The Brad Gasser Memorial Scholarship (BGMS) is a special fund run by the Tujenge Africa Foundation to support young Burundians unable to afford access to a university education. The scholarship was renamed in 2024 to honor Brad Gasser, Tujenge's beloved longtime STEM instructor. A short biography of Brad's time at Tujenge is included below.

Thanks to an outpouring of community support last year (primarily through last year's GoFundMe) the scholarship was able to significantly expand for the 2024-25 school year. The scholarship is an extension of the Tujenge Scholars Program, and provides funds for program alumni to continue their education in Burundi. The fund supports students with contributions to tuition and living expenses. Thanks to other contributions which cover the administrative costs of the scholarship, 100% of the money donated through this fundraiser will go directly toward student use.

It costs about $1,500 per year to access a university education in Burundi, including the cost of tuition and living expenses. Over the past year (from August 2024-July 2025), the BGMS fund directly supported 15 students with sponsorships that totaled $23,641. This year, the goal of this fundraiser is to raise enough funds to support the 14 scholars who are currently part of the scholarship program through the end of their studies, which is estimated to cost an additional $22,744 on top of the $35,581 currently in the fund.

A short documentary featuring some of the current Brad Gasser Scholars can be viewed here.

The Scholars

Félicien Bukuru

Félicien was born and raised in Gasenyi, in Bujumbura, the former capital of Burundi. Félicien’s heart beats with music, but his mind is set on a career in banking and finance. He dreams of becoming an accredited accountant, working with leading global banks, and ultimately, creating business that will generate job opportunities for unemployed young Burundians. He feels this will be his way of contributing to the country’s economic growth, a goal that burns within him.

He describes the Brad Gasser Memorial Scholarship as life changing. It provides him with the opportunity to attend Olivia University Bujumbura, one of the most reputable institutions in the country. Without this support, attending any university in Burundi would be impossible due to his family's financial struggles. He is deeply, truly, grateful for the chance to pursue his academic and professional dreams.

He chose this path because he's passionate about building financial stability for himself and his community. For Félicien, this scholarship means hope. It’s a pathway to realizing his dreams. And for that, he is profoundly thankful.

Thierry Butoyi

Thierry was born and raised in Gasenyi, Bujumbura city. Apart from music, Thierry is also interested in management. He is currently studying Business Administration at Olivia University, and he wants to get a deeper understanding of effective management with an intention of installing those strategies in the Burundian system – even if only in a small way. Specifically, he is interested in funds and resources management.

Thierry’s big dream is to pursue his master’s degree in international relations or politics, and that will allow him to enter doors where decisions are made in Burundi. He wishes to make his contribution by making things better, as the country still lacks structure and management. He submits this whole dream to the scholarship that he is benefiting from. Through this scholarship, Thierry is attending one of the most prestigious universities in Burundi, and with this, he can unlock so many learning opportunities that will ultimately give him a chance to acquire skills for his career.

Rosine Marie Ininahazwe

Rosine was born and raised in the central province of Gitega, now home to Burundi’s capital city of Gitega. Rosine is a courageous girl who is always ready to help others. She wants to find solutions even if it can take all her energy. With her ambitions, she wants to become a statistician who can gather and analyze data to help institutions make informed decisions and find solutions based on tangible evidence. Why? Because she has noticed that there is a strong need for statisticians in Burundi who can solve the country's problems and update the most outdated statistics across sectors.

Rosine is very proud and happy to be part of the BGMS family because the Scholarship gives her an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, share their passions, and inspire one another. She is currently studying Statistics at Université Lumière de Bujumbura. In the future, she hopes to give back by establishing a center where young people can receive mentorship on making informed career choices and, for those unable to afford university, provide scholarships or sponsorships to support their educational journeys. This desire to contribute to education access for others is inspired by the way Brad cared so much about education for Tujenge Scholars.

Rosine truly appreciates this scholarship because it honours Brad’s selflessness, hard work, discipline, kindness, and qualities that inspire and motivate her every day to give her best and make a positive impact in the world around her.

