The living room is small, dark, and cool. The floor is made of rammed earth, and the windows are covered with two green-painted wooden boards to block the bright morning light.The walls of the living room are very smooth with cement.

Josephine Mukampunga, a 46-year-old mother, lives here with her five children. Her family life improved since 2021 when she became a beneficiary of the Uburumbuke Iwacu project implemented by SOS Children’s Villages in Rwanda, in Nyamiyaga sector, Jamba cell, in Gicumbi District.

In 2021, Josephine’s life was weighed down by a family conflict with her husband. Her children were not attending school, and there were times when they went to bed very hungry. “I was very depressed for many years because of issues I had with my husband. My husband has been cohabiting with four women for the last 21 years.”

Although he did not have time for all his co-wives,” she said, “my husband failed to cope with the persistent conflicts and was not able to support his children,” Josephine said. She remembers the unforgettable day when she became one of the Uburumbuke Iwacu project participants.

The staff from SOS Children’s Village in Byumba, led by one of the one of the staff from Uburumbuke Iwacu Project visited my family.

“I remember they came with local authorities to enroll me into the project and asked about the status of my family. After only one week, they called me to participate in conflict resolution training.”

Unfortunately, my husband passed away a few days after joining the project. From the project, Josephine received a cow. She started to use the manure from the cow for her agriculture produce.
”Before getting the cow, I did not manage to harvest even 20 kg of beans, but now I harvest 300kg of beans.” Josephine became a member of the Village Savings and Loans Association in Jamba cell, in Gicumbi district, in the North of Rwanda.

The Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLAs) was established by SOS Children’s Villages to encourage project participants to save and receive small loans with interest.

With the money from the VSLA, Josephine bought a goat to improve her income. It now stands and grunts contentedly in an enclosure next to her house. Josephine strokes the goat’s back. She takes good care of it because it is the family’s biggest investment.

Josephine has worked her way up with the help of the Village Savings and Loans Association and training on financial literacy. Today, all her three children go to school, and the two oldest ones are married. “The Uburumbuke Iwacu project supported my children. They resumed their studies. Two of them studied mechanics and the youngest is in secondary school with the support of SOS Children’s Villages in Rwanda,”

Josephine added, “Just as things were looking brighter for Josephine, her house needed to be renovated. She said, “I am doing my best to renovate my house and connect it to electricity.”