Henriete Mugeni

My mum completed primary school. She could not afford secondary school because she lost her parents. My dad finished secondary school. Until 1980, he worked at the ElectroGaz and he was the Director General of Minitrap (Ministry of Transportation). However, because he was a Tutsi, he was forced out of his job before I was born. After that he could not find other work. He would do little odd jobs for people, like installing electrical systems in their homes. My uncles helped us and made sure that we had enough to eat.

My favorite memories are of my father. We loved each other so much and always had a nice time together. He gave me everything I needed. We would often to go on walks together. He would also read me stories and encourage me to study. When I was young, I loved playing with a skipping rope, playing with other kids and with my cousins who lived next door. I often read them children's stories.

When the genocide began, I was in Rwanda with my family. There were eleven of us: my parents, four brothers, four sisters and myself. I was the youngest. The Interahamwe wanted to kill us, so we had to run away. Each one of us fled in a different direction. I found myself alone, with other Tutsis who I didn't know. I saw terrible things. I saw people killing others, small children and pregnant women. My father was killed during the genocide. Luckily, my mother survived because our cook, who was Hutu, protected her. When the genocide began, one of my sisters had been visiting our aunt. Everyone in that house was killed except my sister. My aunt, her husband and her five children were all killed. They hit my sister on the head with machetes too, but left her because they thought she was dead. She was twelve years old.

I fled with a group of Tutsis I had met, but encountered a gang of Interahamwe. They killed everyone, but because I was so little, they left me alone. I was only nine years old. I heard one of the killers say "Leave her. We'll be able to get her later." I went to a house that belonged to people I did not know. I asked them for something to eat. They refused, and called the killers to come get me. So I ran away and found another group of Tutsi refugees. Again, the Interahamwe found us. One of them hit me with a club on my back. I fell down and lost consciousness. When, I awoke in the early evening, I found myself surrounded by corpses, with children screaming next to their mothers. People they had not finished killing were still crying out in pain. I got up and walked away, I did not know where to go. I was in the bush for a month and a half, often alone and without food. I was starving. Once, I did not eat for a week and a half. Sometimes I found other Tutsi refugees hiding in churches, or schools. We would share whatever we could find to eat and hide there together.

I kept on traveling, alone or with other refugees, until I reached Byunga, an area that was still untouched by the war. I was taken in by a Tutsi family. family soon after. It was there that I found my big sister. We stayed there for another month and then we found my mother too. It wasn't until later that I found the rest of my brothers and sisters.

One of my older sisters died after the genocide because she was sick. Another sister married, and my brothers left home to look for a place for themselves. Because they had not been educated, they found few opportunities. Today, I live with my other big sister, two of my cousins and my mother.

After the war, I began my 2nd year of primary school. Later, I went to secondary school in Kigali. I loved to study biology, geography and math. However, I had a lot of problems studying because my mother was very ill and I was also quite sick. I had to spend time at home to help my mother. I still cook for her and help her clean the house. She cannot eat everything, so I often prepare something special for her.

Despite these difficulties, I passed my exams and obtained my diploma. I am very grateful to ORI for helping me to attend university. I plan to study computer engineering at KIST [Kigali Institute of Science & Technology]. In this way, I will gain skills that will help me find a job and support my mother. After university, I plan to work in Rwanda. Ideally, I will find a job in computer engineering for a few years, so that I can earn some money and then pursue a Master's degree in computer engineering.

I would advise orphans to have a lot of courage and to love their studies because they are very important for the future. If they study hard, then they will be able to find a job and improve their difficult lives.