I was born on September 23, 1988. I was the middle child, in between two brothers. My parents both worked, I know my mother was a teacher. I don’t remember what my father did, but I would see him leave in the morning and come back at night. Today, I only have one uncle and ten cousins left in my extended family. They are all younger than me and fortunately didn’t have to suffer through the genocide.

When the genocide broke out we were all in our home. The killers arrived, tied us all to chairs and started to strike us with machetes. I saw how my two brothers were being killed. My father begged for forgiveness and bribed the killers to cut us loose but we were already half dead. My father didn’t know if any of his children would live. He took us to a Hutu neighbor’s house to hide and after some time they put our bloody bodies in the car and drove us to the hospital. When they were asked on the road where our bodies were being taken, the neighbor replied that he was going to dump us in the river. When we arrived at the hospital, my brothers were already dead. I only had a minor wound on my head and was soon fit enough to move, but my mother, on the other hand, had to stay behind. My father and I returned to our house and hid for awhile so that when the killers came back they didn’t find us. We then left to look for a safer place and found refuge with my paternal grandmother who lived with a family of Hutus. My father left me there and went back to find my mother but I never saw him again.

I stayed with my grandmother, her husband and my great aunt until my mother came to look for me after the genocide. Her wounds had left her handicapped and she needed to be taken care of all the time. After a while, we found a friend of my mother’s to help us and we went to live with her. I started going to school for the first time since the genocide with the help of the Fund for Genocide Survivors (FARG). I found out about FARG while looking for organizations that could help heal my mother. I really liked school even though it was challenging. I particularly enjoyed team projects because working with others made me forget my troubles.

I believe that without an education you can’t do anything, which is why I dreamed of going to the National University of Rwanda (NUR). I followed my dreams when I received a scholarship from Orphans of Rwanda and I am now a first-year student at NUR, majoring in clinical psychology. I chose psychology not only because I love the subject but also because I will be able to help all the people I know who are traumatized from the genocide. After obtaining my Bachelor’s degree, I want to pursue higher levels of education and open a center for social aid. I dream of having my own family and providing them with everything they need.

I believe that Rwanda needs to provide more support for students in order to progress. If this happens in 20 years, I think Rwanda will be a developed country. If I encountered a young woman like me today, I would advise her to be patient, have faith in God, and believe that someday she will have a good life.