Michael Graham and Roméo Dallaire at Lewis & Clark in 2013.
Dallaire Scholarship: We are currently accepting applications for the 2025-2026 academic year at this time.
Dallaire Scholar 2024-2025
Josué Niyomutabazi has a deep history of humanitarian work. In addition to being involved in the university genocide survivors organizations AERG and GAERG, he served as chapter governor of Seven United for the Needy, aiding street children and youth from low-income families. As an undergrad, he was one of few non-journalism majors selected as a journalist trainee at the university radio station (Radio Salus), where he led conversations on topics such as justice and gender. More recently, he was a project manager in Rwanda for the international volunteer-led organization, Renewed Memory. Josué’s interest in leadership led to his being voted in as youth representative to the National Youth Council and also as a member of Nyanza District Council, work he will continue while at L&C. His love of learning may take him to graduate school to study environmental law, where he hopes to combine economics and law to study and combat climate change. Josué completed his master’s in applied quantitative economics at the University of Rwanda this past November before arriving for the spring semester.
About the Romeo Dallaire and Michael Graham Scholarships
Roméo Dallaire Scholarhip
Lewis & Clark’s Roméo Dallaire Scholarship honors the work and vision of Roméo Dallaire, former commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission to Rwanda, Canadian Army Lieutenant-General (ret.), Senator, world citizen, and humanitarian.
The Roméo Dallaire Scholarship allows recipients to enroll in the Academic English Studies program at Lewis & Clark College for one academic year. While studying English and living with other students from throughout the United States and around the world, scholarship recipients experience first hand the history and habits of diverse cultures even as they share with others their own traditions, customs, insights and beliefs. The Dallaire Award Fund continues to advance the principle that has guided Lewis & Clark’s innovative programs in international education for more than 40 years: global understanding is rooted in relationships, and relationships are built day by day and person to person.
(Applications accepted each year September to November.)
Dallaire Scholar 2022-23
Rene Pacifique Amani, who goes by Amani, is our Dallaire scholar for the 2022-2023 academic year. He is the founder of and program coordinator for the nonprofit organization One Help One Direction Ihumure, which is committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children from hard places (homeless youth) in the Nyarugenge district, Rwezamenyo sector of Rwanda.
Amani is passionate about and has a long history of working with vulnerable children. He has always known this to be his calling and has worked with underprivileged children and youth through various organizations throughout his adult life. To anchor his passion, he sought out training and participated in the Rwanda peace education program organized by AEGIS Trust Rwanda whose mission is to bring positive change to the local community. From this support came One Help One Direction Ihumure.
One Help One Direction Ihumure’s vision is to create a peaceful world free of vulnerable children. One of Amani’s most successful programs, “Smile Sunday,” provides a safe place for children to heal and work with counselors as well as connect to their community and develop life skills through activity-based learning. The program helps reintegrate children into the community, pays school tuition, and increases participants’ sense of agency. Amani is committed to understanding the root causes of problems in his community and is constantly evolving the organization to better address them.
Amani is studying with Academic English Studies so that he has the English skills to expand his work to a national, and perhaps one day an international, level.
Learning from Rwanda to equip and inspire each one of us to enter the world of the “Other.” The “Other” may be under our own roof or on the other side of the globe.
—Carl and Teresa Wilkins
Academic English Studies (AES) is located in Albany Quadrangle on the Undergraduate Campus. MSC: 125
