FRIENDS OF SAINT LOUIS DE GONZAGUE

Bringing Hope, Education, & Faith to Youth in Burundi

Friends of SLG is a St. Louis–based volunteer group dedicated to expanding access to education, faith, and opportunity for young students in Burundi, Africa.

The group began as a friendship between Fr. Vedaste Nkeshimana, S.J., headmaster of Saint Louis de Gonzague School, and ten St. Louis natives he met while studying at SLU. What started as a shared commitment to Jesuit values has grown into a partnership of hope, connecting communities across continents through compassion and service.

Together, we work to ensure that every child at Saint Louis de Gonzague School has the chance to learn, grow, and thrive.

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Two priests in white robes conducting a church ceremony at an altar with a congregation. One priest holds a chalice, the other has hands clasped. The altar has a candle, a book, and religious items, with a woman and the congregation in the foreground.

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“Our school gives every child a space to be included, to live and learn alongside others, and to recognize their dignity as human beings. By building suitable classrooms, we offer hope to the youth—giving children from poor backgrounds the image of a life full of promise and possibility.”
— Fr. Vedaste Nkeshimana, Headmaster
Two priests in white robes performing a religious ceremony at an altar with a congregation present. One priest is holding a chalice and a wafer, while the other looks down in prayer.
Classroom filled with young students in uniform sitting at desks, listening attentively.
Three clergymen standing inside a church with wooden pews and stained glass windows in the background. All three are smiling and wearing clerical clothing, with the man in the middle also wearing a large cross necklace.
Four young children in school uniforms standing outdoors on a dirt path, smiling and showing thumbs-up gestures, with green hills and houses in the background.
Man and children standing outdoors on a dirt path, with green hills and buildings in the background.
Single-story building under construction with brick walls, multiple windows, a covered walkway, and palm trees in the background, set against a partly cloudy sky.
Students in beige uniforms seated in a gymnasium with a basketball hoop, listening to speakers at the front of the room.
Students and teachers in a school gymnasium attending a presentation or assembly. Many students are sitting on benches while others are standing or walking around.
A large group of school children in uniforms standing in organized rows outdoors on a dirt ground, likely in a rural area with hills and small houses in the background.
A young child and an older girl sharing a book and a microphone, standing together in a room with a wooden table and a clergy member visible in the background.
School students standing in organized rows on a dirt field for assembly, with a school building and hillside homes in the background.
Construction site with a bulldozer on a dirt hill, alongside tall palm trees and a distant hilly landscape.
Empty classroom with rows of desks and chairs, chalkboard on the wall, large windows, and tiled floor.
Hilly landscape with scattered houses, trees, and a large building in the foreground under a partly cloudy sky.
Fr. Vedaste with local St. Louis educators
Three boys sitting on a sidewalk in front of a brick building, smiling and talking.
A young man standing with three school children outside a school building with a blue roof.