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. He put his hand up to indicate that he wanted to go to FidesCo. Felix remembers that it was a Friday when the man came back for him in a car.

On the first day, Felix didn’t like being at FidesCo, and he kept reminiscing about street life. He wanted his freedom. He used to tell the other kids to escape with him. But one day, Isidor, a staff worker at FidesCo, talked to them about the good things in life. Felix meditated about what he had said. He decided the streets were not good. He confessed to Isidor the thoughts he had been having: escaping, street life, and finding a better place where he could be free and express himself.

Over time, Felix adapted to life and FidesCo and now he feels good and likes living there. The teachers keep encouraging the boys to love each other and to support one another. They tell them that there are “no good things on the streets.”

Felix’s mindset has completely changed by now.  His dream is to become a leader because, “it’s a good career.” He wants to protect poor people because he believes he was born to help others. He is on the side of those who struggle in life. For them, he will be an advocate.

At home, Felix remembers that he was lonely. During the day, most of the kids were on the streets just trying to survive. His mom did not have a steady job, but she did odd jobs like washing people’s clothing and helping farmers. But, Felix had to leave that home life because there was no food and no chance to go to school.

When he lived on the streets, he would go to restaurants and pretend that he had enough money to order. He would eat, and then, making sure to avoid the server, he would leave. Other days he would go to rich apartments and steal shoes, clothes, and batteries, and later sell them. He lived on the street for one year. Street life was strange for Felix.  His favorite thing was stealing cell phones from other people, and yet he also liked sitting and listening to people talk about life.

Now, Felix is happy that he can live at FidesCo, but he is worried what will happen when he has to leave the center.  He always thinks about his life and his future.