THINK GLOBAL ACT LOCAL
a guinness world record MERITING VISIT Ahoy Beloved Readers: It is with great joy and honor that I present to you my little cousin in French, second cousin removed in the USA, and nephew in Rwanda: Igor Rwaka! You know how growing up you look up to someone older and you say “When I grow up I want to be like her/him"? I am fortunate to have seen over the past two decades Rwaka grow to the well rounded and extremely brilliant gentleman that he is. That is why I always say to people when I describe Rwaka, “If I could become young again I would want to be like Rwaka.”
He has an avid curiosity for other cultures around him and an insatiable thirst for new knowledge. He is wise beyond his age, a great listener and critical thinker and he is well traveled. I know for sure that in the next five to ten years, our family will be privilege to say that we contributed to his awaiting successful career in the healthcare field. Rwaka came to Fargo because every Summer and Christmas vacation when we saw each in Kigali (Rwanda), I would tell him about the magical Red River Valley. He thought: “Fargo like the movie/ TV series?” Rwaka being adventurous and a critical thinker, agreed to travel from Virginia, where he was in school, to
By Alex Cyusa Photos by Hillary Ehlen
come visit for a month and check it out for himself the wonders of our FargoMoorhead area. In Africa we say that it takes a whole village to raise a child: I am honored and humbled to have been part of that village that made Rwaka the stellar gentleman that the world gets to call its proud global citizen.
-Alex Cyusa
Alexandre Cyusa came to the FM area in the fall of 2010 to attend Concordia College. Originally from Kigali, Rwanda, Cyusa has lived in Switzerland, Ethiopia, Guinea and France. His traveling experiences have helped him in making this world a smaller and simpler place to live in. He currently works for Folkways and is interested in community development and nurturing global citizenship. 38 | SEPTEMBER 2018 | FARGOMONTHLY.COM
