 In late 2000, Charlotte met and fell in love with Richard Ndereyimana, a Burundian who had been in Rwanda since 1997, first as a Dominican friar and later as a teacher.A few weeks later the couple decided to get engaged.They spent Christmas together with other volunteers by Lake Kivu, then decided to travel to Bujumubura, the Burundian capital to meet with Richard's family, despite the fact that the whole of Burundi, and particularly rural areas, was in a state of civil war and out of bounds to VSO volunteers.