A Perth man who fled from the Rwandan genocide has been rated Scotland’s top barista by his employer Marks & Spencer.
Jacques Uwimana, 52, has become a popular figure with customers in the 15 years he has worked at the Perth High Street branch.
His happy persona and professional attitude have also endeared him to his company who nominated him for an in-house national barista award.
And Jacques was the only Scottish-based entrant of the 12 selected for the semi-finals held in London last week.
The top four will return to the capital for the grand final.
“I am not setting my hopes high because I feel like a winner already,” said Jacques, who lives in Findo Gask.
This attitude is perhaps unsurprising given how much his life has transformed in the past three decades.
In this article Jacques talks about his involvement with gangs in his native Rwanda, finding God after fleeing the 1994 genocide, how the “love of his life” took him to Scotland and why he loves making people smile.
In a gang and ‘addicted’
As a young adult Jacques was what would be termed in Britain as a tearaway.
“You would not have wanted to meet me,” he said.
But in his defence, these were extraordinary times in his native country.
Civil war raged in Rwanda in the four years prior to the genocide of 1994, and Jacques was caught in the middle.
“People wanted safety and protection and, before you know it, you are in a gang and addicted to heavy drinking, smoking weed – all these things that young people will do,” he said.
“That was my life. Even though you look like you are having fun it’s no good at all.”
Lived ‘right in the middle’ of genocide
This was how Jacques lived for seven years before an horrific escalation of the civil war when he was 24.
In around 100 days between April and July 1994, armed Hutu militants killed more than 500,000 members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group.
The atrocity regularly appears in lists of the worst genocides in history.
Jacques, his parents and four brothers were living in the capital city of Kigali.
“I was right in the middle of it and saw some horrendous things,” he said.
“Things you see in movies were happening right around my eyes.
“I was brought up as a Catholic so wasn’t one side or the other, even though culture would tell you you have to be.
“I considered everyone a Rwandan citizen.”
‘I couldn’t believe I was alive’
Fleeing with his family across the border to Burundi sparked a huge change in Jacques.
“It was a miracle to escape the genocide,” he said.
“There are families who lost every single member – all 19 of them.
“I became a new person from the age of 24. That’s when my new life began.
“I couldn’t believe I was alive, I thought I had been given a second chance and there must be a reason.
“I wasn’t an atheist. I thought there was a higher power but didn’t know who, what or how.
“I was brought up as a Catholic and did these religious things but all that didn’t stop me being addicted to a crazy life.
“At Burundi I did the research and sought the meaning of life.
“That is when I came across the truth and that was me.
“I became a born-again Christian.”
‘Language of love’ conquered lack of English
In Burundi he lived in a village called Bwiza and worked at the African Revival Ministries hospital and its neighbouring church.
In the hospital he began as a cleaner before moving into the laboratory taking samples.
In 1997, three years after becoming a fully-fledged Christianity, Jacques met the “love of my life.”
He is referring to his future wife Annelie Ross, who was then a nursing student at University of Edinburgh
She was in Burundi working as a missionary at an orphanage affiliated to the hospital Jacques worked in.
At that time Jacques was competent in four languages – Rwandese, French, Kurundi and Swahili – but not English.
“I can’t tell you how we communicated,” he said.
“All I can say is that miracles happen.
“People were trying to discourage her, talking about the cultural differences and saying she was only 22 while I was 27.
“None of us could understand each other’s language but the language of love is most powerful.”
From 33C and sun every day to cold Orkney
In January 1999, less than two years after the first meeting, the couple got married in Annelie’s native Orkney.
They returned to live in Burundi before moving to Orkney in 2004.
“It was a culture shock,” Jacques acknowledged.
“I came in October so it was the beginning of winter.
“I can’t tell you how much of shock it was to go from 33C and sun every day to be freezing every day.
“I was amazed how love can take you to places you never dreamed of.”
The couple stayed on the islands for eight months before moving to Perth, where Annelie’s sister lived.
They were part of the new Newfrontiers Christian movement based at King’s House in North Inch.
The couple have three children and now worship at the Trinity Church of the Nazarene in York Place.
Work at Perth Sheriff Court
Jacques’ first job in Perth was a warehouse assistant on the Inveralmond Estate.
He then spent 11 months as a housekeeper at Skinnergate Lifehouse, a homeless shelter for men operated by the Salvation Army.
For the next seven months he was a court officer at Perth Sheriff Court.
In 2008 he left to work at Marks & Spencer in the High Street, initially in a meet-and-greet role.
“From the moment I set foot in M&S I felt a different person,” Jacques said.
“At the courtroom you didn’t smile but I am a happy person who likes to be joyful all the time.
“I remember on my first day I was on top of the escalator and I was doing meet and greet.
“Most of my colleagues hated it but I loved that job.”
‘It is better to receive than give’
During his first year at the store Jacques also worked as a lorry unloader and in the menswear department.
But after making a big impression covering a maternity leave in the café he was given a dedicated role there.
“I love being around people so being in the café is a perfect place for me to be,” he said.
“I love seeing people, smile and making people smile.
“I see mothers with prams and I am there to help them because I have been there before. I have three girls who are grown up now.
“On one occasion a lady in her 90s became emotional and cried because she said she had never been treated this well in any coffee shop she had been in.
“I told her that I treated her like a VIP because that’s how I like to be treated myself.
“It is better to serve than be served because it is better to receive than give. I get more blessings when I give than when I receive.”
Win or lose, Jacques is ‘a winner’
As a barista Jacques also has fine coffee-making skills.
These were on display in a short video of him creating and serving drinks submitted for the annual nationwide M&S Barista of the Year competition.
In the semi-final he was not only representing the Perth store but the only barista to be selected from Scotland to proceed in the competition.
In London he was given 30 minutes to make four espressos, lattes, cappucinos and magic coffees.
Drinks were assessed on taste, consistency, temperature and foam.
Jacques was also quizzed on his product knowledge and speed of service.
A Facebook post on the Perth M&S page outlining Jacques’ success was liked 242 times.
Hannah Corlett, café team manager at the store, said: “The response to the post we shared from our store Facebook page has been amazing.
“It makes you appreciate that his job as barista is not just about making great coffee, sometimes it’s about making someone’s day just by giving great service.
“We can’t wait to hear if he has made it through to the finals but regardless of whether or not he does he is a winner in our eyes.”
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