Peter Hendrick Vrooman, the US ambassador to Rwanda is one envoy that stands out for the love he has for Kinyarwanda. He usually uses some Kinyarwanda words when giving speeches in the country or during interviews with the media. 

"Ndiga buri munsi” (I learn every day) is one of his frequently mentioned statements. 

Sunday Magazine’s Bertrand Byishimo sat down with the 53-year-old to find out more on his love for the language, and what his impressions of the country since his arrival in March 2018.

Tell us a little about yourself

I am a father of two and an ambassador; a title that takes a long time but I do prefer not to crown that title. I rather try to be accessible to students, journalists like you and the private sector. 

I also set priorities first to media interviews, talking about women empowerment, and raising respect to people with disabilities.   When did you first hear about Rwanda?

My first memories of Rwanda go back to when I was seven years of age and received posted stamps containing letters with pictures of gorillas that I hope were from my grandma. 

I also heard about Rwanda from The Dian Fossey foundation when I was watching a documentary on the National Geographic channel. I again heard about Rwanda in 1994. 

I was in Mogadishu and I met a lady who was evacuating people from Rwanda and she told me all about the terrible chapter that the country was undergoing.   What were your expectations about Rwanda and were they fulfilled?

I was not really sure of what I could find, but I was astonished by a lot I didn’t expect.  I was amazed by Generation 25. I was surprised by what people have created and innovated despite having a past that was tragic.

Rwanda used her history to aid transformation of a country and to overcome that terrible chapter.

Without also forgetting the role of cycling as a unifying element. Nelson Mandela also grasped Rugby as a unifier, so I am proud of Rwanda that used cycling as a great unifier to society.   When did you start learning Kinyarwanda?

I commenced my courses in December 2017 for two months. It was at Foreign Service Institute in Virginia where I was taught by teacher Gilbert. 

Coming to the land of a thousand hills, I then continued with my current teacher Uwimana Magnifique, the author of "Vuga Ikinyarwanda”. 

She is a graduate of former KIE in language education. She has also coached my precedents like Ann Casper and Donald Koran, and now she is coaching US embassy members including me.   As a US envoy to Rwanda, you are a busy man. How do you get time for Kinyarwanda lessons?

I assess four competencies which are reading, writing, listening and speaking. I take classes every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 to 9 am.

I use access to books from Soma Umenye program, which with Mureke dusome and Itegure gusoma programs, are USAID Kinyarwanda literacy program. These are expected to invest over $85 million USD (77 billion RWF) between 2016 and 2021.

Classrooms will have a total of 6.3 million books by the end of this project so that children can get plenty of materials to practice reading.   What was your motivation for learning it?

Communication is the only motivation. As I am in Rwanda, I need to communicate with Rwandans without any barrier. And as I’ve said I want to be accessible to all people and Kinyarwanda is a useful tool in that.   What was your first Kinyarwanda vocabulary?

When I came to this country, I didn’t know what to call my spouse, and I asked a friend who told me that I should choose between "Umugore”, (a wife) or "Umufasha” (a partner). 

To dismiss the confusion I asked a Burundian as a speaker of a language from the same family, he told me "Umutambukanyi”. So I was really confused but chose to call her "Umugore” as Umufasha literally emphasises a partner meaning, so that’s the first word I got to know.   What challenges do you encounter in learning the language?

Tone and pronunciation. The difficulty doesn’t necessarily lie in vocabularies rather the tones. Kinyarwanda tone is very different from other languages by the fact that in some syllables you have to raise your voice or prolong it whereas you don’t have a symbol to act as a reminder of that. 

Also, sometimes when you don’t observe the tone, you change the meaning of the word.   How many languages do you know and how is Kinyarwanda comparable to them?

I have learnt Urdu, Pakistani language, Hebrew, German, Spanish, Latin but I am fluent in French, English, Arab and know a little Kinyarwanda.

What is so nice about Kinyarwanda is that it is in a Roman script, and it is widely spoken by the whole country which gives it power to build on its legacy.

Last but not least, what is the most difficult and easiest vocabulary for you to pronounce?   The word Rwanda is one of the vocabularies with a hard tone for me. Most of the times I pronounce "Ruanda” which makes it a little harder for me. Akabanga is the easiest word for me due to its pronunciation and short syllables.   More about Amb Vrooman

Before coming to Rwanda, Vrooman was the Deputy Political Counselor in Tel Aviv and has worked in U.S. embassies in Somalia, Djibouti, India, Iraq and Lebanon.

From September 2016 through July 2017, Vrooman served as Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia. This is where he transitioned to Rwanda after being nominated by President Donald Trump on October 30, 2017. 

He began his duties on March 31, 2018.