For nearly 20 years, Eastern DR Congo has been characterized by many unfortunate situations: violence, theft, death, natural disasters, inflation, etc. Given these situations, the light of hope for thousands of individuals could have been extinguished. The story of Lucien AZMAYAK reminds us how strong our commitment and our actions are to create leaders who lead change at the beginning of this new year.

Lucien first encountered Africa New Day (AND) in 2012 when he was 17 years old and in his 4th year of secondary school. AND was operating 40 Peace Clubs in schools throughout Goma as a training program for local youth. The central themes taught at the Peace Clubs were peacebuilding, peaceful conflict management, leadership, entrepreneurship, good governance, theaters, and cultural sharing. At first, he was shy and only managed to perfect the art of saying thanks for the training he received at the Leadership Academy, but Lucien transitioned from student to one of the leaders over time.

In 2012, an international organization held a regional youth peacebuilders competition, and Lucien was invited to Rwanda to present his project "Furaia Umoja,” or "Rejoicing for Peace.” He won a prize of $3,000 and once he returned to Goma, he shared the prize money with his group. He went beyond personal interest to focus on the group’s interest with a portion of the money being used to conduct peacebuilding activities. Lucien and his group invited youth from different communities to share the values of their cultures to break down the stereotypes that they had of communities different from their own. Upon discovering that they had similar values, they decided to break down their barriers. 

Another portion of the money was used to set up two projects: installing a sewing workshop for young girls from families in precarious situations and developing a café restaurant. Lucien's group had already experienced extreme poverty as a primary cause of violence against young girls, and they decided to join forces to create their businesses. 

In 2016 and again in 2018, grants were received from international organizations to further the projects and expand their effectiveness in the community. Additional groups were created, and different projects received funding. The young people wanted to go far, and they encouraged each other to push the boundaries of their perceived limitations. This spirit captivated many other entrepreneurs in the province and a level of success has been achieved that was never planned. 

In December 2021, Lucien testified:"Today I live a life of satisfaction. I was a shy boy at the beginning, who could not speak, and now I train others. And those who trained me are proud of my success".

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