I have always loved teaching Children, says Les Pigeons Daycare’s Banza

OLIVIA Banza is a nursery school teacher at Les Pigeons Daycare and Nursery School, which is located in Gitega, next to the University Teaching Hospital (CHUK). The New Times’ Grace Gatera visited her for a brief chat:Who is Olivia Banza?Olivia Banza is a thirty year old Nursery School Teacher. I am the first born of a family of three. Our parents are Marthe Mukabaziga and Banza Andre. We were born in Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Where did you study?I studied at Athene Primary School in Lubumbashi for Primary, and then I joined Groupe Scolaire Consulaire Congolais in Rwanda. After that I stopped studying due to financial reasons.Why did you choose to be a nursery school teacher?I love children and I love to teach. That is all.What schools have you worked with before?I worked with Le Lionceaux in Kiyovu, Malayika Daycare and Nursery School in Kimironko and now Le Pigeons. What do you do in your leisure time?I spend any free time I have with my children. I have two children and we live in Nyamirambo.What are your best and worst moments in your career?Every day I wake up and I see my children, then I see the children I have taught pick up and become fluent in French. Or even seeing their habits changing positively and that gives me satisfaction. My worst moments come when I see parents not appreciating their children. I think of how those who do not have them wish for them.What would you have been if you had not become a teacher?I have always wanted to work with children at the beginner level. If I get more money, I will enroll for a degree in Child Affairs.Who is your role model?I am my own. I have worked hard to get where I am. I truly feel inspired by my own success. I am my own success story.Is there anything that the public or your students do not know about you?Not really. Children teach you to be transparent in all your dealings. And when you work with them for a long time, you tend to pick that up from them.Any last words to parents?Appreciate children’s individuality. Every different thing about your child is what makes him/her special