If you live in a good home where you feel loved, protected and well cared for, that’s a good thing. It means that your rights are being upheld. It means that you can stay with your family. 

Indeed, the Rwandan government, in many laws emphasises its support for the family unit staying intact. It’s for this reason that article 27 of the law relating to rights and protection of the child starts with: no child shall be arbitrarily separated from his/her family.

However, says article 27, for your best interest, parents, guardians or any other person legally responsible for you may be denied the right to keep you and such right is transferred to a third party.

If, for instance, you are being physically abused by a parent or guardian, you do not have to put with it out of fear of having nowhere to go. There is no reason for you to put up with beatings or sexual harassment or emotional abuse. 

The government can also intervene if you are being mistreated. If, for instance, you are being denied food or education or being locked out of the house or being involved child labor, you could approach the relevant authority for help.

At the same, it’s possible that your parents love you but they are not in a position to take care of you. If your mother is unwell and there is no other person to care for you, you could be assigned to an appropriate person to take over the parenting role.

Incapacitation could be due to a physical disability, mental illness, chronic illness or even poverty. 

There are also instances where your parent is stripped of parental authority because of committing a crime and ending up in jail. You won’t be left alone to fend for yourself but rather, the government, keeping your best interests in mind, will work out alternative means for your care.

The bottom line is that it’s important to belong to a family. Everyone wants to have a complete family unit. 

But if the family in which you were born is not keen on upholding your rights first as a human being and then as a child, or if your parents or guardians for one reason or another cannot take care of you, you can exercise your right to a good home by talking to the authorities.