2012 Tutu Fellow Lydie Hakizimana has been selected to participate in the 2024 Rainer Arnhold Fellowship, which is an initiative of the Mulago Foundation. Established in 1993, Mulago is a private foundation which focuses on funding what it refers to as 'high-impact organisations', through grants, debt or equity. In this context, the Rainer Arnhold Fellowship has included Happy Hearts Preschools, of which Lydie is the CEO and Co-Founder, in its 2024 selection. Lydie describes Happy Hearts as "...a network of preschools across Rwanda...[that] help children find their curiosity alongside passionate teachers who are happy to support and guide their journey of discovery."

With more than 10 years of experience in the production and distribution of textbooks, Lydie has a distinct passion for education. Happy Hearts has transformed lives across Rwanda, providing quality early education to over 2,000 children since 2015 and indirectly benefiting 13,000 community members. Apart from founding Happy Hearts, she has served as the CEO of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). She is also the founder of Drakkar Limited, a publishing house in Rwanda. In 2018, she was appointed as a board member of the African Leadership University (ALU), which was named one of the most innovative companies in the world (number one in Africa) by Fast Company - an American magazine publication.

Buttressing these accomplishments is her tenure at the OTF Group, a Boston-based consulting firm that advised the governments of Rwanda and Gabon on Information Communication Technologies. Lydie holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is also a recipient of numerous awards, including the Mandela Washington Fellowship, as well as the Francophone Woman of the Year Award, which she won in 2021.

The Mulago Foundation describes itself as an organisation whose obsession is impact, "...providing money to organizations that have a scalable solution and a demonstrable ability to deliver." Lydie encapsulates her passion for integrating play and education in a way that, perhaps, reveals why Mulago has selected her and Happy Hearts Preschools for the Rainer Arnhold Fellowship. On Happy Heart's LinkedIn page, Lydie writes, "I believe that play is how each of us learned most effectively in the beginning, and I'm devoted to cultivating environments where children develop deep confidence in their ability to make their lives and their communities healthy and whole."

You can read more about about the announcement at the LinkedIn website.

Header image - the Happy Hearts Logo from their website.