Rachel worked in a married girlfriend’s shop after she finished school to earn money. “One time when my friend’s husband was home, he let himself into my room while I was taking a shower, I was astonished to find him sitting on my bed. He attacked and raped me. It was shocking and embarassing to tell my friend what her husband had done. After missing my periods for three months and not feeling very well, I went to the health clinic to be tested and discovered I was pregnant. I contacted my friend’s husband and told him about my pregnancy, he was angry and told me to get an abortion, which I refused as I told everyone about my condition and feared having an abortion. He said cruelly, if I did not abort, he would not take any responsibility for the child. My friend learned about my pregnancy by her husband which ended our friendship. I had to abandon my studies and now challenged financially to support my son.”

Giselle lives in a hovel of a home comprised of an earthen floor, a matted small old bed perched on the floor and stacks of wood to sell for culinary fire. Being a recent single mother creates an immense sense of loneliness, the feeling of being lost Giselle remarked, it was one of the key reasons she joined the NAR Youth Club supporting single mothers. A boy from her neighbourhood raped her, at first, she didn’t report it, as she thought he would help her. He refused. Finally, she appealed to the local leaders, but they have been hopeless to provide any aid and support for the legal system. Her idea of peace is focussed on the idea of people working together in harmony.

Chantal claims that the man, 10 years her senior, encouraged her to have sex, she had no idea what the implications were. She was raped. A few months after the incident, she became pregnant, she reported him to the authorities. He has since disappeared. “ When I was abused, I had no knowledge of how you get pregnant, it was never discussed at home or in school, I thought you had to have sex multiple times to become pregnant”. After she learned of her pregnancy, her family were furious and forced her to live rough outside the house as punishment. In 2019 she became a member of the TEEN MOTHER CLUB, supported by Never Again Rwanda as a part of their ‘Gender Mainstream Programme to support victims of Domestic violence and rape.

As Claudine walks across the room, her reflection is caught in the hanging mirror. She became pregnant when she was 17 with a boy she barely knew at school. It was a shock when she discovered she was pregnant as her knowledge of reproductive health was limited. She joined the NAR, Never Again Rwanda youth club to overcome loneliness brought on with the birth of her daughter and the isolation from classmates. In the club she has met other ‘peer’ girls with very young children. She remarked during an informal interview how being a member of the club has encouraged her not to give up, and how to find solutions to problems. “I have learned what it means to be empowered, about how girls are more capable than they originally thought, they have the power to improve their lives.” To prevent further unplanned pregnancy, She has had an implant that lasts three years.

“I came from an exceptionally poor family where we never had enough food to feed out very hungry bellies. A man approached me with a promise he could give me things I didn’t have from my family, clothes, a mobile phone food, in exchange for sex”. Virtually a month after Jeanette agreed to his proposal. She fell pregnant, told the man, he then promptly disappeared and turned off his phone. Her parents were unhappy, and concerned she would bring shame to the family and threw her out of their home. Now a deserted tiny shop is home to Jeanette and her young daughter Bridget, 5 months. To earn money she works as a construction worker and washes clothes. In parting, she said: “Don’t fall int the trap of boy promising you things, they don’t love you and will abandon you”

“My family died in the Genocide, I have no family, no money, no identity paper to secure health insurance. I live in poverty. I have no peace in my life.” Jean is a single mother who struggles to raising her 3 boys as a result of poverty and abandonment. The father of her first 2 boys died a few years ago; her last born’s father abandoned her when she told him she was pregnant. Filled with loneliness and despair, she was encouraged to join the NAR youth club which had a reputation of supporting and providing guidance to single mothers with limited resources. She discovered in the ‘peer’ group that all these women had similar problems, some more severe than hers. Poverty she remarked through tears is the inability to have work to feed and educate my family.

Betty was raped three times by three different men throughout her teen years. At 16 by a policeman. The second time by her cousin and the third was when she had gone to Kigali to work as a house girl. Each rape resulted in Betty becoming pregnant. “Three months after the ordeal with the policeman, I told my parents I had been raped. They went to the authorities, but he was no longer working with the department. My life was hell, stigmatised by family and neighbours from the moment my first daughter was born. I left when a sympathetic male cousin rented a home for us. But that generosity came with a price, he forced me to sleep with him and found myself pregnant again at 18. After my second daughter was born, I found work in Kigali as a house girl in a family home. One evening the husband came to my bedroom and raped me. I remained silenced as I needed the money. A few months later I found myself pregnant again and decided to return to my parent’s home. My parents called me a whore. Because of the extreme stigma, we re-located to another village.

