Espérance Gikundiro brings both professional and personal passion for helping refugees thrive. She comes with expertise in program creation, fundraising strategies, and resource management. Espérance has worked extensively with different refugee groups and understands their plight not only through her work, but through her own experience. Since her U.S. arrival in 2014 as a refugee with her daughter by Catholic Social Services, Espérance has been a tireless advocate for refugees.
She has committed to dedicating the majority of her personal and professional time to assist refugees and the displaced. Espérance recognizes the enormous and all too often overlooked potential of refugees pushing them to shape a brighter future for their families and their communities. She volunteers with Welcome Dayton, Bunko for Charity, and Catholic Social Services which recently conferred her with an award for her activism on behalf of refugee families in Dayton.
Espérance is a RefuSHE graduate and an alumna of our social enterprise. She works as a case manager for at-risk students, a nurse’s assistant, and currently attends Clark State College.