Justin-Sunday Nzitatira

I was born in 1982 in Rwanda, the second of seven siblings. My father was a primary school teacher, and my mother was unemployed. I remember a fairly happy childhood living with my parents and all my brothers and sisters. Once the genocide started, I was separated from my family. People came by our house and wanted to kill us, but we managed to escape. We all ran in different direction. I had to stay on the run by myself for two months. My father did not survive, nor did two of my siblings. But I did not learn this until much later.

After the genocide, I lived in an orphanage in Gitarama for two years without hearing any news of any my family. I finally learned that my mother and some of my siblings had survived. I moved to stay with my mother so that I could start my secondary schooling. I got my high school diploma in education. In my free time, I like to write poems and stories in English and Kinyarwanda.

With ORI's support, I am now attending Kigali Institute of Education so that I can become a teacher like my Dad. I would ultimately like to obtain a Masters degree. I believe that a lot of effort is being made by educators and policymakers to improve the state of the education system in Rwanda, but there are still issues that need to be addressed; for instance, ensuring that all orphans and street children are able to attend school. This is a big challenge, because many of these children need psychological care and counseling as much or more than they do material things.

I am particularly interested in studying psychology because it gives me a better understanding of how societies work. I hope to put this knowledge to good use to improve the relationships of the people around me and to improve societal relations in Rwanda in general. I sometimes dream of running my own orphanage so that I can help other orphans in the same way that I have been helped by ORI and its donors.