Early Life In Africa​

Bertozzi Nganswe Mposo was born in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on May 21, 1989, where she lived until her family emigrated to the United States in August 2004. 

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As a young girl, Bertozzi began demonstrating her reliability, attentiveness, and valor in the face of chaos.  At age eight, her parents sent her with her two younger brothers to Brazzaville to save them from fighting that was anticipated to erupt in Kinshasa.  Instead, the fighting erupted and continued heavily in Brazzaville, with troops killing anyone belonging to the other ethnicity.  Amidst the chaos, Bertozzi managed to cook for her brothers, bathe them, clean clothes, and change her youngest brother.  When the troops broke into the house they were staying in, everyone hid while Bertozzi remained in the living room with her brothers.  The troops ended up offering them protection, helping the three children escape in a small canoe across the Congo River back to Kinshasa.  Bertozzi continued to contribute to her family, cooking for everyone and cleaning the whole house by age 11.  Her caring nature flourished, as she began counseling her friends and brothers on many topics.

The Years in America

When she arrived in the USA with her family in 2004, Bertozzi did not speak a single English word.  She quickly adapted to the new language and culture through reading, television, radio, music, and yearly summer schools.  She formed a huge network of friends and became an AP and honors student at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, CT, graduating in 2008. She went on to attend the University of Connecticut (UCONN) until her death in November of her freshman year.  UCONN freshmen remember her for her optimism, kindness, and intelligence. Students say that she would come home after spending hours in the library and still have a smile on her face - they say they will miss the smile that she always wore. 

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Bertozzi had many passions, but she often felt uncertainty about what she wanted to do with her life.  She wrote:

 

“ I like drawing but do not want to become an artist,
I like writing but I do not want to be a writer...
I like engineering but I would not like to design or build things as an engineer,
I like journalism but I do not like talking too much and finally,
I would not imagine spending the whole day working for one job:
I would spend one or two hours at work and spend the rest of the day on my own doing whatever would please me on that day.”

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Yet Bertozzi always remained committed to one dream: she aspired to become a physician and to help the poor, especially those affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

 

​Her Last Few Months/Days

In February 2008, Bertozzi wrote a poem entitled “a girl dying in November”. In the poem, a young lady is brought to the hospital - all she can see are monitors, stethoscopes, clocks, and the little girl who keeps her company. The little girl tells her she is going to get over her pain but she does not believe the girl. When she gets out the hospital, she looks up at the sky and feels an overwhelming joy.  Bertozzi was dedicated to improving others' lives by becoming a doctor, but she did not have the chance to save even one life.  Her gentle yet determined spirit and willingness to help others persists, though, and her legacy lives on through the Initiative. 

After hearing the election results of the 2008 presidential campaign, she asked her  brother to play Bob Marley's “Redemption."  Her brother was about 100 miles away from Bertozzi, who was at her dorm at UCONN. Bertozzi was dancing, with her phone on ear while her brother played the guitar and sang to her.  We did not know why she insisted on hearing that song but a few minutes later, the fun turned onto a tragedy. Bertozzi collapsed and died hours later.

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A Young Life That Inspired Many

Bertozzi was a smart, kind, humble, and hardworking girl who was devoted to her faith and never gave up.  Mature, gifted, and mind-oriented, she offered her encouragement  and positive spirit to those around her.  Perpetually happy, her smile coaxed those who felt depressed to laughter. A close friend of Bertozzi's explained that Bertozzi was aware that she had the potential to make a difference in the world and that Bertozzi was driven by the desire to help others.  She taught her friends that students in Africa can connect with students in America, acting as a smiling ambassador of the African youth.  Bertozzi told friends that her father - a Congolese physician who works tirelessly to aid the education and HIV/AIDS crises in Africa - was her hero.  After her death, her father, Dr. Mposo Ntumbanzando, realized that Bertozzi had taught him a lot about the virtues of love, the desire to care for others irrespective of their background, the impetus to succeed in a foreign culture, and the fragility of life.

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Her family and friends are still recovering from the loss of such a remarkable woman with a sparkling personality. Her family returns to her grave every year on the anniversary of her death and on her birthday to remember her and to express their love for her.

 

​Honoring Bertozzi N. Mposo Legacy

Bertozzi was impressed with the American educational system - especially the after-school tutoring, the freedom for each student to choose his own courses, the summer schools, the opportunity to read and to connect to other people through the Internet.  All the resources are inaccessible for students in the DRC, limiting the ability of students to grow intellectually. Bertozzi wanted to go back home to help build a better education system in the DRC.

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The staff of the Initiative are dedicated to honoring the legacy of Bertozzi by providing better education to children in the DRC.