Odile recollects when she was 18, had finished secondary school and was preparing for university. “My passion was languages, which I excelled in and was looking forward to learning many foreign languages at university. One day after school I went to visit a friend, who was a motorcycle taxi driver, we weren’t romantically involved. Soon after I arrived, he attacked and raped me. It was shocking. After the rape I reported it to the police, but they said since I was 18, legally an adult, I needed to go to court to press charges. I had no money nor did my family so I couldn’t initiate the court proceedings. The boy disappeared after the incident. A few months later I discovered I was pregnant. Sadly I had to abandon my dream to attend university. My greatest challenges are all related to finance. ‘Girls of Detiny’ an NGO supported by NAR has been instrumental in trauma healing, I now have hope for the future, even thinking aout how I can go to university and pursue my dream."

“I was in and out of jail for many years. When incarcerated I was raped by female inmates, a o humiliating experience. On the street my only option was sex work to survive. I had no knowledge of reproductive health and that you could get pregnant from sex. I found myself pregnant when I was 13 when I was raped. It was people on the street observing me that said I should be tested, as I looked pregnant. This saddened me as I thought I was a child of rape and now I will give birth to a child of rape. After my baby was born, I developed a severe infection, but had no access to medical treatment. I was living in an abandoned house with other homeless desperate people. We had no toilets, or running water. I would go to the swamp to bathe myself and baby. An older man on the street offered me a home and food in return for sex, I live with him now but in fear I will be abandoned and living on the street again.

“When I was 16 years old, I was attending a boarding school with the dream of studying to be an engineer specialising in construction of roads and houses. The dream was destroyed because I was raped and became pregnant. The man, who raped me had invited me to his home to celebrate my achieving high marks in final exams, he was a family friend. I was naïve to have gone there. His invite was a pretence to sexually abused me. I was a virgin, I returned to my school too frightened to tell anyone. Sadly a few months later I discovered I was pregnant, had to abandon my studies and return to my parent’s home. Today, through a special programme supported by NAR and USAID I have trained to be a tailor to support my daughter Chanelle, not the dream I hoped for, but I have skills to prevent grinding poverty.”

High up in the hills of a tiny village in Nyanza, Theresa 18, sits with her young son Jean Paul, 18 month’s in her grandmother’s home. Th access is by a 2 kilometre trek along a perilous narrow path. The home is part of an enclave of other mud clad houses including 2 cows, which are a part of the government’s scheme to rebuild the shattered lives of Genocide survivors. Theresa was raped one afternoon when she was 16, almost 2 years ago as she was on a road to visit her parents. She discovered her pregnancy a few months later when she was suffering from exhaustion. After the diagnosis she seriously considered an abortion, she didn’t want the child but one of the counsellors at the centre said” ‘I you have an abortion, it would be the same thing as Genocide, you would be a killer”. Her words frightened me, and I decided not to pursue aborting. She said sadly that having to give up school due to lack of funds and the responsibility of motherhood diminishes following dreams.

Clarisse left her home in rural Gisagara to work as a house girl in the capital Kigali when she was 14. She had abandoned attending school as there was no money. She met a boy whilst working for a family, their friendship evolved to being lovers. After a few months she experienced extreme morning sickness which the family recognised and sent her away. When she came home, her mother suspected her being pregnant and had her tested, which confirmed she was more than 3 months pregnant. Because she was under the age of consent, the hospital could not offer any birth control after she had given birth to her daughter 4 months ago. She is a recent member of the NAR peace club which supports single mothers. Peace for her is about being free to choose how you live. Curiously when questioned, she had no knowledge of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

Sylvia sits with her baby Fabrice, 17 months, outside her mother’s home in a rural region in Gisagara, in the South of Rwanda. Many adolescents there, living in abject poverty, go to the capital Kigali to work as a ‘house girl/boy’ for middle class families, as there is limited work opportunities in their home village. Sylvia was 16 when she found work in the capital. She became friends with a neighbour’s ‘house boy’. He tricked her to visit him saying he was ill. He raped her. She was in fear of losing her job so did not report him to the authorities. After a few weeks she experienced morning sickness. The family she worked for suspected she was pregnant and fired her. She was forced to return to her home village. Sylvia lives with her mother. Her future is bleak as she falls deeper into the trap of being a single teen mother with limited financial support. The only work she finds is digging in a neighbour’s garden earning 60 cents a day.

