Willy Mushagalusa

Fleeing for his life from a brutal dictator, living as a refugee, coming to Canada and finding his way to CMU—Willy Mushagalusa’s life has been an interesting collection of puzzle pieces. At times, it seemed that none of the pieces would fit. Fortunately, he says, “God is the best puzzle player I know. I don’t believe in accidents and I know for sure that everything has a purpose because I trust in Him. God is putting all the pieces together for me.”

Mushagalusa graduated with a degree in International Development Studies from CMU in 2006. But before that he was a refugee, fleeing for his life from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), then known as Zaire. “I was among the students who organized protests against the excesses and abuses of Zaire’s thendictator, Mobutu Sese Seko,” he says. “When we received word our lives were in danger, we fled the country.” He ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya, where conditions were very hard.

Mushagalusa came to Canada in 1997. He enrolled at CMU in 2003. Of his time at CMU, Mushagalusa says “CMU transformed my way of thinking. My worldview has shifted from seeing Christianity being limited to spiritual matters alone, to seeing that it applies to the every day human realities of our world.” His studies, he adds, “have given me more than just academic credentials. It has equipped me to be a compassionate and concerned citizen of the world.” One of the most significant changes was discovering that peace and justice were integral to Christianity. “I had never thought that Christ had anything to say about politics or social issues before coming to CMU,” he says. “Finding out that He does was very exciting for me. I now see the connection between faith, peace, human rights, justice and international development. I will leave this place with a Christian theory of development in one hand, and practical responses in the other.”