Jean Christophe Niyongere

Christophe was born and raised in Ruhororo Commune in Ngozi, one of the central provinces of Burundi. He is from the most marginalized ethnic group in Burundi – the Batwa community. Most Batwa do not even finish high school, but Christophe is pursuing a college degree. He is studying Rural Engineering, Water and Forest Management at the University of Burundi. This is more than just a study program to him because it is directly aligned with his goal of addressing local causes and effects of climate change. His ambition is to work with the government, in city planning, to ensure adherence to international environmental protection standards. Christophe envisions a future where houses are built with strategic space allocation for tree planting, helping to safeguard land in rural and urban areas.

Though he had earned acceptance to the University of Burundi, a public institution, he couldn't begin to imagine how he would manage the basic expenses. It all seemed out of reach. But everything changed when he was put in the BGMS program. It opened doors that he could have never hoped to open on his own. Thanks to this scholarship, he now receives support for basic necessities. It’s a blessing he remains deeply grateful for every day. With this burden lifted, Christophe can now dream freely and see his dreams as truly attainable.

Giving back is also a priority for him. Through his Ejo Ni Heza project, a community service initiative he launched in his home village, he has begun making an impact – providing school supplies for primary school students and planting trees on his native hill. He intends to continue this work, focusing on inspiring younger generations, especially those in the Batwa community, to be more conscious of the environmental consequences of their actions. He extends his heartfelt gratitude to all the supporters around the world – especially Brad’s parents and the Tujenge Family – who have made his journey possible.

Emmanuel Butoyi

Emmanuel is invested in bringing about a change in his community. He was born in the rural area of Bujumbura and grew up in Mutimbuzi commune, which is not far from Bujumbura City. Emmanuel is a hardworking young man with a heart of helping young people to create and achieve their goals.

After losing his close friend to an unknown disease, Emmanuel started thinking about the cause of his death. He saw that there was no professional laboratory that could have diagnosed the disease before his friend passed away. This motivated him to pursue studies in medical laboratory sciences.

Emmanuel envisions going even further to pursue a master’s degree in the same field. With this ambition, he believes he will be able to become an efficient laboratory technician who can, at the very least, establish a professional laboratory for Burundi. He hopes that this will also help prevent deaths caused by diseases that go undiagnosed due to the lack of practical and professional laboratories in the country.

He is able to pursue these studies due to the Brad Gasser Memorial Scholarship because he could not have found any other support to make his dreams come true. Now, he can see that he is walking through the channel that will eventually lead him to his dreams.

Yango Baricako

Born in Rumonge, Burundi, Yango Baricako is a young and curious individual with a dream of becoming a software developer. Having grown up in a country facing numerous challenges, Yango is deeply motivated to pursue his education despite the obstacles presented by poverty – both in his family and community. For him, the Brad Gasser Memorial Scholarship is a guiding hand, helping to break down the barriers to achieving his goals and dreams.

Studying online at the University of the People has been challenging, but with the support of the BGMS, Yango is gaining an international educational experience and living in the most expensive city in Burundi, which he would not have been able to do otherwise. To him, this experience will not only advance his career but also contribute to the growth of digital businesses in Burundi, particularly in areas where a lack of tech skills has hindered progress.

Yango’s mission is to use his education to empower his community by sharing knowledge and connecting others with international organizations, and all this just to promote growth and development in Burundi through technology.

Yalled Irakoze

Yalled was born and raised in Ruyigi Province. Yalled is a sensitive and conscientious person who was never able to tolerate seeing a neighbour going through pain. He believes that every problem can be solved and always wants to try to do that. To put that dream into practice, he chose to do computer science at one of the best universities in Burundi – Université du Lac Tanganyika – where he is acquiring a skill set on solving data problems in Burundi.

