Brokenness permeated Yves’s family. He has four siblings, but each of them have a different father. He doesn’t even know his own father… he has never even seen him. His grandmother was his primary caretaker from the time he was one year old until he was fourteen and entering seventh grade. Then his mom came through the village and brought their family of six back together into a single room home. Soon after Yves began living with his mom again, she married another man. He joined them in the single room home, but it wasn’t long before the new husband chased away the five kids. He couldn’t stand living with children who were not his own. So, Yves and all his siblings were left on their own, with no home except the streets. However, there were a number of neighbors and people in the community that quickly welcomed them into their own homes. In Yves’s case, a young man invited him to stay with him in his small room.
In the midst of all this, Yves continued to attend high school thanks to the means of the Acts4Rwanda scholarship program, which seeks to help Rwandan children get an education. He became a recipient of this scholarship program when he was in ninth grade.
Then when it came time to attend college, he was able to receive a scholarship for tuition through a loan from the Rwandan government. This meant he was able to get his class costs covered, but he still wasn’t able to pay for housing, had no money for food, and couldn’t afford other costs like books and supplies. He was on his own… he no longer had any family supporting him financially. There was a lot of weight to carry. So, he had planned to take a gap year, work as many hours as he could, save money, and then go back to school using the savings he accumulated from working, hoping it would be enough to cover everything beyond the tuition costs that were holding him back from his education.
Well, Yves had a scholarship in high school through Acts4Rwanda, and The Hope Venture has a partnership with them. So, through his connection with Acts4Rwanda, they were able to connect him to be a recipient of The Hope Venture’s college scholarship project, which helps students by paying for their room and board costs while they complete their undergraduate studies. Yves had a home provided for him yet again! So, since his tuition is covered by the government loan, and his room and board costs are covered by The Hope Venture, he can go to college without extra worries about finances, and he doesn’t have to take a year off to try to save up money. He can concentrate fully on his academics, which he takes seriously. He wants to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in real estate management and evaluation.
Post-graduation with this degree, he would be able to find work which could help support his family financially, and also support the community through his services in helping people find homes. Yves especially has a heart for helping children in situations not much different than his own while growing up—underprivileged children in need of a home. But he isn’t just leaving his passion for helping others for when he graduates college… he is serving and leading in his school, church, and community now even while he completes his coursework.
