Greg Bakunzi: From Rwandan refugee to founding force
Greg Bakunzi grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, having fled the extreme violence of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s.
Raised under “extremely challenging” conditions, the young Greg had little access to formal education.
Despite these origins, the Greg Bakunzi of the 2020s is a renowned pioneer, trailblazer, and innovator in community-based tourism in central and eastern Africa.
“I believe life is like a magic carpet,” Greg said. “Sometimes it takes you to the highest of the mountains, and sometimes to the deepest of the seas. Through it all, life is worth living.”
Greg Bakunzi’s return to Rwanda
In 1998, as peace was returning to the region after the 1994 genocide, Greg followed his heart to return to his native Rwanda and his ancestral home in the north.
“I was 24 years old, and I had a good command of English language,” Greg said.
“Youth and language skills were about all I had,” he added with a grin. “But I could communicate with foreigners and guide them within our locality.”
That proved to be useful. Greg became a local guide for visitors who were interested in the famous mountain gorillas.
“As I was meeting international tourists who were here to see the gorillas, I thought about how to interest them in our culture and at the same time give locals a chance to interact with these visitors to learn more about the outside world,” Greg said.
“So that’s why I started promoting opportunities for cultural exchange; exchanges that could benefit community members and our culture, while at the same time protecting the natural habitat of the mountain gorillas.”
“I believe life is like a magic carpet. Sometimes it takes you to the highest of the mountains, and sometimes to the deepest of the seas. Through it all, life is worth living.” _ Greg Bakunzi
Passion
It was through these exchanges that Greg became passionate about tourism’s potential to contribute positively to culture and development as well as nature conservation.
“I understood through those experiences how life-changing tourism could be for not only visitors, but also the places and people they visited,” Greg said.
“I thought deeply about how I might use tourism as a tool to eradicate poverty in local communities residing near protected areas.”
Realising the vast potential of community-based tourism to alleviate poverty, Greg … read the full story at The “Good Tourism” Blog.
