educate! student Rachel Uwimana are featured in a recent film released by Educate!: Lighting Africa’s Future.  Also, take a look at this short clip from Benson about the potential of Educate!: