trustinglife laetitia mizero

story by | patricia carlson

Under the cover of darkness, Laetitia Mizero [ lah-tee-see-a mi-zero] ran for her life. Her 6-year-old fingers clutched her mother’s hand as Laetitia’s little legs struggled to keep up in the enveloping African night. In her mother’s arms was Laetitia’s younger sister and beside them ran her older brother. The trio pushed through pastures, tore through towns and raced across the Kanyaru River filled with all sorts of creatures that night. They fled the only country they had ever known, one that was careening toward another bloody civil war. Leaving was the only way to survive.

This was the first time Laetitia would be forced from her home, but it would not be her last. However, all the harrowing events of her life would turn her into a brave woman capable of managing any responsibility, including her destiny. “I’ve had a very fulfilling life,” says Laetitia. “No matter how I ended up in places, I’ve tried to get the most out of life.”

Family And War

Laetitia Mizero grew up the second oldest of her family’s six children in the Republic of Burundi, a land-locked country in eastern Africa. She loved learning, reading and exploring but as oldest daughters are often tasked to do, she also had to take care of her brothers and sisters. But even from a young age, she did so with grace and humor. “Her personality made her a fun sister and a wiser loving sibling we could look up to,” says Laetitia’s younger sister, Aline Nizigama who now lives in Toronto. “Laetitia is just an incredibly fun person to be around. But I don’t think this is a secret to anyone that knows her!”

Laetitia gets much of her personality and passion from her parents. Her father, who passed away 5 years ago, was a well-educated artist who would one day run for his country’s presidency. Laetitia says he believed in the power of education and