Dativa Dusabimana

Dativa is a sweet girl, born in 2009, who lives with both parents, 4 brothers and 2 sisters (one of them is a student at Hope Shines as well, Nikuze) in an old one roomed mud house without electricity in Nyamirambo, Kigali. The house itself is not well-constructed or stable at all. Anytime incliment weather arrives, the house gets damaged and recently a heavy rain damaged the roof and walls of the home.

The family usually has one meal a day only, and sometimes they do not even eat due to the financial struggles of the parents. Coming to the learning center of Hope Shines, Dativa gets at least 4 full meals per week, which is offered during the after-school program she attends. For work, her father is a cobbler and her mother doesn't work at all due to having major heart complications. However, the family is stable and the environment is positive for Dativa and her brothers and sisters but they remain extremely poor.

Since joining Hope Shines, Dativa has become a happier and healthier child and she really likes attending school. In primary school her favorite subject is Kinyarwanda, the native language of Rwanda. She says she wants to become a nurse or an engineer who will build tall houses in Rwanda when she grows up! Dativa likes to sing and to dance the traditional Rwandan dance.