Bruce Nkusi

I am 15 years old and live in Kicukiro, an area of Kigali.  I live with my mother, three sisters and one younger brother.  I am in secondary school and like to study chemistry and mathematics.  I also play basketball and am good at it.

At home, we have a happy family, but we don’t have a daddy.  I never knew my father.

My mother has another man and he is the father of two of my sisters.  He is a nice man, but he had an accident and he cannot work.  My mother doesn’t work, so it is difficult for me to pay school fees.  I don’t want to ask someone to help me; instead, when there is a holiday, I try to find some work so I can earn money to pay my school fees.  However, the problem is having money to eat in the afternoon and evening too.  Now, it is also difficult to find work and sometimes people tell me that I am too young to know how to work well.  No one in my family, not even my uncle, can help me with my studies.  Next year, I am supposed to take my examinations, but I don’t know if I will be able to pay my school fees.

The clothes I am wearing now are the clothes that my friends gave me.  If I find some money, I use it to buy my brother and sisters clothes.  One of my sisters is going to go to school, so I am happy for her.

My friend told me about the dance program here.  These are my best days.  I really like to dance.