From the Dump to a Future: Fiacre's Journey with Back to Life

These haunting words from 17-year-old Fiacre capture both the depths of his suffering and the glimmer of hope that changed his life.

When Olivier was just seven years old, his father, the sole provider of the family passed away, plunging the family into despair. His widowed mother married again, but the marriage failed, leaving her with two more children and a greater burden to bear. Desperate and destitute, she moved the family to Bujumbura’s city dump, hoping to find scraps to survive.

 

Fiacre describes life on the dump in vivid, painful detail:

 

“I had started school in Kindergarten and went to Grade 2. But after my father's death, everything fell apart. After my mother’s separation, she told us we had to go to the garbage to survive. We had no other choice since we spent days and nights without food.”

 

 

                                                       The first day Back to Life found Fiacre and his friends 

 

He shares memories of illness and death among his friends:

 

“We picked scraps: rotten food, leftovers, even coal. My two friends drank toxic substances, one survived after a hospital stay; the other died.”

These cornered moments drove him to question fate itself:

 

“I could pray and ask God, ‘ God what did I do to deserve this fate?’ especially when I saw other children with better lives.”

 

Then came the unexpected and life-changing intervention from Back to Life Association which was picking kids like Olivier from garbage dumps, to feed, lodge, clothe , and send to school.  For Olivier, this was only a miracle:

“They gathered us, fed us, and invited us to school. I thought, if only I could read. Being admitted to school with regular meals it felt unimaginable.”

 

Since its inception in 2019, Back to Life has transformed hundreds of lives, rescuing children from the dump and guiding them toward education and dignity . Their model goes beyond rescue, it nurtures a loving, structured environment and addresses root causes of family breakdowns through mother-empowerment programs .

Children receive food, shelter, clothing, and the chance to learn in a safe, structured environment. Simultaneously, mothers participate in skills training that helps them rebuild lives and eventually welcome their children home .

 

Now, nourished and nurtured, Fiacre looks toward the future with renewed confidence:

“I feel safe at the center. We are fed, we study, we have moments of joy. I don’t even find words to express my gratitude. Truly, God can lift someone from the dump and place them among the powerful.”

 

Thanks to Our Sponsors

We would like to thank all our sponsors who made this event possible. Thanks to their support, we were able to provide a memorable day for the children and the community.