For example, after his local primary school burned down, Yalled was extremely shocked to see how students’ and teachers’ records were lost because there was no suitable software for backup. Since that time, he has had an ambition of studying computer science so that he can build software that keeps data. His ambition is for his software systems to be installed not only in his local community institutions but across different sectors; especially in educational institutions.

To him, the BGMS came as a saving hand to help him achieve his dreams and goals. He deeply thanks Tujenge Africa Foundation, Brad’s family, and the whole crew of donors around the world that are making this memorial scholarship available and sustainable.

Charles Minani

Charles is a patient, kind, and courageous young man. He was born in Cankuzo Province, specifically in Commune Gisagara. He is currently completing his last year of medical school, specializing in Ophthalmology, which he is proud of. He cannot wait to graduate so that he can start living his life dream – helping people in his community by treating eye problems like low vision issues, cataract, and others.

When Charles was still little, he realised that many people from his community were suffering from eye problems including his own uncle, and the surprising truth was that there was no clinic to treat them in the whole province. To get treatment, they had to make the long and tiring journey to Bujumbura – a city which was only a dream for so many people in his community. As a result, many of those people became blind or their eye problems escalated, sometimes fatally.

Deeply touched by this experience, Charles developed an ambition to solve that problem by starting his own eye clinic that he wishes to name Ndabona Eye Clinic in his native province to facilitate people to get eye care services nearby them.

He is so proud of the person he is now and could not have achieved the level of education he has without those who contribute through BGMS. As an orphan he could not have afforded any of the expenses of attending university, including living expenses and tuition fees. Now he can walk forward and face a clear future. Charles believes that he owes something to the BGMS or at least to the community because there are other thousands of ‘Charles’ that need this type of support.

Therence Ndayihorimbere

Therence was born in Ngozi province, situated in the north of Burundi. He is extremely happy because he is approaching the end of his undergraduate studies in Pharmacy from Université Panafricaine Les Mages, which is one of the best Medical Schools in Burundi. He believes that he is ready to use his acquired skills and knowledge to contribute to innovative therapies that address global health challenges, whether through natural remedies, biotechnology, or regenerative medicine.

Therence grew up with that curiosity about how drugs interact with the human body, and this grew into the idea of finding out how to develop treatments that go beyond managing symptoms to offer real cures. This is why he chose Pharmacy as career.

He is performing well and believes that he will be able to achieve his dream of solving the problem of inaccessibility to pharmaceutical products in rural areas of Burundi, especially in the region where he was born.

To show how much he appreciated the scholarship he got from BGMS, Therence plans to give back and make a significant difference by mentoring aspiring scientists to contribute to the medical advancements in Burundi. He dreams of working on projects that improve healthcare accessibility, especially in underserved communities in Burundi.

Piaguette Muhimpundu

Piaguette was born and raised in Bukirasazi, Gitega Province. Piaguette is a kind and caring young woman. When she was still a child, she noticed that many babies were dying on the same day of their birth, and on top of that, women were also having miscarriages. This made Piaguette feel very strongly that she wanted to support women during their last months of pregnancy because she believes that “giving birth is to give life.”

Drawing from that ambition, she decided to become a midwife and now she is in her second year at Hope University, which is one of the best universities in Burundi that focus on medical programs. She says that the program is intense, but she promised herself that she won’t give up because it’s a matter of following her ambition and life purpose. She stays strong and brave so that she can achieve her dreams.

For Piaguette, the Brad Gasser scholarship has made a great impact on her life because without it, it would be hard for her to study what aligns with her dream. This support has really helped her by lifting her up. It allows her to focus on doing well in her studies and to stay in school without thinking about how something like tuition will be paid for. For Piaguette, the BGMS means hope, a chance to succeed, and the power to make her dreams come true.

Euphrasie Bukeyeneza

Euphrasie was born and grew up in Kayanza, in northwest Burundi. She is from the Batwa community, Burundi’s underprivileged minority, and she is proud of the level of education she is on now because she is among very few Batwa people who reach university. Euphrasie is studying Economics and Accounting at Université Sagesse d’Afrique. She hopes to one day support young people like her back in her community with at least primary needs such as food, shelter, and schooling.

