At five months old, Olivier Niyitegeka was found under a bed on an abandoned farm, a few Rwandan Franc around him.
Sent to the oldest orphanage in Rwanda, the Noel Orphanage, Olivier was just happy for the opportunity for a life - he knew it could have been a lot worse, especially in a country wracked with civil war.
Among the 700 orphans, Olivier said that he would often call some of the younger children his brothers - though it was difficult to see them being taken away when he remained.
Though his life in the orphanage was not easy, due to struggling to find his place - “I always used to feel I had no sense of belonging in the orphanage. I belonged to an institution” -
Olivier’s life changed forever in 2014, when a sponsor offered him a home, an education and a family - half a world away, in New Zealand.
“I thought all of my problems were answered.” For two years, his life was perfect, and Olivier got to experience all New Zealand had to offer - including the Maori language and culture, which Olivier finds to be very rewarding.
At the start of last year, Olivier’s life hit a speed bump when his wonderful sponsor informed him that she no longer had the funds to support him, or his life in New Zealand.
Faced with the possibility of having their friend sent back to Rwanda, Olivier’s friends pooled together to fundraise enough money for him to stay.
They accomplished a staggering $18,771.00 - a large feat for a group of seventeen year old boys. When asked how he felt at having such friends who would support him like that, Olivier said it made him feel blessed, and not alone.
With the money raised, Olivier has been able to stay in New Zealand, and in a country where he does not feel like an immigrant or a foreigner.
Olivier is grateful for everything he has been given in life, and finally feels he belongs somewhere - “When I come back from school, I am going home, not to an orphanage.”
Comments