Case studies: former SOS child Kigali

In this talk, Rachel, a former SOS child from the SOS Children's Village Kigali, Rwanda tells us what it was like to grow up at the SOS Children's Village Kigali and what she has achieved since.

Rachel was ten years old when she arrived at the SOS Children's Village Kigali in 1980 with her six brothers and sisters, after the death of their parents. She spent a great part of her childhood in the Kigali village, under the care of "mama" Bernadette, an SOS mother who taught her the fundamental values of life such as work, love, and the sense of responsibility. Rachel left the village in 1990. Aged thirty six at present, she is married and the mother of three children. She is the proprietor of one of the biggest supermarkets in Kigali. She has a distinguished clientele and her business works well. In this conversation, she speaks about her life in the village, her relationships with her SOS mother and her SOS siblings and the work of SOS mothers.

About her life in the village
I arrived at SOS Children's Village Kigali village in 1980, after the death of my father and my mother. The family was so poor that there was nobody to take care of us, we seven children were left alone. One of my uncles who had heard about SOS Children's Villages went to Kigali, in order to know if we could be accepted in the village. The village agreed to take us and all of us were warmly received by the village director, who came personally to pick us up at the village where we were living with our grandparents. I didn't cry when we were leaving, I don't know exactly why. Maybe because we were all together, my six brothers and sisters. Or because we were leaving the village for the city, synonym of better living conditions (she smiles). I really couldn't explain.

We realised a very good atmosphere at the Kigali village with most of the children being our age. We also got a good family house, a new mother called "mama" Bernadette and especially food, what we missed a lot. On that evening, we had our dinner with several other children and SOS mothers who came to welcome us.

Life in the village was so pleasant. Our SOS mother was so lovely and so maternal that one could never imagine that we came from different backgrounds and different environments. She treated us like her own children. There were no differences between my six brothers and sisters and my SOS siblings. We were like children of the same parents. We did all our activities together. We went to school together, we studied together, we played together, and we ate together. All in all, our life was very beautiful and very natural. This was more beautiful especially during the holidays, Christmas and Easter. Carols, Christmas foods and Christmas presents can not be easily forgotten. On these occasions, we often invited our classmates and our friends from the surrounding communities and we really had fun together.

Our school was not far from the village. One could easily see it from our family house. Our classmates were children from the village and also from the surrounding communities. After my primary studies, I went to secondary school but I did not complete my training because I found a job. I left the village in 1990 together with three of my brothers and sisters. I found a job six months later. I had no problems to find a job. I can affirm that I was lucky. I rented a flat in the city where I was living with my brothers and sisters.

I got married in 1996 and I have three children at present, two boys and a girl. The eldest child (the boy) is ten years old, and the youngest one is four years old.

Her relationships with her SOS mother and her SOS siblings

My relationships with my SOS mother and my SOS siblings are excellent. Let me tell you a small story on it. A few years ago, one of my children asked me if I was born in the Kigali village and if my former SOS mother is my biological mother. He came to ask me the question as the spokesman, but I discovered that all of my children have already discussed that among them and they only wanted the confirmation from my part. Nothing was said to them before, this was only because they saw how deep my relationships with the village are, and they concluded that my former SOS mother and my SOS siblings might be the only family I have. Then, I took the time to explain them that I lost my parents very early and that I have grown up in SOS Children's Village Kigali which became my family.

Our relationships are the same like when I was living there, the only difference is that I am autonomous today. Every time I have a minute, I take the opportunity to visit my SOS siblings and I give them all the support that I can. I help those who have completed their training to find a job, and I also receive those who are still in school for practise. I feel obliged to do it because I consider them as my real brothers and sisters. They feel happy to know that they have an elder sister on whom they can count and in whom they can confide when there is something wrong.

I also visit my former SOS mother "mama" Bernadette (who still in service) regularly as well as other mothers and aunts (family helpers). We are really very close and we often have fun together. The relationships that we had are so deep that they go beyond the simple education that we received in the village. These links can not be easily broken, even though I am out of the village.

Another thing which strengthens our relationship is that my children are in the SOS Schools. The daughter is in the kindergarten and the boys are in primary school. Everybody knows them and everybody loves them. Due to that, I am forced to pass through the village every day, because I have to drive them in the morning and in the afternoon. So, I am permanently in contact with the village.

In my opinion, SOS Schools are better compared to other schools here in Kigali. School fees are not high and the quality of the education is excellent.

Her opinion on the work of SOS mothers

I pay tribute to SOS mothers because they do a very difficult job. You cannot see the dimension of this work when you are still a child. It is when you have your own family that you can measure and understand how difficult it is to work as an SOS mother. Imagine a woman taking care of nine or ten children, in some case eleven (You know how families in Africa are extended). It is very difficult for her, not only because there are a lot of children but because they come from different backgrounds with different cultures and different behaviours. But, the SOS mothers I saw in the village always succeeded very well. SOS mothers are generally very motivated in their daily work. I hope this will always be the case and this is very beneficial for the children. I also have the impression that the organisation supports them in their efforts and that is a very good thing.

I advise women to become SOS mothers, because it is a noble work. SOS mothers embody life and hope. They are engaged with children who are abandoned, who have nobody and no future prospects. I think every SOS mother is proud to see "her" children succeed in their professional lives and become responsible people. At this time, she will certainly say 'thanks to my contribution, these children became responsible people'.

In my case, we were nine orphaned children from a very poor family. Nobody was ready to care for us; we had no future (the voice filled with emotion). Seven of us were entrusted to a woman whom we have never seen and who treated us like her own children. Of the seven of us who were in the Kigali village, one died during the 1994 genocide. Five of them work here in Kigali and one is in Belgium, where she will soon complete her studies in medicine. Six months ago, with the support of my husband, I opened a big supermarket where everything can be found for a European and African clientele. I am not rich, but I am out of the need as well as my family. I am also able to help those who need my support every time when I am sought-after.

All these successes are the fruit of the devotion of our SOS mother who dedicated all her energy for our education. We were lucky to have grown up in the village, because there is too much poverty around us, and little adequate structures for the care of orphans and abandoned children. I thank God to have driven us towards SOS Children's Villages Kigali. Thanks to the help of this organisation, I am a respectable woman today (with a smile). I wish that the family relationship that we tie never breaks down, even when the children leave the village. The former and the new SOS children have to know each other, because we are and we remain brothers and sisters.

SOS Children has been working in Rwanda since 1978 and today has three SOS Children's Villages at Kigali in centre of the country; Byumba in the north and Gikongoro in the south. a total of over 400 children have been welcomed to these SOS Children's Villages and a further 13,000 are supported in the community through SOS Medical Centres.

To give a family for life to children in Rwanda you can sponsor a child.