From Rwanda to Stamford: One Woman's Story of Empowerment and Success

Julian Kankuda has not had an easy go in life so far. Born in a Ugandan refugee camp where her family fled following the 1959 uprising in Rwanda, she was without a place to call home up until 1996, when her family returned just two years after a mass genocide that claimed somewhere in the realm of one million souls in 100 days. During that time, her father died of an illness, and she explains it bluntly.

"He got very sick and then he died, just like that," she said Monday in a small office at the Women's Business Development Council offices in Stamford.

Born in a large family, many of Kankuda's siblings are uneducated, and those who have any education are only educated to a point where they can continue to exist through menial jobs, she described.

"They work small jobs that let them live," she said.

But that's why Kankuda's story is exceptional. Against towering odds, the 25-year-old forged her own path in life and achieved great success through nothing but perseverance, hard work and a serious lack of sleep.

"I love to experience and try new things," Kankuda said. "Especially when I find something I [initially] can't get a hold of. At school they teach us every opportunity that comes your way, you have to grab it, because even the smallest opportunity can take you somewhere fast. So I always will take on every opportunity that comes my way. I don't don't say 'This is not mine, this is not mine.' I always love to explore and meet challenges."

Kankuda works and goes to school, taking public transportation that stretches her day to what would typically be considered oppressive by American standards. It is typical, she said, for her to wake up at around 5 in the morning to complete school work and not reach bed until 1 or 2 in the morning after finishing an 8-hour shift at the front desk of a Rwandan hotel six days a week, a shift that is not considered full-time by Rwandan standards, she said.

Without batting an eye, she explained to a number of representatives during a luncheon at the WBDC on Monday that this is a fine setup for her, for now, because she is working towards bettering herself. Putting in the hard work now will ultimately pay off down the line, she said.

"I'm building my future, so I don't mind," she said.

Fran Pastore, the WBDC's founder, president and CEO, is also on the Advisory Board for the Akilah Institute for Women in Kigali, Rwanda. Following the genocide, Rwanda was left with a population made up 70-percent by women, and the Akilah Institute was founded to help empower those women through education.

The WBDC organized a trip for student ambassadors to come visit the United States, where they could spend time learning from successful women in the states and make appearances during fundraising ventures to explain what the Akilah Institute is and how those in the states can help it continue.

The school, which opened in 2010 and accepts about 50 applicants a year, offers a three-year program for each of its three majors: entrepreneurship, information systems, or Kankuda's major, hospitality management. 85-percent of the scholarships offered by Akilah come from donors.

Kankuda's thriving spirit was celebrated by a collection of local business women at the WBDC offices Monday who listened as she shared her story leading up to joining the Akilah Institute and then shared some of the things she'd experienced while traveling around America for about seven weeks doing mostly fundraising work, but also finding time to enjoy the sites like visiting the National Aquarium, the Stamford Symphony or taking in a Broadway show when she went to see The Newsies.

Kankuda was one of two student ambassadors who came to the states on the fundraising visit. Cecile Musanase was enjoying lunch at the WBDC's Naugutuck Valley location in Shelton and visited the Stamford location via a Skype call when State Representative Patricia Billie Miller, Deputy Speaker of the House, presented the pair with citations from the state recognizing their achievements.

"[Kankuda's story] is very inspirational, especially after growing up in a country that faced the atrocities her country faced," Miller said. "To use that to strengthen herself, to empower herself, to be a better person, is to be commended."

Miller said she hopes sharing Kankuda's store will help spur other young women here in the states to find their own self-sufficiency, which she hopes will ultimately evolve into self-empowerment and their own stories of striving for greatness.

"Not only to be self sufficient, but to become leaders and tap into their greatness," she said. "Because that's what I think going to [Akilah] did for you. It made [Kankuda] look within to see your greatness and see where [she] could go."

Kankuda cried tears of joy when she received her citation and called it one of her greatest successes, one she will frame and find a place to hang properly when she returns to Rwanda. Musanase could be seen in the background of her Skype call hugging various members. And on Tuesday, their trip comes to an end and they will head home will all new support and knowledge.

Kankuda dreams of one day operating her own business and being in charge of her own hotel. So it will be back to a grinding schedule. For now.

"Things are not handed to you," Kankuda said. "You must work hard for all of it."