Timothee Mwizihire

I am the son of Theogene Rurangirwa and Felicite Bazarama, and I was born in the Southern Province of Rwanda in a place called Kamonyi. I have an elder sister. She was 6, and I was 5 years old when the genocide happened.

Before the genocide, my father taught French at a secondary school. He had studied French literature at a university. My mother, who had completed secondary school, taught at a primary school. We were not poor, and my parents reached the highest level of studies that Tutsis of that time could achieve. We had our own nine-room house that my father had constructed himself. At that time, the Rwandan franc had more value, and teaching at secondary school was considered a good job.

When the genocide started, we moved with my mother to a neighboring Hutu family. Some Hutu families were moderate and did not participate in the killing. Since they were not targeted they were able to hide their Tutsi friends in their homes. My father stayed in our house for about three days and eventually moved to another family to hide. I was young and did not understand much of what was happening, but I was told that my father and grandfather were killed in the same area. We found them long after they were killed, and we properly buried them. Many of the dead remained unburied during the genocide.

My elder sister, my mother, who was pregnant with my younger brother at the time, and I were hidden by a man who was a good friend of ours. He provided food for us while we stayed at his house. We are truly grateful for everything he has done for us. He still visits us now. We really can’t imagine how we can repay him; only God knows.

After the genocide, we moved to Kigali in hopes of a better life. Many Tutsi families made this move from the countryside to the city, because there were more opportunities available to them there. We settled down in Nyamirambo, an area of Kigali. We entered and occupied a house that was abandoned by one of the perpetrators of the genocide who was exiled to the Congo. When exiled Rwandans in Congo returned to Kigali, they claimed their houses that were occupied at that time by genocide survivors. That was the case for us.

Luckily, when we were forced out of this home, FARG, a fund that assists genocide survivors, had constructed houses for 150 families of widows and orphans of the genocide in Kimironko, a suburb of Kigali. With help from friends and family, we put in some basic construction elements like a cement floor, etc. The district finished the rest of the construction for us and now the houses in the district are beautiful yet modest. We live happily in the home we were given; we hope to grow up in it and continue our education while we recreate the nine-room house my father built.

I was so relieved to be accepted as an ORI scholar. I plan on studying very hard to be the best I can be and reach my goals for the future. In the meantime, I have been dedicated to reconstructing the house for my family in remembrance of the home we had when I was a child. In memory of my father, who was fond of literature and languages, I have done my best to be a polyglot and excel in English, French and other languages. As a result of my linguistic performance, I was accepted by ORI. I’ll have the opportunity to continue my education as an ORI scholar. I thank all those who take care for me and all my teachers who have and are continuing to help me to achieve my goals. I am so proud of what I have achieved in my 19 years and with hope and dedication, I’m going to achieve much more.

Thanks to ORI, the donors, my friends and family-and most of all, thanks to our friend who helped my family hide during the genocide; he saved our lives, and now we will live to see many of our dreams realized.