Urwibutso Theodette has come all the way from Rwanda, an east African country with green mountainous landscapes, to India and to Coimbatore with an avowed purpose. A catering student of CMS College of Science & Commerce, Theodette is presently undergoing a two-month internship as part of her final semester in B.Sc. (Catering Science and Hotel Management) at Le Meridien to fine-tune her professional skills and learn about the celebrated Indian hospitality.

Covai Post caught up with her as she is busy taking orders in the plush restaurant in Le Meridien.

The tall and beautiful Rwandan greeted us with a broad and luminescent smile, and talked at length about the journey from her civil-war-torn country to India to study and learn. Incidentally, the fine etiquette and service skills of this young African waitress has already won her many admirers.

Fluent in French, Swahili and her native tongue Kinyarwanda, Theodette says India has become a favourite destination for African students for higher studies. “There are over 600 African students currently studying in Annamalai University alone. We choose India as tuition fees and living expenses are much lower than western countries like UK, France, Germany and USA. The city boasts of students from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo, pursuing BCA, BBA, MBA and Catering Sciences.

“Spicy Indian cuisine is ubiquitous now. It has a special place in menu cards all over the world. So I have learnt Indian dishes apart from Mexican and Continental. I want to specialise in Service and Front Office. My fluency in many languages is indeed helping in my job, as the hotel gets many domestic and international tourists,” Theodette smiles.

Incidentally, Theodette belongs to the victimised Tutsi tribe; over a million Tutsis were slaughtered by the Hutu (another tribe) majority government in a shocking genocide.

“I was born in 1994, the year of the genocide. By God’s grace, my family members are still alive. I know what kindness means from the stories my parents told me, and hospitality sector is the one I chose to show my kindness to fellow human beings,” Theodette signs off.