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Burundian Young Leader Arlette Irankunda Asks Former U.S. President Barack Obama How to Carry the Weight of Leadership
By Andika Magazine（https://andikamagazine.net/author/boshirwa/）
October 22, 2026（https://andikamagazine.net/2026/10/22/）
3:16 PM
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When Burundian physiotherapist and social entrepreneur Arlette Irankunda, a 2025–2026 Obama Foundation Africa Leader, got the opportunity to ask former U.S. President Barack Obama question during an Obama Leaders Africa program roundtable in March, she chose to focus on a challenge many leaders face: how to manage the weight of responsibility without losing their sense of purpose.
“I’m a physiotherapist from Burundi and I’m the founder of Bridges to Inclusion that works with children with disabilities,” Irankunda told Obama before asking how he learned to carry the pressures of leadership while maintaining his clarity, energy and motivation.
Obama’s response emphasized three essentials: taking care of one’s physical health, making time for family and friends, and understanding that meaningful change takes time.
“People make steady progress. They chip away at a problem,” he said, encouraging leaders to remain patient and recognize that progress rarely follows a straight line.
For Irankunda, the encounter was both memorable and reassuring. She admitted feeling nervous before the conversation began but was struck by Obama’s calm and approachable personality.
“He was so calm and chill,” she recalled with a laugh. “I was actually impressed by how simple he was. I was like… he is actually human like us!”
Beyond the conversation, Irankunda is building her own legacy in Burundi. After earning a master’s degree in pysiotherapy specializing in neurology India in 2020, she returned home and founded CareConnect Physiotherapy in Bujumbura in Bujumbura in 2021 to improve access to rehabilitation services.
Her commitment to disability inclusion grew after a mother visited her clinic unable to find a pediatric wheelchair for her child. That experience inspired her to establish Bridges to Inclusion, a nonprofit supporting children with disabilities. Since then, she has distributed nearly 100 wheelchairs and has been working to make schools, playgrounds and public spaces more accessible.
From rehabilitation to disability advocacy, Irankunda’s work demonstrates how local leadership can create meaningful change in people’s everyday lives.
Her exchange with Obama reinforced a lesson at the heart of her mission: lasting impact requires patience, resilience and the determination to keep moving forward.
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Burundian Young Leader Arlette Irankunda Asks Former U.S.