{"id":2000111711,"date":"2026-05-12T19:34:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000111711"},"modified":"2026-05-12T19:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:34:06","slug":"rwandan-woman-uwimbabazi-receives-top-international-award-from-marriott-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwandan-woman-uwimbabazi-receives-top-international-award-from-marriott-international\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwandan woman Uwimbabazi receives top international award from Marriott International"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uwimbabazi received the \u201cJ. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence,\u201d an award given every year to only 10 employees across Marriott International\u2019s worldwide operations who demonstrate exceptional service and leadership in the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The award ceremony took place at Marriott International\u2019s headquarters in Washington, D.C. on May 11, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees considered for the award are nominated by the hotels where they work based on their performance and achievements. Marriott International evaluates candidates on customer care, teamwork, leadership and professionalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uwimbabazi works as the Director of Rooms Operations at Kigali Marriott Hotel. She became the first employee from East Africa to receive the award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her leadership and ability to provide efficient and high-quality services to guests from different backgrounds were among the reasons she was recognised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After receiving the award, Uwimbabazi thanked those who had trusted her and expressed pride in representing Rwanda on the international stage. She noted that becoming the first Rwandan woman and the first employee from East Africa to receive the award was not simply a personal achievement, but also a responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that the recognition belonged to every African working in the hospitality industry, especially women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uwimbabazi also highlighted that the values and confidence she gained as a Rwandan inspired her to love her work and helped her achieve international recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda\u2019s Ambassador to the United States, Mathilde Mukantabana, thanked Uwimbabazi for making Rwanda proud, noting that she deserved the recognition of her commitment to excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Deborah Marriott Harrison, a member of the Board of Directors of Marriott International also congratulated Uwimbabazi.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Uwimbabazi was accompanied by her husband, Ribani Eric.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Bill Marriott, the Executive Chairman of Marriott International
and son of the company\u2019s founder J. Willard Marriott, congratulated Uwimbabazi.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Sandeep Walia is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Marriott International in the Middle East & Africa congratulated Uwimbabazi.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marriott International has awarded Rwandan hospitality professional Emmanuela Belle Uwimbabazi one of its highest global honours for excellence in customer service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000111715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000111711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000111715,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/whatsapp_image_2026-05-12_at_4.37_10_pm_4_-fd466.jpg","alt":"","caption":"Sandeep Walia is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Marriott International in the Middle East & Africa congratulated Uwimbabazi. \n","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":1333,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/whatsapp_image_2026-05-12_at_4.37_10_pm_4_-fd466.jpg","width":113,"height":150},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/whatsapp_image_2026-05-12_at_4.37_10_pm_4_-fd466.jpg","width":225,"height":300},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/whatsapp_image_2026-05-12_at_4.37_10_pm_4_-fd466.jpg","width":768,"height":1024},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/whatsapp_image_2026-05-12_at_4.37_10_pm_4_-fd466.jpg","width":768,"height":1024},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/whatsapp_image_2026-05-12_at_4.37_10_pm_4_-fd466.jpg","width":1000,"height":1333}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000111711"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000111722,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111711\/revisions\/2000111722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000111715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000111711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000111711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000111711"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000111711"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000111711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}