Just 5 years old, Laurent Mbanda fled his native country Rwanda with his family due to ethnic war and injustice.

Raised in a refugee settlement in Burundi when at the age of 20, he decided to set out on a 6 month walk to Nairobi in search of an education.  A young woman in Indiana heard about his story and sent him the $600 she had just received for her wedding gifts.

Fast forward - Dr Laurent Mbanda graduated from the United States with his PhD. After the genocide of 1994, he was able to travel freely back to the country of his birth.  Dr. Mbanda has ministered in Burundi, Kenya, Congo, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. Since the completion of his doctoral studies, he served as Africa Director for a mission involved with indigenous mission groups. For the last 14 years Dr. Mbanda has directed CALM while working with Compassion International. He resigned from his post as VP of Program Development in order to return to Rwanda. He is currently African Director for Compassion International.

Mbanda and his wife Chantal returned to Rwanda in late 2005 to seek ways to uplift their country.  They have 3 children living in the States, Erica, Eric, and Eddie.