My name is Gakuru Vestine from Rwanda, and I am an alumnus of the FAWE\/Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. I was born in a humble family in rural Rutsiro district in Western Province in May 1991.\u00a0 My twin brother Gato Joseph and I are the third-born children among six siblings.\u00a0 My parents are subsistence farmers who did not believe in the education of a girl child beyond primary school.\u00a0 My brother and I started primary school in 1997 at Murunda Primary School.\u00a0 I repeated primary 2 twice due to illness.\u00a0 I later felt better and continued with my education.<\/p>\n
My educational journey<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n My performance in school was very good and this posed a threat to my parents.\u00a0 My mother did everything to get me out of school, even threatening to commit suicide if I proceeded to secondary school.<\/p>\n These were her words to me.\u00a0 She even advised me to deliberately fail the National Primary Leaving Exams. She claimed the family did not have the means to educate me as a girl child but preferred to educate my twin brother who had left me in primary school and was in senior two by then. \u00a0When my mother delivered another set of twins, she forced me to be their babysitter.\u00a0 To please her, when I sat for the primary six national exams, I deliberately failed; to her amusement, I got only 7%.\u00a0 Everyone was shocked given that I was not that academically weak.\u00a0 I then chose to abandon my education out of fear of being orphaned.<\/p>\n A fresh start at the age of 20<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Despite pressure from my mother, and with the support of my twin brother who had just finished secondary school, I managed to go back to primary five in 2010 at the age of 20 years. This still upset my parents and I was denied food and scholastic materials as punishment. My brother had to pluck blank pages from exercise books and improvised notebooks for me.\u00a0 Switching from French to English as a language of instruction in school was yet another huddle to jump.\u00a0 To the surprise of many who knew what I was going through, I passed the National Primary Leaving Examination with a division one grade of 19 points.\u00a0 I had passed very well I could go to a good boarding school but had no support from my parents.\u00a0 With the support of my brother, I could only go to a day school not far from home.<\/p>\n My brother, my only support, had joined university and life was very hard for him too, getting scholastic materials for himself and mine was yet another challenge.\u00a0 I also had to make do without lunch and sometimes supper.\u00a0 I persevered in the hope that one day my prayers would be answered.<\/p>\n A ray of hope<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The scholarship by FAWE and the Mastercard Foundation came at a time when I had no hope of continuing my education.\u00a0 I applied for sponsorship when I had just finished senior 3 and with my good marks and life history, I was posted to FAWE Girls School in Gahini, one of the Centers of Excellence where I pursued Mathematics, Economics, and Computer combination.\u00a0 The scholarship did not only ease the burden of school fees and scholastic materials but also provided other skills from the many training programs such as Mentorship, Career Guidance and Counselling, and Tuseme that promoted leadership skills.\u00a0 I acquired leadership skills and self-confidence, all of which made me look forward to a bright future without anxiety.<\/p>\n Today, I am a graduate with a Bachelor\u2019s Degree in Applied Economics from INES Ruhengeri with thanks to FAWE and the Mastercard Foundation. \u00a0I am very grateful for this as it has made me who I am today.<\/p>\n I have no doubt that with my university education, I will achieve my goals and play an active role in our country\u2019s development.\u00a0\u00a0 While giving back to the community, I will encourage other girls who have gone through similar situations as mine, suffering from cultural stereotypes, to stand up and not give up but look ahead.\u00a0 FAWE\/Mastercard Foundation scholarship has brightened my life, helping me to achieve my educational goal.\u00a0 I am who I am because FAWE Rwanda recognizes the value of the girl child.\u00a0 May God bless all their plans.<\/p>\n My two cents<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n To those who still believe in cultural norms that oppress girls, I want to address these few words to you;<\/p>\n As a scholar, I have developed a culture of saving.\u00a0 I plan to open a small business for myself and contribute to my community by helping girls who have dropped out of school and encouraging them to rebuild their lives.\u00a0 I am forever grateful to FAWE for their support to girls for development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My name is Gakuru Vestine from Rwanda, and I am an alumnus of the FAWE\/Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. I was born in a humble family in rural Rutsiro district in Western Province in May 1991.\u00a0 My twin brother Gato Joseph and I are the third-born children among six siblings.\u00a0 My parents are subsistence farmers who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,78,79,91,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fawe-blog","category-news","category-featured","category-mastercard-foundation-scholars-program","category-voices"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\u00a0 \u201cIf you pass your exams, I will commit suicide so you can become an orphan\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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\u201cNo development is possible if some members of society are left behind. In fact, those in society who are ignored continue to consume without producing and later become a burden, yet they too could contribute to income generation.\u00a0\u00a0 The power of women is unquestionable.\u00a0 We can reason as our brothers; we can study up to university, and we can serve the community in the same way if not even better, for we have the same capabilities.\u00a0 So let no girl be left behind.\u00a0 Accord all children equal rights and let them achieve their potential.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n