Geoffrey Baluku , Ugandan CLM Bujumbura young pastor © Pha Photography
Geoffrey BALUKU is a dynamic young pastor from Christian Life Ministries Bujumbura. Very active with young people he has started several programs and projects that really impact the lives of youth and the way people think in the Burundi capital city, Bujumbura. Campus Vibe, Umurundi 100% and Kund’Uburundi (Love Burundi) are some of the most noticeable. Akeza.net has met the young man.
Akeza.net: We have seen you on so many projects branding Burundi and building confidence and pride for Burundians like Kund’Uburundi and Umurundi 100% T Shirts. Why so much passion and dedication for Burundi?
Geoffrey: Wow! The best way to discover your self is knowing who you are and what you stand for, this helps you as an individual to press forward in life ,some principle applies to a nation as a whole, loving your nation is one of the ways to push forward a country, patriotism helps people think more about their nation and its progress, I thought to myself how can I be part of the solution, I decided to use what God has given me which is creativity, the T-shirts are one of the ways I thought could motivate people to love their nation
Akeza.net: What is your drive? This has been quite some years but you keep coming with something new …
Geoffrey: My drive is to fill full my purpose on earth, which is summed up in the verses below Mathew 28:19 therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Psalm 105:1Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
This is not to make me sound very supper spiritual but I feel those verses are my soul purpose on earth, My life tag line is “Born full die Empty” simply meaning I was born with a lot of gifts and talents my conviction is that I should die when I have made good use of them for the glory of the one who gave them to me, I also want to mentor some Burundian to do what I do even better than me that will be my joy when I leave Burundi
Akeza.net : Have you ever considered settling once for all in Burundi?
Geoffrey: Of course I have considered it so much, having a house beside the Lake Tanganyika enjoying nature,
Akeza.net: So many people have fled the country, among them church members and leaders. You are a foreigner, still you stay here. What do you see that they do not see?
Geoffrey: I can’t judge anyone for fleeing the country, the bible says prophesy according to the level of your faith, our calling are different so are our assignments. I also left the country for a few days because I was scared and tired of being in the house all day doing nothing, my family back in Uganda was putting a lot of pressure on me to leave the country, but I came back with greater confidence in God whom we had prayed and believed that this season will be okay.
Akeza.net: You’ve got so many projects on the run. How do you manage to deal with each and one of them?
Geoffrey: It has never been about me alone, we work with great teams in CLM, very gifted Burundians and other internationals so we try not to limit diversity and creativity among ourselves. I personally believe in empowering people around me to do greater things than I can even think of, so we work with teams, two heads are better than one.
Akeza.net: If you had one piece of advice for Burundi youth, what would it be ?
Geoffrey: You are the change you want to see, you can do much more than you can imagine, you are your only enemy and competitor, whatever you converse in your mind is possible if you put action in it, they will never be a perfect environment, use what you have now
Akeza.net: how do you find Burundians as a people ?
Geoffrey : Burundian are most humble and welcoming people not to mention the beautiful ladies, as much as the dudes are handsome too, I would rather talk more about the ladies definitely, I appreciate the respectful culture and the hospitality to strangers , Burundians are brilliant people and very analytic. I even fell in love with them but it didn’t work but am still hopefully
Akeza.net: What have you learnt from this country?
Geoffrey: I have learnt be humble, respectful, patient with people and gained a lot of experience in my field of work. I have also learnt some Kirundi and French
Interview by Landry MUGISHA
