Mutesi (not real name) was a young and energetic 13-year-old teenager, who was studying at school and with a bright future ahead of her when the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi happened. She, unfortunately, she lost both her parents and her four older siblings. After the Genocide, she was connected to her maternal auntie, with whom she started to stay with. As bad luck would have it, her auntie’s husband raped her; she got pregnant and contracted the HIV/AIDs virus, which exacerbated her situation. When the auntie got to know about it, she expelled Mutesi from her home and she was left to hassle solely. Well, she moved from one place to another in search of shelter and a meal to survive the next day. Fast forward, she gave birth and only a few months down the road, she was pregnant again. Mutesi was now a bitter mother of two and one with no hope. In 2015 when NAR started the societal healing and participatory governance program, Mutesi was one of the participants and she went through 4 years of psychosocial support.
Recently she reached out to us and she told us how she was able to pick up her pieces, embraced her life and became more hopeful. She enrolled for a technical course and she is optimistic of what the life has in store for her.
Mutesi had lost the sparkle in her eyes and she had lost hope of fulfilling the dream she once had of becoming a successful woman in whatever sphere. Helping people like Mutesi is one of the priorities of Never Again Rwanda and such success stories are the reason we keep holding on to our mission “Empower communities for Peace and Social Justice”.