This is the story of a former street youth named Kamugisha Janvier, a 19-year-old male.
Kamugisha is the third-born child in a family of 10 siblings. He has both parents and lives in Muhororo village.
His painful story began when he reached a point where he had no place to sleep and no food to eat at home, due to the large number of children in the family and their financial struggles. His parents did not have an income to support the family. Unable to bear the situation any longer, he decided to leave home. At first, he slept outside people’s houses, but eventually, he met other children in similar circumstances.
He began living on the streets, enduring many tough experiences. He was bullied and beaten by other street children as they fought for sleeping space on the Nyabugogo bridge in Kigali city. He drank all kinds of harmful substances, hoping they would help him forget the pain he had endured, but it was all in vain.
One day, while walking along the road in town, he encountered a man who approached him and asked about his life experiences. Kamugisha shared his story, and after hearing it, the man immediately asked him to take him to his family. This man was from Empower The Future Organization.
After discussing Kamugisha’s situation with his family, we decided to enroll him in our program. We helped reunite him with his family, began providing monthly food support to them, took him back to school, and are covering his school fees.
He is now a happy young man who cannot thank Empower The Future Organization enough for giving him another chance to live with hope. Through our support, he has returned to school, his fees are paid, and his whole family is receiving food assistance. Kamugisha remains concerned about his siblings, who still lack clothes and shoes.
He is focused and committed to making the most of the opportunity given to him. He is studying hard because he dreams of becoming a driver in the future.
