Jody-Layne Surtie is a creative producer who has honed his skills through grabbing every opportunity that came his way and making the most of it.
My parents met in Kenya many years ago,where my father was working as an electrician and my mother was running from the danger that was present in Rwanda at the time. I never had the luxury of meeting any of my grandparents.
African Design Centre; “Bauhaus of Africa” is a new educational program that seeks to address the current dearth of professional designers across the continent. ADC, which opened its doors in Kigali this past fall, aims to be a fellowship-based hub of creativity, innovation and education that will be integral in building the houses, schools and health care clinics needed to preserve the integrity of African cities as its population grows.
Since the 1994 Rwandan crisis, I had not had an opportunity to go back to Rwanda. My recent and first visit since 1994 happened in December 2014.We escaped to Kenya during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. We briefly passed through Congo (then Zaire). Growing up outside Rwanda, as a stateless refugee was both challenging and unexpectedly rewarding. Challenging in the sense that I was stateless refugee, with no basic human rights and no certainty for the future.