Ntwari is 15 years old and currently in primary 6 (top year of primary). His mum has been in prison since he was small – just two or three years old. Initially, the neighbours originally looked after him and his sister, but after a few years this got less reliable, especially for Ntwari because he was a boy. So about 4 or 5 years ago he gave up on being able to go to school and ran off to Kigali and started living on the streets at the Kiduruduru site as had nowhere else to go.
In 2022, he started responding to the GNPDR street kids programme, where Jeremiah and Angelique, the programme staff, offered a listening ear, access to health care, and counselling. This also included encouragement to return to school, and in 2023 Ntwari decided to give it a try.
Unfortunately, there was too much peer pressure from other street kids, and he didn’t stay at school for long but went back to the streets. However, once back on the streets he reconnected with the GNPDR team, who continued to support him and give him encouragement and hope.
Earlier this year, Ntwari decided to try again with school, and this time it has all worked out. He is now living with foster carers and has decided that he is going to continue with school until he completes it. He’d then like to be a driver so that he can travel and discover more of Rwanda and Africa. GNPDR give some financial support for his school fees to reduce the burden on his foster carers.