Keza Igirimpuhwe

Keza, which means “beautiful” in the Rwanda native Kinyarwanda language, is an enthusiastic smart girl born in 2009, who lives with her mother and 3 siblings (one of them is a student at Hope Shines as well, Nesta) in a one room mud house in a village on the outskirts of Kigali. Most recently, the family used to live in the city, but they had to move because they couldn't afford it anymore. As a result it now takes an hour for the kids to go to school. The mother is now planning to be relocated to help with this because she sees the value in Hope Shines and what is offered to support her children. At home, they do have limited electricity, but no access to clean water.

Keza’s mother often doesn't get work due to her lack of education and when she isn’t able to find a job for some time, the family suffers and only eats once a day, usually a rice and beans meal.

Keza is regularly attending primary school called the Ayabarya Primary School. She loves to study and to learn new things. Her favorite subject at school is Science and Technology. In school, she is one of the best performers among the students because she is so passionate about learning! At Hope Shines, she also loves the classes offered during the after-school program and is competitive with her classmates. Keza dreams becoming a news anchor as her career one day and her favorite sport to play is basketball.