“I was working as a house girl in Kigali when the rape occurred. The guard disappeared the following morning. When the family I worked for discovered I was pregnant, they fired me without wages. After I returned to my local village and reported the incident, they were hopeless, and refused to help.” Although Divine is living in grinding poverty, her small home is immaculate. She has fostered a very loving relationship with her daughter. Her dream is to earn enough money to become a goat keeper to pave the way out of poverty. Although literate, in this remote community there are few jobs. Her income is provided by working in the fields. As a member of NAR, she has learned valuable skill in managing money and also the social concept of Women’s empowerment. The club also provides comradery with like minded women.

Once off Rwanda’s few main well paved and maintained roads, that are the gateways to their districts, roads are formed of earth and unmarked. This road leads to a small village in Kabaya. Kabaya, Ngororero District, Rwanda. 20th September 2022

“I am on orphan. My mother died when I was 10, my dad remarried; eight years later he also died. My step-mother became head of household and treated me badly, I wasn’t part of her extended family, no love and she didn’t even share food with me. I was totally unhappy, left home and went to Kigali to work as a house girl for a middle-class family living in a gated community. There I earned $10 a month living in the family home. One evening the guard asked me to bring food, he attacked and raped me. I was too frightened and embarrassed to tell the family what happened. A few months later, I realised I was probably pregnant, I never reported it to the authorities as I thought it cost money, and went back to my family village. After my son was born my step-mother treated me with contempt, no interest in her grandchild. I survive through the efforts of kind neighbours. ‘Girls of Destiny’, an NGO supported by NAR has helped me build my confidence. I feel less lonely, have friends who are in similar circumstances, single mothers with no support.”

“I was 16 when my step-father raped me. The shame and disgrace was traumatic. I didn’t report or tell anyone because I was afraid that would have created a family crisis. I missed my period for a few months and thought I was pregnant, I went to the medical clinic who confirmed my pregnancy. I confronted my stepfather, he begged for forgiveness and not to tell anyone because he would be in chains in jail for 25 years. Rape is a crime in Rwanda punishable by 25 years in jail if trialed and found guilty. I told my grandmother, her advise was not to report to the police or anyone else, simply because if my stepfather was put in jail, the result would be the breaking up of the marriage and family.” - Christine

“Often we go to bed hungry, I rarely work so no money to buy the most basic things. I left school at a very young age and worked in Kigali as a house girl to help support my family, especially my father who was a cripple with only one leg. One time when I returned to visit, a boy I knew invited me to his house, forced himself on me and raped me. I didn’t report it because I was afraid my parents would be angry. My thought was best to keep quiet. Five months after the rape everyone knew that I was pregnant. My family was furious and said, as did my neighbours, 'I allowed the rape to happen'. They threw me out of the home. Now I live in the kitchen house, with little protection from the elements. The baby and I suffer from the endless soot and smoke created by the cooking on wood burning stove. My family has totally abandoned me.”

“When I was 18 I was raped by a friend who called and said he was sick and wanted me to visit him. When I came in, he closed the door and sexually attacked me. I was too embarassed to report it to anyone. Four months later my body was changing, I didn’t know what was happening to me. I asked a good friend and she said looking at me I was probably pregnant. I was frightened to tell my family and didn’t until I was entering my seventh month. My family abused me, they were unsympathetic, I felt abandoned and in fear for my future.”

Like many girls living in poverty, they go to the capital, Kigali to work as house girls to earn money. Whilst working for a family Esther became friends with a boy working in the same house, he convinced her to have sex. The following day, he left the house and a few months later she suspected she was pregnant. Esther was tested at the hospital and was unable to find the boy to reveal he had made her pregnant and also to see if she could secure support from him. She was forced to leave and return home to Huye to live with her mother and brothers. Esther’s family home is nestled on a patch of land surrounded by banana trees. It is remote.

