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Sep 14

Fulgence Niyongana

Age: 14 years old

Time at FIDESCO: 1 year

“I would like to be a person who helps others, teaches others and is kind to children.”
-          Fulgence, June 2013

“I will be happiest when I am no longer part of the statistic that counts the number of street children in my country.”
-          Fulgence, June 2013

My story:

Fulgence was at the Transit Center for eight months. He asked to go home, and the staff and guards there told him that he had to wait for FidesCo to come and legally take him. He was brought to FidesCo, and discovered he would learn how to dance.…

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Sep 14

Félix Ndayisenga

Félix Ndayisenga

Age: 15 years old

Felix is originally from Kigali. He has five brothers and two sisters, and only one parent, his mother. He left home in order to find food. His other siblings find jobs on the streets during the day and then come back home at night, but Felix stayed on the street.

One day, Felix stole a pushcart, and the police found him and took him to the Transit Center. He was there for three weeks where he would often find himself dreaming about his life.

While there, he regretted stealing the pushcart. Then one day, he saw a man from FidesCo come to the Transit Center.…

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CategoriesStories of Children
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Sep 14

Alphonse Nzayisenya

Alphonse Nzayisenya

Age: 13 years old
Time spent at FidesCo: 13 months (as of June 2013)

Both of Alphonse’s parents are alive, but when he lived at home, his father did nothing for the family. Every time Alphonse asked his father to pay for his school fees, he beat him. Alphonse tried to live with his grandmother, but she could not pay for his school fees. His grandmother wanted his father to be more responsible for his kids. She could pay for either his school materials or his school fee, but not both.

Alphonse left to the streets because his father refused to pay his school fees.…

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Apr 22

Passy Gakimane

Passy Gakimane

Passy’s formal name is Pacifique, but he is known all over Kigali as “Passy” because he is one of the best local hip hop dancers.  Now, he is 14 years old, but he has been dancing at special events throughout Rwanda since the age of 8.  He is a completely self-taught hip hop dancer and only started learning contemporary dance with RDDC four years ago.

Unfortunately, Passy’s talent has not been enough to stabilize a safe, secure lifestyle.  He is one of four brothers that lived with a struggling mother before being forced onto the street to search for food.  He briefly lived in the shelter of another NGO in Kigali, but one night in 2009, the entire organization was shut down due to mismanagement and he found himself back on the street.…

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CategoriesSponsored Children, Stories of Children
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Apr 22

Patrick Goes to School

Sonrise Boarding School

Patrick received sponsorship in January 2013 to go to school.  He moved from the rehabilitation center in Kigali to Sonrise Boarding School, where he is enrolled in primary school (Grade 3).  The Sonrise teachers are already saying that Patrick is the most intelligent student yet to come from the street to their school.…

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CategoriesStories of Children
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