Nothing Will Stop Me From Making My Country Great. Patrick Lembo

For those of us living in most African countries, you will agree that there is an alarming gap between the rich and the poor. Sometimes the lives of these two groups are incomparable and completely different.

Patrick Lembo, a young African leader who hails from DRC (former Zaire) agrees with us. Born in a rich polygamous family, he was privileged to study in the best international schools in DRC. As a child, he was shielded from the reality of the many challenges his country faced as well as the culture of his people.

During the first war of Congo in 1996, he was forced to the harsh reality of his country by being driven from a rich lifestyle to becoming internally displaced and losing friends and family in his own country. This was an event that forever changed his life and made him long for change and good leadership.

The second Congo war in 1998 which went on to see an open rebellion till 2003 made him bitter and he decided enough was enough. This would see him embark in pursuit of leadership for his beloved country.

Patrick confessed that after he went to the University of Lincoln in England to study for his degree in Sport Development and Coaching, he was completely cut off from his country of birth and somehow lost his zeal towards making things better for his people.

It wasn’t until coming back upon finishing his studies and working on a cholera team in the most remote areas of DRC that he got to realize how rotten the systems were. That education was not easily accessible for some. This experience got him back to his long forgotten purpose and the leadership task at hand.

For the last six years, he has been down a path of training others including wide variety of groups in DRC, schools (some of which he owns), community based organizations, army personnel, NGOs (Oxfam GB, OXFAM, NDI) and even political parties with which he is currently working on a democracy strengthening program.

I am particularly respected within the political sector. Both the youth and women from the ruling majority and the opposition, in some of the highest positions in the land-who are often at loggerheads, listen when I give them advice. It sometimes scares me. Patrick.

Patrick also holds another degree in Community Development from Kenya Institute of Development Studies. He confesses his love for Kenya as this is where he found out about the YALI program directly from his mother who at the time worked for a USAID funded program. He is ecstatic to be a Mandela Washington Fellowship semi-finalist after having applied twice.

The young leader sees Africa as home, a beautiful place and where there is hope. He also believes like most people that politics and prison always seem to go hand in hand. He is not cowed by this and has accepted that getting into politics and transforming the system from the inside will allow him to have a greater impact on the lives of people. He is set on running at the next local elections and is anxiously waiting for the electoral commission to announce the dates.

I do not regret anything, since helping others is my passion. I believe in my purpose in life. Never give up young Africans. If life bites you, swallow it whole. If life stings you with a needle, go find yourself a sword and stab it. Most importantly, be yourself. If you’re crazy like me, don’t be afraid to show who you are or to become someone you are not. You’ll enjoy what you do better that way”. Patrick.

I pressed Patrick to tell us of any crazy thing he has ever done. Well, he shared of a scenario where he forcefully tried handing out his CV to the President of DRC. What happened to him immediately after this life threatening incident was a story he insists was going to take up another interview and pages upon pages of humor and drama.

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