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7.22.2007

Les Vulnerables - Meet some Friends

The next six posts will be introductions to some of the students being helped by the cooperative project between Rwanda Yearly Meeting and Portland area friends, NWYM.
These students are the ones
I met in February in Kigali.

We promised these kids nothing but to tell their stories. I have been doing so since I returned home. Due to the money already raised these six each already received one term of school fees. If you choose to help, you will be helping students like these, unfortunately their stories are all too common.

Our first student is
Musabimana Marie Louise



Marie is 20 years old. She was born in Gahanga, which is far outside of Kigali. Both of her parents are in prison - whether rightly or wrongly accused no one knows including Marie. They have been held 12 years without being brought to trial. She is one of 12 children, eight of whom survive. They live in their parent’s house, which she describes as falling down due to the rains - houses being made of adobe mud bricks. The oldest of her siblings hires out as a cultivator for small money and attempts buy enough food for the other seven. Besides Marie they have one of the younger ones in primary school. Marie is in the 6th form. She walks two hours to school each direction and eats one meal a day after she gets home at night. She says that studying is hard. Her dream is to go to university.