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It’s not clear exactly where Michael Bahizi was born. Due to the war in Rwanda, his parents fled for their lives to Uganda where he was born a refugee. His parents were denied the right to education based on ethnic discrimination that later resulted in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Their flight and the ongoing conflict made it impossible for them to properly document the exact date, day, location and time of their newborn son’s birth.

The trauma of growing up in the aftermath of genocide eventually led him to homelessness and drug addiction, but he yearned for something more. Before long he was introduced to Islam, and he eventually became a Muslim. What attracted him to this religion was the love, care, and solidarity that he saw in the predominantly Muslim community in Magengu Nyamirambo Kigali, Rwanda. Despite his attraction to Islam, in December of 1999 he converted to Christianity by virtue of a divine encounter with Jesus inside of a mosque during the fasting prayer month of Ramadan. This experience transformed his life and brought opportunities that were essential to developing his broad skillset and efficiency.

Michael has an extensive background in serving and ministering in churches. He has worked with orphanages, refugees and in prison ministry and is experienced in managing gospel festivals and implementing and overseeing projects. His thorough and precise approach has always yielded excellent results. With good networking and relational skills, he has provided his team with vital project leads and has also developed relationships with different churches. This has led to successful projects in Rwanda, Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

Michael is currently the managing director of Simba Safaris Ltd in London, United Kingdom, a worldwide ticketing company that also organizes safaris in the East African countries of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. He also works for St. Marks Social Education Center as a social trainer, mainly working with autistic students.

There were many obstacles that he had to overcome throughout his high school and college years. He was bullied and called names because of his height, looks and at the fact that he was a refugee. To alleviate some of the harassment, he even changed his name. To disguise himself as Ugandan and avoid being targeted by fellow students he learned new languages, including Luganda, Runyankore and Kiswahili. Michael was forced to wash clothes and dishes, clean shoes, and buy drinks for fellow students who in return would offer him protection. By the grace of God and thanks to a group of people from the Banyankore (Bahima) tribe, Batoro and Baganda who loved and defended him on a few occasions, he overcame these hardships. His protectors gave him work to do on their farms, and he was able to make a living looking after their cows.

Michael still believes that his dream of becoming a lawyer and being a voice for the voiceless is still achievable. He believes that justice denied – or delayed – is injustice, an is actively developing programs to aid those who face the same challenges he did.

His friendship with Little Acts founder Charlotte Barthazar goes back to 2014 when he was working in the East African region in Burundi, Rwanda, Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. He heard her story and was inspired to give back to the community to support other vulnerable individuals by joining the Little Acts team.