Lydie Hakizimana
July 14th, 2009 Posted by admin
Lydie owns a book store that sells both new and used books. She stresses that the reading culture in Rwanda is still low, and that most Rwandans say that books are expensive. But that hasn’t stopped her from going against all odds.
Lydie notes that as a woman business owner, mother and wife, the work/family life balance is always a challenge, but she is grateful for the support she receives from her husband.
Lydie is eager to develop relationships with potential book suppliers during her visit to the United States. Her overall goal is to develop libraries in schools and hospitals where children would have access to books for free.
Though the genocide caused her to be raised outside of Rwanda for most of her life, Lydie has fallen in love with Rwanda and says there’s no place she would rather be.
“There are still many problems (in Rwanda), but I now see them as opportunities wehre entrepreneurs like me can thrive and rebuild the country.”
At her bookstore, she is the exclusive distributor for brand names like Longman, Heinemann and Penguin. Lydie is currently working a project to collect used books to distribute to schools and students who are in need. She has already collected 500 books from Belgium donors.
“I hope this will be a life changing experience; it will allow me to learn best practices in my industry and give me an opportunity to network and develop long lasting relationships with successful American business owners,” Lydie said.
