When war broke out in Rwanda in 1994 due to the genocide, many families fled in search of peace. Josephine,23, and her family were among those that left the country for fear of their lives
Her father, Nsabimana, moved with his wife to Tanzania. It’s there that Josephine was born. In 2001, UNHCR moved him together with other refugees into Uganda, and here he had more three children
In 2009, Josephine lost his mother and she left behind a 2-month-old baby. She was 10 years at the time and she was now in charge of looking after him and giving him all the care he needed.
In 2012, when the baby was older, she resumed school and managed to complete primary level through thick and thin.
It was when she joined secondary at Nakivale Secondary School that AIRD started sponsoring her education.” AIRD paid for my school fees, bought me scholastic materials, and met all my school needs. If it was not for AIRD, I would perhaps be married off to one of the village men and my brother would not be in school. Am glad I kept in school” says Josephine
She completed her secondary education in 2022 and managed to score 12 points out of 20. To get some income to support and look after her family, Josephine got a temporary job with Tutapona, an organisation that offers counseling services to refugees. She currently earns 200,000/=($54) per month, through interpreting to refugees through meetings.
She has managed to pay for her brother’s school fees, provides for her sister’s personal needs, and also met her basic requirements
Josephine’s dream is to be a social worker and help refugees to attain education and improve their economic standards.