My name is Youma Kromer, and it is truly a pleasure to meet you.

I was born in Germany and moved to San Diego at fifteen, a transition that made me aware—earlier than most—of how geography shapes access, identity, and expectation. Living between cultures taught me to observe carefully, to question what is presented as normal, and to recognize how often opportunity is mistaken for ability.

This blog is where that curiosity lives.

While my writing moves across places and reflections, one focus remains constant: my connection to Africa, and especially to Rwanda. I encountered the continent early in life, and what stayed with me was never spectacle, but seriousness—people working with intelligence, humor, and discipline in environments that rarely matched their level of ability.

Talent is not missing. Ambition is not missing. Resources and access, however, tend to arrive late—if at all.

This blog is not about saving anyone. The people I meet do not need rescuing; they need the same chances I have been given without ever having to ask. My work, here and beyond, is guided by the belief that opportunity should follow ability, not geography.

Here, I document my journey—across countries, conversations, and assumptions—as I learn, work, and build alongside educators, students, and communities, particularly in Rwanda, who continue to do remarkable things with very little.

Think of this as a record of movement: intellectual, personal, and occasionally uncomfortable—in the best way.

— Youma Kromer