Tent Makers of Rwanda

Uwiringiyimana Chantel

This testimony is from one of the ladies that went through the Phoenix Home.

"My name is Uwiringiyimana Caantel. I was born in Bugasera and I’m 23. When I was eight years old my mother died. I was brought up by my grandmother because my father abandoned us after my mother died. My grandmother didn’t show us any love, she favored her own children and she tortured us. After genocide in 1994 I began going to school in when I was 11 years old. I only was able to attend school for 3 years because my grandmother refused to pay for school fees. I stopped going to school and tried to cultivate.

One day a man came to the our village when I was 15 years old and my grandmother said I had to go and live in his home in the city to work for him. The work was so much and they didn’t pay me. Occasionally I’d get some clothing but I had to care for 10 children, all the cooking, cleaning, etc. After three years I left and tried to back home. When I arrived, my grandmother was very mean to me and would try to intimidate me. I decided to go back to Kigali. I got a job as a house girl after searching for work.

My life became even worse. I worked for many; some pay and some did not. I developed a habit of going with different men, which resulted in the birth of my daughter Calisse. After giving birth I looked for the father, but couldn’t find him so I went back to the village. My life was worsened. My Grandmother tortured me. She wouldn’t even give me a piece of soap to clean myself. So I began to look for work in the village and couldn’t find any. When Clarisse was ten months old I came back to Kigali. I knew some women who took me to the market to find a job. I began peeling beans and peas. I earned 300 Francs (less than 50 cents) per day if I worked early in the morning until late into the night. That amount wouldn’t even  buy me lunch. The result was I couldn’t afford housing so I slept in houses that were under construction. When the owners discovered I was there I had to move quickly. I slept in four different houses. My baby was always sick with worms and malaria. The last house I was in, there was an old man who also stayed there who made it a bad situation. He used to disturb me asking for sex, when I refused he’d make me sleep outside.

 Then I saw a muzungoo coming to help me. Mama Linda came and prayed with me giving me a word of encouragement saying the Lord is capable for taking you out of this place. I gained faith and started thinking positively."