Egide Nzojibwami is a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

who was the first

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

an national to become a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). Nzojibwami was educated at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and he and his wife were

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

into the LDS Church on 14 April 1985. He returned to

and eventually became

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the Faculty of Engineering at the

University of Burundi The University of Burundi (, or UB) is a public university located in Bujumbura, Burundi. Founded in 1964, it comprises eight faculties and five institutes and has a student enrollment of approximately 13,000. It is based in three campuses in Buju ...

. Nzojibwami holds a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Geology from the University of Liège,

and a MSc in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

from the University of Calgary,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. On 27 November 1992, Nzojibwami was set apart as the first

branch president A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, th ...

of the LDS Church in Burundi. In November 1993, at the beginning of the

Burundi Civil War The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first multi-party electio ...

, Nzojibwami left Burundi and emigrated to

. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nzojibwami and his family have recognized the importance of storytelling and history of his Burundians roots and the lasting impacts that it will have on his daughter. Settling in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Nzojibwami established Technosol Engineering Ltd., a consulting corporation in groundwater and

environmental assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

that works in the oil and gas industry and for municipal developments. Nzojibwami investigated chloride migration in the Cold Lake area of Alberta, Canada, as part of his thesis focusing on the effects of industrial activities on groundwater contamination. It examines the movement of chloride ions through the soil and aquifers, assessing the factors that influence their migration, such as hydrogeological conditions and human activities like oil extraction. The study's findings provide insights into the long-term environmental impacts and the potential risks of contamination in the region's water resources.

References

*"Branch flourishing in Burundi", ''

Church News The ''Church News'' (formerly ''LDS Church News'') is a multi-platform supplement and subdivision of the ''Deseret News'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (informally, the LDS Church). ...

'', 1993-08-21 * Donald Q. Cannon, Richard O. Cowan, Arnold K. Garr (eds.) (2000). ''Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), th ...

) s.v. "Burundi" *''Deseret News 2001–2002 Church Almanac'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

, 2000) pp. 291–292 *Nzojibwami, E. (1999). Study of chloride migration in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). *(2022). Churchofjesuschrist.org. https://ca.churchofjesuschrist.org/from-burundi-to-canada Burundian geologists 20th-century Burundian people 21st-century Burundian people Burundian Latter Day Saints Burundian religious leaders Converts to Mormonism Burundian emigrants to Canada Living people Scientists from Calgary University of Liège alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Black Mormons Franco-Albertan people Academic staff of the University of Burundi {{LDS-stub