Philanthropist Jean d’Amour Mutoni was among the young leaders from across the Commonwealth to discuss the remarkable work they have been doing with the Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom last week. He had a chance to share the impact his organisation is making in the community directly with the Queen, through a discussion that was held via video call. Mutoni’s organisation, Acts of Gratitude (AOG), supports social enterprises as drivers of sustainable development. The young leader had a chat with Donah Mbabazi about the event and what it meant for his work as a philanthropist. What was the call about? The Queen joined young leaders supported by the Queens Commonwealth Trust to discuss their outstanding work. The Trust supports young people across the Commonwealth, who are driving change in their communities. How did you get selected? In 2019, we got funding and technical support from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust which included training and consultancy. I believe we were selected because we are a QCT grantee and because of the commendable work we are doing (in their opinion). Briefly tell us what your organisation does. Acts of Gratitude Rwanda exists to help youth escape unemployment to become socially responsible leaders. After winning an award from HM Queen Elizabeth II and an investment from His Excellency in 2015, we were challenged to think really big. Thus, we recently devised and declared the following bold ‘AOG VISION 2030’: By 2030, Rwanda’s most successful person will be a young social entrepreneur. Mutoni encourages the youth to upskill and develop the right attitudes. AOG is achieving that vision through establishing district-based innovation hubs that provide young people (aged 16-30) with social entrepreneurship skills, training, co-working spaces, consultancy, connections and investment services. As of today, hubs exist in Gasabo and Bugesera districts. How have you managed to make use of the support you got from the Trust? The support from QCT helps us in our daily operations of our programme, including the access to online platforms that we use to deliver the programme. Through our programme, we offer professional consultancy services in regards to developing business plans. Training and consulting is also done as well as programmes in public speaking, essay writing, critical thinking and leadership skills, among others. How does it make you feel to be part of the Queens Commonwealth Trust? We are privileged and motivated by their recognition as it shows that we are working towards something impactful to the community. We stand still to reach our vision as stated above. As a young visionary, this call and recognition from the Queen made us feel honoured and happy. AOG was celebrated and its cause to create jobs for and by youth was championed. It’s motivation that shows that there are people outside who are watching what we do. Above all, it’s motivation for the young people whom we work with day-to-day in our social entrepreneurial journey, it shows them that it’s possible to reach their goals and vision because we were given a good environment and support by the government of Rwanda as social entrepreneurs. What should the youth learn from this? Youth should think twice about how they use their most important resource; time. It should be spent on seeking to understand their context better, upskilling and developing the right attitudes. What future plans do you have for your organisation? AOG Rwanda’s vision is that by the year 2030, Rwanda’s most successful person will be a young social entrepreneur. And we want to establish district-based innovation hubs, this will be done in each district across the country such that we offer the youth in rural areas more access to our services.
