Janvier’s Story: From Hopeless to Hopeful

My name is Janvier. I am 15 years old. My father passed away before I even turned one year old. I never got the chance to know him. I grew up without a father, and I am the only boy among three children; the rest are my sisters. Seeing other kids share stories about their fathers was my first trauma. It wasn’t until I reached sixth grade in primary school that my mother sat me down and told me the full truth about my father.

We grew up with nothing. No land, no property. Life was incredibly hard for me and my siblings. The local government helped cover my school fees so I could study. The house we live in was built for us by Compassion International, because my younger sister was enrolled in their support program.

While I was in primary school, there were days I would come home at noon and find no one there. No food, no family. On such days, I would go to our neighbors. They were kind to me. They would share their food, because back home we only had one meal a day, if we were lucky.

Things got even harder for my sisters. They had to drop out of school to help our mother find ways to survive. Even though I was still in school, I knew our situation. I studied under constant pressure, always reminding myself that I needed to succeed—not just for me, but for my mother, to lift her out of the poverty she had struggled with all her life.

I worked hard. I did my best. And eventually, I passed the national exam that concludes the third year of secondary school. But even after that success, I had no hope of continuing. I looked around and saw no path forward, no money, no support, and no clear future.

Then something unexpected happened. People from Arise Rwanda came and spoke to us. They listened to my story, asked about my grades, and then told me they would help me. They offered to support my education in the field of construction, a path I had been assigned and truly believed in.

Arise Rwanda, thank you.
Thank you for giving me a chance to continue my education.
Thank you for restoring my hope, for helping me believe again that a better tomorrow is possible.
Because of you, I am no longer just a poor child without a future. I am now a student with purpose, with dreams, and with hope.