When Jean d’Amour Mutarambirwa starts recounting his past, a feeling of uneasiness grips him arousing an upsurge of emotions that he hardly gets to control.

Yet he still desperately tries to stop tears rolling down his cheeks, perhaps in an attempt to prove that he has since buried the bitter past and successfully embarked on a new journey of dedication to hardwork and hope for a better life.

The 22-year-old has bitter memories of the two years he spent on the street, leading what he calls a "desperate, vulnerable and messy life”.

Mutarambirwa, a resident of Kansi Sector in Gisagara District, started living as a street kid in 2007 following the death of his parents. He was then aged 15.

Left all by himself with no one to turn to, Mutarambirwa dropped out of school.

"My grand mother was unable to educate and fend for me. I considered myself as a burden to her,” he says.

He would eventually leave the village in search for ‘greener pastures’ in Huye town.

When he decided to leave his village, Mutarambwirwa thought life would get better in town, only to discover how wrong he was once there.

Feeding from rubbish heaps

From the remote Akaboti village, the teenager walked for hours before reaching Huye town in the neighbouring Huye District, where he spent the next two years moving from place to place and sleeping on verandas and under bridges.

"I rarely found food to eat. I resorted to begging and feeding from rubbish heaps,” he says.

"I was young, weak and with no body to give me advice. The only people I shared life and ideas with were the other street kids,” he recalls.

As life on the streets became unbearable, Mutarambirwa started looking for ways of returning to his village but never wanted to return there empty-handed.

So he started spending more time near bicycle repairers in Huye town and in the neighbouring Save area in Gisagara District, where he would later acquire skills in repairing bikes.

"While I pretended to be offering free services (to bicycle repairers), I wanted to learn how to repair bicycles with hope that once back in the village, I could use the skills to earn a living,” he says.

Back to the village

After months of practical experience in bicycle repairing, Mutarambirwa decided to return to his village in 2009.

"It wasn’t an easy decision but even life on the streets was awful. So I decided to go and die in my village than perish on the streets,” Mutarambirwa narrates.

He returned to his grandmother’s house ready to face life’s challenges and help her instead of expecting help from her.

He started doing odd jobs, ranging from repairing bicycles to working on people’s farms.

He would use part of the money he earned to meet some of his basic needs and save the rest.

He later used his savings to acquire a bicycle which allowed him to join a local cooperative bringing together about 30 young men working to improve their lives.

Currently, Mutarambirwa is the leader of Tuzamurane, a cooperative that comprises mainly young men who ferry people and goods on bicycles to earn a living.

Each of them earns up to Rwf3,500 daily from ferrying passengers, an amount Mutarambirwa says is good enough for a living.

"Being part of the cooperative has allowed me to improve my welfare and given me a chance to develop myself,” the former street boy notes.

The money he has made out of the cycling business has not only helped him meet his basic needs but also enabled him buy a plot of land and several livestock, mainly pigs and goats.

He is also currently finalising a four-room house on the plot he bought.

Ambitious man

But Mutarambirwa’s dream didn’t end at riding a bicycle and ferrying passengers. Rather, as he found his way back to a life of hope and dignity, the young man realised that nothing could stand in her way.

Mutarambirwa says he is always on the look-out, looking for opportunities to transform his life.

He is currently saving money with the aim of shifting from riding a commercial bicycle to a commercial motorcycle, something he believes will help him make more money.

"In a few months, I will be riding my own motorcycle,” a confident Mutarambirwa says as he pulls out his driving licence from his wallet to show he is ready to hit the road on a motor bike.

But his dream doesn’t simply end at owning a commercial motorcycle, starting a family and owning a modern house. Rather Mutarambirwa wants to continue making more money, own a car and "end up becoming one of the most successful citizens.”

"I want to become an established business man and investor in the future,” he says.

"My experience gives me the confidence that I can achieve it and I have no doubt about it,” he says.

"I am working hard to improve my life and despite the many challenges, I know one day I will realise my dreams.”