One thing that strikes someone the first time they meet Valens Rwamukwaya is not his towering, big figure, but his signature smile and a big gaps between his teeth.

Friends and family describe him as a kind, committed and versatile man.

Rwamukwaya’s retirement after 38 years as a cameraman has been trending on social media for the last few days.

Fellow journalists – both colleagues at Rwanda Broadcasting Agency and other media houses – and members of the general public thanked him for his long service under the hashtag that trended #ThankYouRwamukwaya.

Rwamukwaya was born in 1956 in Nyaruguru district, Southern Province. His family fled the country when he was three years old. He was the second-born in 9 children, all of whom have died.

He grew up and lived in Burundi for 38 years and it is here, as a refugee that he cut his teeth in his long television career.

He is a husband and father of six, four daughters and two sons.

Below are 7 interesting things about him.

He was hired as a cameraman because of his tall big figure

Rwamukwaya says his tall, big, figure was the reason he was hired as the first cameraman to work at Burundi Television in 1982.

"I would put a camera on my shoulder, stand behind others and still get the best shot because I was very tall and very strong. I think that was what the white man who hired me 38 years ago was thinking.

I realized my figure was actually helpful later in my career,” he says with a heavy laughter.

He initiated the first sports show on Rwanda Television

Rwamukwaya started a sports show on Rwanda TV, he mentored legendary sports presenters and commentators we know today, including Jean Butoyi who still does sports on the national broadcaster.

"I liked sports, I would have probably continued with sports if my Kinyarwanda was strong at the time. Kinyarwanda was starting to dominate in shows so I had to go back to my camera,” he said.

He was part of the founding teams of Rwanda and Burundi Televisions

In 1982, Rwamukwaya quit his studies at the University of Burundi and went for an internship at Radio Burundi. He worked there for two years until the then-president of Burundi, Jean Baptiste Bagaza ordered initiation of a national television.

Rwamukwaya was shortlisted to join the team in charge of implementation of the television project.

When he returned to Rwanda after the liberation struggle and joined the former ORINFOR, Rwamukwaya was also incidentally invited for the meeting that founded Rwanda Television.

He was then put in charge of multiple French shows including sports shows. He later quit doing TV shows and returned to working as a cameraman.

Beta Cam, a camera he used 25 years ago, is his favorite

When Rwanda TV started, resources were supremely scarce. Rwamukwaya started his work as a cameraman with a small "poor quality” camera called M6.

A few months later, he was given a revolutionary camera that turned out being his favorite in a 38-year-long career, Beta Cam, a gigantic equipment.

He quit school to pursue journalism

Being the second-born, Rwamukwaya always looked up to his brother who was a radio technician since the 1960s. His dream career was journalism but when he joined university in 1980, he was denied journalism as an option, owing to discriminatory tendencies that refugees faced at the time.

He decided to quit education that he says was "discriminating” and pursued journalism.

He returned to Rwanda just days after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was stopped

Rwamukwaya returned to Rwanda in July 1994, just a few days after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi had been stopped by RPF-Inkotanyi.

He left behind a 10-year career, family, friends and colleagues none of whom would understand how he could abandon "comfort” for a country that has failed in almost all aspects.

Although Rwamukwaya had no memory of Rwanda that would make him miss or desperately want to go back, lack of a sense of belonging and fulfillment pushed him move his family; a wife and three small babies and spend the whole night travelling to a country he barely knew.

"The decision to repatriate is "one of the proudest moment of my life,” Rwamukwaya has done.

Serving in a country he calls home is his best motivation

Working from a place he calls home was his best motivation. It has been lifetime dream that he was always excited about.

"I can’t say it has been a smooth journey but my passion was stronger. I was finally a national, no more missing out on opportunities only reserved for nationals. I was committed to contributing on building a country where no one else would be impinged on the best their country can offer,” he said.

Having been through decades of rough history and witnessing what he calls "extraordinary transformation” in the last 26 years, Rwamukwaya thinks there was no better time and place for him to retire. He believes young people who are taking over as cameramen will further his contribution.