Rwanda is blessed with landscapes filed with undulating rolling hills doted with rows of planted crops. Kabaya, Ngororero District, Rwanda. 20th September 2022

Amelia sits in her parent hoe as she reveals the incident whilst she was attending a boarding school. She was 14 when the boy accosted her, she was terrified to tell anyone. About four months later, the head mistress noticed her body was changing and took her to the clinic for a pregnancy test which was positive. She identified the boy who was from the local village. He was a minor, 17 who legally could not be prosecuted. The village leaders decided there was nothing they can do to help me and requested the boy’s parents to provide support. They have not. After my son was born, I was lonely, I felt isolated, I had no friends, I was no longer in school. I joined the NAR youth club, since becoming a member my confidence has been built, loneliness has melted away. The club has taught me about savings for the future and education about sexual reproductive health which I was ignorant. NAR has been instrumental in my managing the challenges in my life.

A leader at her school invited her to his home to talk about her studies, once there he made advances and raped her. She threatened to report him to the authorities as she was concerned, she might become pregnant and would be forced to abandon her studies. He pleaded and said she need not worry as he would take care of her. A few months later she discovered she was pregnant and when she told the man, he was in denial and said it must be another man. Coincidently, at the time, he was being transferred to another district and became un-contactable. After her son was born, Donata joined a NAR Youth Club where she learned about managing money, savings and how to create a business. Recently she opened a shop. Her challenges are the issue of earning enough from the shop for basic necessities, and ability to save for her son’s education. Curiously soon after she opened her small shop, there was nasty gossip about how a woman, single mother be successful at running a business alone and probably have other children with no father at home.

Rosine became an orphan when she was in her mid-teens, first her mother passed and then her dad a few years later. With limited finances, she had to leave school as there was no money for fees. In her local village she became friends with a music DJ. One afternoon he invited her to visit at his home. As soon as the door closed, he became aggressive and raped her. After his assault he warned her not to report to the authorities because he said, if they put me in jail, who will support you if you become pregnant. She was frightened, vulnerable and decided not to take any action against him. A few months later she discovered she was pregnant. She rang the boy, and told him. He said don’t worry we will work it out, a few days later she rang to discover he had turned off his phone and disappeared.

There is a 3 kilometre walk up a treacherous steep mud clad road to reach Libertha’s tiny home she shares with her mother. Their house is no larger than 2 metres long and 1 metre wide, devoid of any bedding, furniture, and open to the elements. They live in an exceptionally remote village with no access roads for vehicles. She had been working in Kigali as a house girl and one evening as she walked back from a shopping errand, a man jumped out of the bushes, dragged her off the road and raped her. When she returned to the home where she was working, dishevelled and bruised, she told the woman what had happened. Instead of advising her to go to a hospital and be examined and report the rape to the village elders, she simply said if you miss a period, tell me, the following month she told her it was missed and she was fired. Libertha returned to her home, considered an abortion but her mother convinced her to accept the child.

Pharida and her mother sit outside their tiny poverty ridden home. She has wrapped herself in a shawl, this to hide her pregnancy from malicious gossip of neighbours and to avoid stigma. She was an innocent 15 year old when she became involved with a man running a small local shop. He insisted that she stay over night at his home and have sex to prove her love for him. A local leader observed she had stayed in the man’s house and went to see her mother, demanding to know how she allowed her young daughter to stay overnight at a man’s house who was 13 years older than her. He accused her mother of selling an underage girl to the man, “My mother and the man were arrested, I protested, but the local leaders did not believe me.” The authorities took Pharida to the hospital to be tested, she was pregnant. She pleaded with them that she wasn’t raped. They finally agreed to release her mother and the man from prison. The man sold his shop and disappeared. “These last months I have hidden my pregnancy to avoid stigma.”

In a spartan earthen floor house, Godeberthe sits on a straw mat with her baby, just 4 months old. She was raped by a boy she knew when she visited at his home. It had shocked her. After a few months she discovered she was pregnant and went to the authorities. The boy disappeared, “When my friends discovered I was pregnant, they deserted me, Isolation became a depressing challenge. Thankfully her parents have been supportive during these very challenging ties of her life. Now her concerns are over-coming the inherent poverty of her circumstances. There is meagre money for food, no money for clothes and fees to return to school. She recently joined the NAR Club as she heard they had an excellent reputation of teaching about savings and an opportunity to be with peers to help reduce the feeling of loneliness.

The twin lakes Burera and Ruhondo located at the base of the Muhabura Volcano (dormant for 1000+ years)