On the heels of the newly published Ministerial Order providing sanctions against parents who do not send their children to school and against those who employ children in work that prevents them from going to or causing them to drop out of school, the Sunday Times Dennis Agaba visited Kigali’s main markets (in Kimironko, Kicukiro and Nyabugogo) to talk to some of the school-going children who earn their daily bread doing backbreaking work there.

11-year-old Muhire was the first such child I chatted with.

When I first saw him in Kimironko Market he was busy beseeching a woman who had come to buy vegetables to employ him. "Madam I know every corner of this market thus I will take you where you can buy the most juicy fruits and fresh vegetables”, he pleaded.

The woman took a moment to look at the boy, a mixture pity and amazement on her face. She took in the 11-year olds torn clothes and filthy appearance. After a pause she handed him an envelope, and the boy overwhelmed with joy and excitement, led her into the market.

After being given Rwf300 in exchange for their time, Muhire and a friend of his agreed to share their street life struggles with the Sunday Times, a struggle that they attribute to poverty and unbearable situations back home.

"Life on the streets is harsh and challenging, however it’s free from suffering and the ruthless beatings from my step-parent,” says Muhire says.

On a visit to Nyabugogo Market I spy a young boy around thirteen years of age comes out of the market, lifting a giant bunch of bananas on his shoulder as well as a half- full sack of tomatoes.

As he walks down the street with his load, he must surely feel the sharp stones piercing his bare feet; you can see the misery and suffering etched on his face. This sight attracted the crowd’s eyes, with some looking at him with pity.

After finding out that the boy in question is actually merely twelve, I find out that Yonas Nshimiyimana (the boy in question) ran away from home and came to Nyabugogo to find ways of survival.

"When my father passed away, my mother immediately remarried and my new father didn’t like me at all. I was always not in good terms with him. He would beat me all the time even for no reason. It reached a point when I couldn’t take his beatings anymore and my mother could not defend me, so I ran away from home,” Nshimiyimana narrates.

He further added that, while at home, he would not find food at times when he came back from school.

"As if beating me was not enough, my step father stopped paying my school fees and other school essentials and this made me take the decision to leave home,” Nshimiyimana reveals.

After dropping out of school just in primary three, Nshimiyimana started his challenging journey from Huye District to Kigali without his parent’s knowledge.

"I had no money to board a bus, thus my only option was to walk; it took me three days and nights to reach to the capital Kigali and I decided to end my journey at Nyabugogo town market,” Nshimiyimana recalls.

He said: "When I arrived at Nyabugogo, I met a group of other street children who mercilessly teased me calling me ‘villager’ and all sorts of funny names. But at the end of the day we became friends and they showed me how to survive on my own,” Nshimiyimana explains.

With no place to call home, Nshimiyimana still sleeps in trenches, inside the market on stairs and mostly under the cars parked at the market.

After spending six month on the streets, Nshimiyimana decided to go and visit his mother.

"Regardless of the problems back home when I left, I never stopped thinking about my mother, that’s why I work so tirelessly to saving the little money I earn at the market to give to her. Eventually, with Rwf3,000 as my savings; I returned home last Wednesday to visit her. She was so happy to see that I’m still alive and in good health. Later on, I returned to Kigali after three days to continue my hustling,” Nshimiyimana reveals.

Nshimiyimana earns around Rwf300 to Rwf500 daily, mainly from lifting people’s commodities after shopping. This small amount (less than one US dollar) allows him to afford a plate of food at Rwf300.

Asked about what the government could do for him to improve his situation, without hesitation says "education”.

"Given the opportunity to go back to school, I would become a journalist, so that I could advocate for children who run away from home to live on streets due to family problems,” he explains.

Just like Nshimiyimana, thirteen year-old Hassan Ishimwe, the first born of three, says that he started coming to Nyabugogo market after his family tragedy.

"I still stay at home with my mother and siblings in Gasabo District, Mugeragere sector Karama Cell.

"When my dad passed away in 2013, life at home became challenging. My mother didn’t have the money to keep me in school. I dropped out in primary two and joined the street life,” Ishimwe narrates.

"My mother and I work hand in hand to provide for my younger siblings. We wake up very early in the morning and come to Nyabugogo when the customers are still many; while I’m lifting people’s commodities, my mother also hustles around to find something to take home. On a good day I earn Rwf1000. This money helps my siblings sleep with full bellies,” Ishimwe explains.

Ishimwe also adds that no matter how challenging life on the street is, he has no any other option to take.

"Sometimes I’m forced to carry heavy luggage or a sack full of commodities that even weigh more than me but what else can I do”, Ishimwe asks.

Ishimwe says his passion for school never stopped even after years of not being in school. If given the opportunity he would go back to study.  

"I’m so passionate about traditional dancing and just like my father I would like to become an entertainer.

Perhaps that will happen in the future when life become easier,” Ishimwe expresses wistfully.

Despite of the many different children at Nyabugogo market jostling to tell their stories of street survival, twelve year- old Janvier Bizimana pushes himself ahead of the crowd surrounding me and pleads to tell his testimony.

Interestingly, the jovial Bizimana reveals that he is on the streets with his parent’s full approval and encouragement.

"I’m my family’s major provider. Poverty at home forced me to drop out of school in primary four. Despite having both parents and other seven siblings, my father works at construction sites as a helper and my mother is jobless and always at home,” Bizimana explains.

"I am here (on the streets) so that I can put food on the table for my siblings. I hustle everyday and make sure I earn between Rwf1,500 to Rwf2,000 and take it all at home”, says Bizimana, also revealing that he dreams of becoming an engineer.

"My humble plea to the government is to help me go back to school. I always feel bad when I see my fellows children going to school every day while I head to the streets to beg and lift heavy things to survive,” Bizimana reveals sadly.

All school-age children must be in school-Government

During a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office on Friday, 2015, Olivier Rwamukwaya, Minister of State in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education, said that parents that don’t send their children at school will be penalized. 

"The community officials and parents are going to follow up on parents who don’t send their children to school given the fact it’s the child’s right and we have universal access to education. Every child has to be in school,” Rwamukwaya emphasizes.

The Ministry of Education indicated that, in 2013, school dropout in primary was at 12.4 per cent, while at ordinary level it was at 14.7 per cent and 6.2 per cent at A-Level.