Ella Ininahazwe is a graduate of Health Care Management and founding member of the Tertiary Refugee Students Network (TRSN). She works as a Preparatory Programs Manager with the organization Kepler in Rwanda and Ethiopia. Originally from Burundi, Ella came to Rwanda in 2015. In her work, Ella is responsible for managing Kepler’s scholar preparation programmes throughout Rwanda and Ethiopia, developing the curriculum for teachers, and supporting refugee students before, during and after their studies. Furthermore, as a preparatory program manager, Ella innovates supporting programs that help marginalized youth, such as refugees and host communities with financial constraints to access tertiary education/ job opportunities in East Africa. 

Ella is determined to increase the number of refugee youth who can access higher education, especially girls and young women through her work with Kepler and as a founding member and global leader of the TRSN. TRSN is a crucially important mission by refugee students, to bring refugee voices to the center of discussions and decisions about their lives. Through this platform, refugee students and alumni create synergies to support each other in developing their communities and encouraging other refugees to play their roles in life-changing areas, such as higher education. Through the creation of the TRSN, students have been able to connect and learn about the different opportunities for advocacy and activities happening around the world.