Euphrasie thanks with all of her heart anyone who is doing her best to donate to BGMS because that is the only source of financial support that she has. This support provides her with everything she needs to focus on studying. To pay it forward, she cannot wait to go back to her community and change their lives by helping them as she has been helped.

Etienne Mugisha

Etienne Mugisha was born and raised in Cibitoke, in the extreme northwest of Burundi. He is a kind, calm, and smart young man. Etienne is a good listener and also has a natural ability to lead. From his first year of university until now, he has been chosen as the class representative. Often, after classes, even when he is hungry and tired, he helps his classmates understand the lessons they didn't grasp.

Etienne feels very proud to be in his final year of studying economics, science, and management. He strongly believes that education is the foundation of everything. His main goal after finishing his studies is to return to his community and contribute to education there. How does he plan to do this? He intends to dedicate his time and effort to share his knowledge and explore ways to improve education in his community, helping others to achieve their own goals and dreams.

Coming from a family with limited income, Etienne would not have been able to reach his final year without the Brad Gasser Memorial Scholarship. He is deeply grateful to the program for covering his essential needs, including school fees. He wishes blessings upon all the people who worked hard and donated to make it possible for him to be where he is today.

Audace Irivuzimana

Audace is from Rumonge province. He is currently studying computer science at Université du Lac Tanganyika. He is interested in the application of computer science in daily life to solve societal problems. He is also interested in contributing to solving the problem of street children in Burundi.

Aside from computer science, Audace is interested in politics and peacebuilding because of the way the Great Lakes Region of Africa has struggled with ethnic conflicts for many decades. He thinks that as long as people in the region are focused on fighting each other, they can’t focus on developing their countries and ensuring equal opportunities for all.

With a degree in computer science, Audace hopes to develop software applications that will facilitate communications and services, especially in the health sector where information systems are not well organized or coordinated between hospitals in different regions in Burundi.

The Brad Gasser Scholarship has helped Audace to afford his education and pay for the cost of living in Bujumbura. If it weren’t for the BGMS, Audace would have to take a full time job and go into debt to pay for the cost of attending university. With the help of the scholarship, he is able to focus on his studies and on solving problems of Burundi.

Marie Ariella Iranzi

Marie Ariella grew up in Buyenzi, Bujumbura Mairie, Burundi. She was part of the first cohort of the Tujenge Scholars Program. Although she received several offers of admission from different universities, they turned out to be unaffordable due to the lack of full scholarships. She patiently waited until the Tujenge Scholars' Program's second cohort began the admissions process and tried again. She was finally awarded a MasterCard Foundation Scholarship to study at Agnes Scott University in Georgia, United States. However, due to health issues, she was compelled to return to Burundi for treatment. It is worth noting that Ariella has been interested in solving community issues, particularly through the field of medicine, and believes that by taking a medical program, she can ultimately gain the most adequate skills and experiences needed to realize her dream. In the same spirit, she is currently in her second year of undergraduate studies in Pharmacy at Université Panafricaine les Mages in Bujumbura, Burundi. With this degree, she intends to pursue her healthcare career aspirations.

Brad's Tenure at Tujenge

Brad started with the Tujenge Scholars Program in 2018, and quickly established himself as a beloved instructor. He developed courses which have come to define the interdisciplinary culture of the program, combining his wide-ranging expertise in science, technology, philosophy, and history. Students honed their reading and critical thinking skills under his tutelage, and over the course of their 18 months in his classes would discover completely new ways of looking at the world. Brad was a major source of advice and inspiration for the 159 students he worked with during his tenure.

Brad was also a tireless champion for his students throughout their time in the program and beyond. He recognized the need for ongoing support for alumni who pursue university studies in Burundi, and would fund-raise for the Opportunity Fund throughout his personal network. His efforts have been a major factor in the success of this scholarship program. In light of these efforts, the Foundation renamed the Opportunity Fund program in his memory.