Jean-Marie Nahimana celebrates SFCG’s 30th Anniversary

Jean-Marie Nahimana (Baby John) and his guitar.

Jean-Marie Nahimana (better known as Baby John) worked for SFCG in Burundi from 1995 to 2002.   Baby John produced and hosted radio programs for SFCG’s Studio Ijambo and created arts-based initiatives to promote reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi.  Now based in France, Baby John is President of an association called Solidarity for Peace and Social Justice (SOPAJUSO).

Here in his own words (translated from French):

SFCG has shown me a way to live in peace in this world.  I was fortunate to work with SFCG in Burundi and I’m proud of what we accomplished there.  I began working at SFCG following the deaths of my father, several family members, neighbors and friends, during the inter-ethnic conflicts in Burundi.  I would not have been able to endure the pain (physical and mental) had I not been surrounded by my colleagues and by my work at SFCG.

There I had the opportunity to speak positively, with love for my fellow Burundians, whatever their ethnicity or origin. Through the radio’s Studio Ijambo and the Peace Camps for children, I was able to contribute to reconciliation among Burundians and the return of peace in Burundi.

My parents educated me to believe that love is better than revenge, and this work was both a trigger and an energizer to help me overcome the obstacles on my path. Since I met SFCG, I have remained committed to working as an artist for peace. For example, I was able to organize a show with music and dance with refugees from the UNHCR refugee camp in Mozambique, in addition to my work for SOPAJUSO.

I have great admiration for John Marks and Susan Collin Marks, who have created an honorable organization, that works to build peace in the whole wide world.

This song comes from the heart.

You can listen to the song he wrote in celebration of SFCG’s 30^th Anniversary here (click on “Une composition de Jean-Marie Nahimana: Baby John”).