Peace Bureshyo
Empowering Solutions
Peace Bureshyo
KINVEST DIRECTOR OF LEADER DEVELOPMENT | ALI COHORT 8; RWANDA
Peace Bureshyo was 12 when her family moved to Rwanda. Her grandmother had described their homeland as a country flowing with milk and honey, but after crossing the border, Peace had to shield her eyes from the bones strewn along the road.
It was 1994. Two months earlier, approximately 1 million Rwandans were murdered in the Genocide Against the Tutsi. Peace’s family had been living in Uganda as refugees, but they returned to Rwanda to help their nation rebuild.
Rwanda has rapidly developed since the devastation of Genocide three decades ago, but despite its growth there is large disparity between urban development and rural development, where most Rwandans still live as subsistence farmers.
Resettling was hard for Peace, but her mother regularly challenged her, “What are you going to do to help carry our country to another level?”
Peace was determined to help others by solving the problems she saw around her. After initially pursuing a career in healthcare, Peace discovered a passion for fixing inner problems that prevented people from reaching their potential. She says, “I wanted to solve as many problems as possible so people could enjoy the lives that God had given them.”
Peace began working for – and eventually leading – the HR department at a local bank. She completed her MBA and earned a certificate in coaching. Her team became more effective through staff development and training, and Peace became an experienced problem solver. After ten years, Peace was ready for a new challenge, and God opened a door.
In 2020, Peace was invited to join Kinvest Impact Foundation, a start-up NGO working to help rural African communities develop by empowering rural entrepreneurs to learn, develop, and farm in addition to partnering with community members to build marketplaces for people to gather, sell goods, build relationships, and share knowledge, ultimately building a thriving local economy. As Kinvest piloted economic initiatives, the team recognized the critical role of local leaders. Peace was hired to build a leadership development program that would catalyze every area of Kinvest’s work.
Peace dove in headfirst. Even as COVID-19-related disruptions swept across the country, Peace found creative ways to engage, challenge, and train leaders.
Yet, over time, Peace became increasingly aware of the overwhelming needs in rural communities. She wondered, “Will Kinvest ever have enough resources to help all of these people? Will I have the right solutions?”
Peace started to spiral into a scarcity mentality, focusing on the roadblocks and lack of resources. After previously finding creative ways to develop the leadership team within Kinvest, Peace hit a dead end and succumbed to the scarcity mentality of not having what it would take to help Kinvest build thriving local communities. She felt lost, depleted from giving and ultimately in need of help. This is when Peace was introduced to Kurumbuka and was accepted into the Abundant Leadership Institute.
ALI’s first module on developing an abundant mentality challenged Peace to her core. She says, “I realized that I had a scarcity mindset that had trapped me. My ‘giving syndrome’ prevented me from seeing that the people I work with actually have solutions.”
It took Peace two months of continual self-assessment to realize that her scarcity mindset was influencing every decision she made. Simultaneously, ALI was equipping her with a new mindset. “Adopting an abundant mindset changed my life completely. It removed the burden I had to solve every problem I saw. Now, I empower the people I work with to realize their own solutions.”
Suddenly, leadership became simple. Peace returned to her work with renewed vigour and clarity. She sought to empower instead of fix. She saw the abundance in rural communities instead of the scarcity. Her new mindset quickly spread throughout her team and, ultimately, to the villages where Kinvest serves.
Last year, 350 community members in 30 villages participated in Kinvest’s leadership development program. Peace’s investment has help create generational economic change through local ownership and provided community members with more jobs, food, positive community networks, and enough capital to send their kids to school.
By serving as an agent for transformation, Peace is seeing her impact kurumbuka (‘multiply’) in every area of her life. Inspired by her ALI experience, Peace has a new dream: “to empower catalytic leaders wherever I serve to create a generational impact that will endure long after I’m gone.”
Peace's prayer requests: "1) that the Lord in his infinite grace provides resources to abundantly flow into these communities, enabling them to continue their vital work with even greater impact and effectiveness, 2) that the Lord will sustain all community champions and renew them each day as they pour out their love and compassion for others."
