A. Happy Umwagarwa
Author, Novelist, Storyteller & Poet
Books
Faces of Our Youth
A novel; a crime mystery, a family saga in post-genocide Rwanda
Hearts Amoung Ourselves
A novel of love and hatred.
Drums of Success
10 Steps to Turning Your Creative Potential Into Success.
Imitima y’Abacu
Kinyarwanda translation of Hearts Among Ourselves
Mioyo Miongoni Mwetu
Swahili translation of Hearts Among Ourselves
Who Is A. Happy Umwagarwa?
A. Happy Umwagarwa is an author, novelist, storyteller, and poet from Rwanda. She was born on 15 August 1979. At the age of 15, in 1994, Happy survived the genocide against the Tutsi, which claimed the lives of her father, two brothers, and other family members. This traumatic experience, and what she had to endure as a teenager and young adult in post-genocide Rwanda, left her with many questions about human behaviour.
Inspired by a quote from Toni Morrison, “If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it,” Happy states that she writes for herself, her daughters, her compatriots, and all of humanity. She hopes her books, stories, and poems will help promote a culture of peace and respect for diversity in her country and beyond.
Despite the challenges she has faced, Happy graduated from the University of Greenwich, London, with a master’s degree in management and is currently pursuing a PhD in Management (Work and Employment). Alongside her writing, Happy is also an international human resource professional. Since 2011, she has been an international civil servant, working for the United Nations in Rwanda, South Sudan, and the USA (for UNDP), in Gabon (for the UN Secretariat), and currently in the Netherlands (for the International Court of Justice).
Happy is a mother to two wonderful daughters, whom she affectionately calls her little angels.
Latest Short Stories
Ibimenyetso Bifatika – Inkuru ngufi
Byari bigeze saa tatu z’ijoro, umukobwa wanjye, Uwase, atarataha. Nibazaga byinshi. Mu busanzwe, yajyaga ampamagara, akamenyesha aho ari, igihe cyose yabaga ari butindane n’inshuti ze. Ariko, uwo mugoroba, telefone ye yari yavuye ku murongo. Nirambitse mu ntebe ndende yo mu ruganiriro, maze ntegereza ko aza ko ataha.
Intwari Yakoze Ibara – Inkuru ngufi
Benshi bari bazi ko Mugisha na Kayitesi bahiriwe n’urugo. Ntibari bazi ko, nk’abakritsu bavutse ubwa kabiri, bamwenyuraga nyamara bahishe ibikomere ku mitima yabo. Hari abajya bavuga ko gushakana n’uwo udakunda ari uguhemuka cyangwa kwandarara. Mugisha yakundaga rwose umugore we, Kayitesi. Yizeraga kandi ko n’umugore we amukunda, nubwo rimwe na rimwe
Latest Poetry
They Stood By The Roadside – A Poem By A. Happy Umwagarwa
Their silence was witnessed as choosing sides
The image survivors cannot brush aside
Remember, there was nowhere to hide
The innocent’s right to live had been denied.
Neighbors chose to be spectators in a genocide.
Neither A Poet Nor A Storyteller – A Poem or thinking aloud!
I will write about their thin bodies, and their crying souls.
I will write it the way it’s crafted in my mind.
I will not follow any rules.
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