Yvette Nyinawumuntu

I am the oldest child of Jean Kanyamuhungu and Prudentienne Mukandekezi. My father was a contractor and my mother ran a grocery store. In 1986, my only brother, Emmanuel Kalisa, was born. In 1992, my mother contracted tuberculosis and passed away. Two years later, in 1994, my father was killed during the genocide.

When my brother and I learned that our father had been killed, we fled to my uncle, who was still alive. He decided to take us to the neighboring country of Burundi to hide. We managed to get to Bugesera, and then continued on towards the border. Many of the people fleeing were being killed by the Interahamwe [Hutu paramilitary squads]. It took almost a week to reach Burundi. All the roads were blockaded, and the Interahamwe were killing anyone who took them, so we went on foot through the brush and the forests. At night, we slept either in the forest or on the side of dirt roads.

In Burundi we were reunited with my grandmother. My mother's family lived in Gikongoro in the south of Rwanda, and had all fled to Burundi at the start of the genocide. We lived in a refugee camp there for an entire year. The Red Cross provided some food and a few people cultivated beans and potatoes, but in general it was very hard to find something to eat. There were just too many people there.

After the war was over, I went back to Kigali to look for the rest of my family. I was told that, of my entire extended family, only two of my aunts had survived. I began living with them, and my brother joined me in Kigali. The FARG, an organization dedicated to helping orphans get an education, paid the school fees for me and my brother. I completed my primary studies in Kigali and then won a competition to pursue secondary studies in Nyamata, while my brother was sent to a boarding school in Butare.

After three years in Nyamata, I was sent to a boarding school in Byumba where I studied social assistance. I like working with people who have suffered a lot, and especially enjoy counseling. After I finished secondary school, I found a position at the Centre MÈmorial de Gisimba [a Kigali orphanage], where I was able to work with children of different ages who had a lot of different problems.

At Gisimba, I had the opportunity to discuss my situation with Damas Gisimba, the head of the orphanage. My grandmother was indigent and she was traumatized by the genocide. It was very difficult to live with her. My aunt's house was full of orphans. My father had had two brothers and four sisters, only two of whom survived. My aunt was overloaded, trying to take care of all seven orphaned children of her siblings. There was simply no place for me there.

I worked for three years at the Centre MÈmorial de Gisimba. Damas Gisimba gave me funding to begin studying sociology at the university level in 2003, but he wasn't sure that he could continue to do so. At the end of 2004, Orphans of Rwanda gave me a scholarship, so I was able to keep on with my studies.

I'm now in my final year of university, and recently chose the topic for my dissertation. I will be looking at the challenges surrounding the transitioning of orphans from orphanages to host families. Orphans often have no way to leave the orphanage, and when they do, there is little follow-up. Some are taken in by host families, and while some host family relationships are good, this is not always the case. The orphans often suffer, sometimes ending up on the street or trying to return to the orphanage. I would like to explore why some host family situations work out and others do not. I plan to finish my dissertation by December 2007, and then to find full time employment as a social worker. Ultimately, I would like to get a master's degree in sociology. I believe that Rwanda needs capable sociologists to help its people recover from the trauma of the genocide.

Another big development in my life was the birth of my first daughter, Fidella, on March 23rd, 2007. My husband and I were thrilled at the birth of a healthy baby girl. I try to find a balance between family life and university. I take care of my daughter during the day and attend classes in the evenings. After three months of maternity leave, I was eager to return to my studies and dissertation research.

I have always been excited about the future. There are so many people that have shown me so much love, and I think that that is an incredible thing. I want to help people in difficult situations and counsel those who, like me, have been traumatized, whether by the genocide, or losing their parents to AIDS, or for some other reason. I am very thankful to the Orphans of Rwanda donors who have made it possible for me to further my education. Just as ORI has helped me, I must help others.