Back to Life: How Jennifer Found a Future Beyond the Dump

Jennifer Hakizimana, 15 years old, was rescued from the dump when she was 8 — a place she had first gone at only 6 years old. Her story reflects what many of the children under our support experience in their early childhood.

 

Since she was very young, her father abandoned the family. They lived in Bujumbura, not far from the dump. “I don’t know my father. My mother used to tell us that he left when I was too young to even recognize him,” Jennifer said.

 

Her mother, who had three children including Jennifer, later married another man. She had two more children, but the marriage ended painfully. “Her husband’s family chased her out of the home like a dog,” Jennifer bitterly recounted.

 

As life became harder and harder, her mother moved near the dump, rented a small hut, and survived by collecting things from the trash. Jennifer, only 6 years old, followed her mother every day to take care of the youngest child while her mother searched through garbage. For two years, without any chance to go to school, Jennifer lost hope for her future.

 

“It was a bad life. We ate and drank anything we found there. Sometimes we got sick because of what we had eaten. We roasted leftovers thrown in the trash and survived on them. That was our life, and we had become used to it.”

 

Jennifer was among the first children rescued from the dump by Back to Life. At that time, Back to Life had no center or stable means, so the children were fed once a day and temporarily hosted by nearby families until the organization established its own center. Thanks to this intervention, Jennifer was finally able to begin school in grade one. Today, she is in grade 7. Her life has changed completely, and she is deeply grateful.

 

“It goes beyond my imagination when I remember the life I lived and how my life is now. I remember how I got burned one day by the fire on the dump, and now I sleep on a mattress, eat three times a day, enjoy different types of food, and study well… Truly, it goes far beyond what I ever imagined. God bless the parents who rescued me.”

 

Back to Life now supports hundreds of children who are fed day and night. Currently, 228 children are under permanent support, and the number keeps increasing every day. These children receive food, healthcare, school materials, and all basic needs. Due to limited space, all the children eat at the center and return to their mothers who live nearby. Forty children who have no parent are fully lodged at the center.

All of them study at Heha Happy School, a new school opened in partnership with Children Must Live Association.Top of Form

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.