Let me talk about my country first, Burundi. I can guarantee that most people who read this essay for the first time will not believe that a country like Burundi exists. Most will go and Google it and realize that “wow this country exists!” If you have already gotten your interest here, let me tell you more about it. My people lived in this country for over 500 years and were an independent kingdom until Germany colonized it.
After the end of the First World War, Germany ceded the territory to Belgium which ruled it in coordination with Germany. In 1962, Burundi gained independence as a monarchy state. Still, a lot of assassinations and coups eventually led to a military dictatorship where a lot of people were butchered in the form of ethnic cleansing. The ethnic cleansing happened not once but twice with the result being that my country remained under-developed as well as one of the poorest countries in the world. No one has any ideas about our customs or culture, just imagine what I’ll be bringing to your college if I were to be accepted (Historyworld, n.d.).
Let’s talk about my values. From a young age, I have always known that the way forward is through education. People fighting for power and control would eventually meet a very bad end, and even if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to survive in the future. I wanted to be a leader that influences growth in my country through public welfare and education, so I studied political science and international relations so that my overall knowledge of the world could improve and teach me how a country’s system works. During my time as a student, I established organizations where our primary goal was to help people without having a profit. Recognized for my efforts, I was invited to be the vice president of the East African Community Student Union. This very large organization represents a significant number of students from Africa. I did all of this for the sake of my country with the aim of creating a profit in mind but to help in the development of my country because that is what progress means to me. Anyone can seize power and run a country like a dictatorship but it takes courage to build something with nothing through knowledge and wisdom.
I used my knowledge and experience to help the women in my country overcome physical and mental abuse. The cause? Poverty. The only way to overcome poverty is through education. I believe there is a famous saying: “Give a man a fish, you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you’ll feed him for life.” This is my philosophy. The women in my country desperately wanted to work but needed help in regard to financing and education. I sat down and listened to them, asked them what they thought their strong suit was, and taught them how to use that skill to make a living. After securing the funding required, we invested in various businesses of which 26 succeeded while two failed.
What does this tell you about me? I am not a man who just talks but takes action and is willing to go through the harsh realities of life to stay true to his dream of doing something for his country. If these are the qualities you seek in your students, I think I fit you.
References
Historyworld. (n.d.). History of Burundi. Retrieved from Historyworld: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad25
