Rising from poverty to affluence

“The money I used to get from selling samosas was just enough for survival. I was eagerly waiting to join secondary school but didn’t have enough money so my woes started afresh.”At 21, Youngster Gold Diogene has already achieved what many don’t achieve in a lifetime. He came third at the recently held Connect Awards, which recognise Rwanda’s young achievers. And during the recent Global Entrepreneurship Week, he was selected among the top 10 entrepreneurs in Rwanda. The 21-year-old is the proprietor and managing director of Youth Technology, a successful IT firm, at least by Kigali standards. Tough childhood However, behind the successful image of this first year student of IT lies a tough past of suffering and struggling to have an education and make it in life. In fact, Diogene has struggled hard to be where he is today. As a kid, he toiled to raise money for his school fees, rent and all other basic needs. Born in Butare, Huye District, Diogene attended Rango Primary School in Butare. However, unfortunately for him, he could not go past Primary Three. After dropping out of school, his mother took him to Cyangugu and abandoned him there. And for him, loneliness was the most terrible poverty. “I was 11 years old at the time. I had no relatives in Cyangungu and I knew no one there. I was in despair as I didn’t know where my next meal would be coming from, where I would run to for shelter or whether I still had a chance to continue with my education. I spent a whole year without studying and just depending on good Samaritans for a meal,” he says. Plan B But Diogene knew very well that life is filled with unanswered questions, and that it is the courage to seek those answers that continues to give meaning to life. So, instead of spending his entire life wallowing in despair, wondering why he was the one who was led towards the road strewn with pain, he went in search for a way out of his wretched situation. “I started making samosas from around 3:00AM to 5:00AM every morning. I would sell them and get money for my school fees and also pay rent, which was Rwf2,000 per month. This is how I resumed school. I skipped Primary Four and went straight to Primary Five,” he narrates. Since there were several kids his age who were not going to school, Diogene got them to sell his samosas while he was at school. Best student from Southern Province Whoever opined that the greatest man in history was the poorest deserves a Noble. A posthumous Noble. Against all odds, Diogene emerged the second-best Primary Seven pupil in the Southern Province. But despite his good marks, joining secondary school was not a foregone conclusion. “The money I used to get from selling samosas was just enough for survival. I was eagerly waiting to join secondary school but didn’t have enough money so my woes started afresh,” he says, looking past me at something that is not even there. After fending for himself through primary school, he almost lost hope as he couldn’t do the same even in secondary school. “I had been admitted to Ntendenzi Secondary School in Nyamashekye District but I didn’t have a coin to start with. The thought of not continuing with my studies made me so sad,” he says. But Diogene was not about to give up. Courage, above all things, was his first quality. He says: “I decided to go to the school where I had been admitted and explained my situation to the headmaster. I told him I wouldn’t be able to study since I wasn’t able to meet my school requirements, including tuition. He was so kind and he promised to help me. He mobilized students at that school who contributed scholastic materials that I used for two years.”The distance between school and the place where Diogene was living was 14 kilometres but that was not a problem for him, as long as he had a chance to sit in the classroom. Sadly, the kind headmaster, Jean Jacque Nuwumuremyi, passed away when Diogene was still in Senior One. Once again, a dark cloud hung over his future. “It was a distressing moment; my world became dark, I was worried they wouldn’t let me continue with school. However, because I was always among the very best students, they got me a scholarship,” he says. While in Senior Three, he developed a passion for computers. “I had to find another school because I wanted to concentrate on computer sciences and technology studies which weren’t offered at my school. This was a hard decision for me because that meant I would lose my sponsors. But I also knew that I had to go for what I wanted in life.” He found another school though he wasn’t sure where his school fees would be coming from. Luckily for him, around that time, he met Benine and Veniste Habakurama, who were kind to him. “They paid my school fees from Senior Four up to Senior Six,” he says. But after Senior Six, Diogene was faced with a bigger challenge: joining university.The businessman “When I completed Senior Six, I started repairing people’s electrical appliances like phones, computers and fridges. I was also able to save some money,” he says. After accumulating some capital, he decided to start his own company. “I had only Rwf50,000 on my bank account and it’s what I used to start Youth Technology. We deal in web design and maintenance and web-based programming among many other things. “Within a period of two months, I had already made Rwf2 million. It’s now 10 months down the road and my business is only getting bigger and better. Every month I make a net profit of at least Rwf800,000 and I currently employ 8 people.”On a last note, he says confidently: “In the near future, I hope to be the best ICT service provider in Africa and also the finest in technology innovation.” Well, we can only wish you good luck, Diogene.