Oliver Hansiime

I was born in the Mbarara District in Uganda, on November 4, 1987. Before the genocide, I had 3 brothers and 8 sisters. I was the youngest. My mother never went to school and she used to cultivate land. My father completed primary school and then went to driving school to become a professional driver. My grandparents died before the genocide, so I never knew them.

During the genocide, I was in Uganda. We returned to Rwanda in late 1994, at the end of the genocide, but violence was still taking place. We came back because my father was a member of a Ugandan organization that supported the RPF. His organization sent him to work in Rwanda as one of the drivers who brought refugees from Uganda to Rwanda after the war.

We moved to a town called Umutara. I started primary school shortly after the genocide and although I attended primary school in the same district, I did not live with my parents. In primary school, I lived in a house with my friends, many of whom were orphans. Because of these friendships, I became very fond and supportive of orphans. They became my family - friends who I could talk to and share my problems with. I was never able to do that with my mom, but my friends and I were very open and talked easily about the issues we faced. This was especially the case with orphans- more so than with children who had parents.

I lived in Mutara through my third year of secondary school and attended a school called Kagitumba High School. From fourth to sixth year of secondary school, I attended the FAWE high school for girls in Kigali. In 2003, when I was in my fourth year of secondary school, my dad died of cancer. After my dad's death, everything went downhill. Everything we had was because of my dad: a family, money, etc. When he died, we lost everything.

Now I live with my mom and one sister. I help my mom farm our land. I also take care of her because she is ill. Most of my sisters started their own families when they got pregnant. They are not educated and unable to help us because they are dependent on their husbands for their basic needs. None of them have ever been formally married. Only my older sister, Winfred, and I are pursuing educations. Winfred attends KIST (Kigali Institute of Science and Technology) on a government scholarship.

School was not easy for me. In my primary school, the teachers explained everything in a different Kinyarwanda dialect from the one I was used to - even scientific terms. As a result, I wasn't able to learn much English or French. We used English in the homework and in written exercises but the lectures and oral explanations were in Kinyarwanda.

When I started secondary school, I was very worried about the fact that teachers explained everything in English and French. I thought, "What am I going to do?" Even teachers who understood my problem were only allowed to explain lessons in English. I had a lot of trouble at the beginning, but was lucky to have many teachers who encouraged me to improve. They motivated me to improve my English and I studied hard to learn it.

From first to third year of secondary school, I lived in a house with friends. But when I started going to the FAWE girls' school in my fourth year, I lived in a dormitory where I started to make more friends and became more social. I had never lived anywhere like that, and it took a lot of getting used to.

In secondary school, I studied biochemistry. My ambition was to become a doctor. Talking to friends who were studying medicine, I learned that even as a student, you can treat people and help your family members. I have always been fascinated by living things and by the anatomy of the human body.

After secondary school I passed the national university entrance exam but I missed winning a government scholarship by 0.1 point [exams are graded on a 4.0 system]. I cried and wondered, what am I going to do? I have a friend who went to Canada and he asked me to marry him and move there with him. But he just wanted to get me pregnant and have me there for sexual favors. I thought: how could I get married and move to Canada if I have no family, no friends there? Then FAWE suggested I apply for an ORI scholarship. When I got it, I told my friend that I was going to university and would not go to Canada.

Earlier this year, I began studying dentistry at Kigali Health Institute (KHI). I expect university to be very challenging - it's a new level, and there are lots of unknowns. After university, I hope to get further education to enable me to become a specialist in a particular area of dentistry. I might get married but only after I am finished with my education. I want to start my own dentistry practice together with other specialists. I know I will enjoy seeing patients, sharing ideas, attending seminars and continually improving my skills.

Outside school, I like to help people by providing first aid assistance and health advice. I have many friends, some of whom are young girls who live alone. I like to help them with female problems. I know people who work at World Vision and I encourage them to help girls who are living alone because they are especially vulnerable. Some of my friends have been forced by poverty into working as prostitutes. I help them by bringing them condoms and referring them to people who can help.

I would advise other orphans to not lose hope. They should share ideas with one another so that they become smarter and stronger. if you don't share your problems, you feel like you are suffocating and going crazy. It's very important to share problems with other people so that they can give you advice and help you move forward.

If I could change something about Rwanda, I would like to change attitudes towards gender and sexuality. While the status of women is improving, domestic violence is still a real problem. It is also important to have sensitivity about issues such as HIV/AIDS and sexual health. Rwanda is a small country where many girls get pregnant every day. Men are also getting HIV and spreading it. They often don't know if they have it and refuse to use condoms because of the stigma attached to them.