If local cinema is your thing then you probably know 27-year old Rosine Bazongere. She has featured in movies and popular Rwandan series like, ‘City Maid’, ‘Seburikoko’, and ‘Sarigoma’. 

However, before she became the popular actress she is today, a horrific incident when just a teenager left her with permanent physical and psychological wounds that she says she still deals with today.

This is exactly what pushed her, inspired by her own broken journey as a teen mother to ensure that what she went through does not happen to any other girl, or that if—unfortunately—it does, the girls can get some help, hence starting an initiative—Her Friends Family—dedicated to improving the lives of teen mothers. 

Building an initiative

The organisation assists girls who were impregnated at a young age and have to endure harsh living conditions, including taking care of the kids singlehandedly.  

Benefactors of ‘Her Friends Family’ inititaive, founded by Rosine Bazongere , give a goat to one of the young mothers.

"We have many teen mothers in this country, but we can only reach a few for now based on our ability. It’s important that they have what to eat, clothing, medical insurance and mental health support, which is crucial in this case,” she says.

Bazongere gave birth when she was only 19 years old, with just her mother beside her. She didn’t have money to take care of the baby and had to start work to be able to provide for the child, with the help of her mother.

"My journey as a single mother was not an easy one, I didn’t get the chance to pursue studies because I was suspended in grade 10 as my relatives could not afford to continue paying school fees for me,” she recalls.

Rosine Bazongere

"Later, I got pregnant and gave birth, my family was not financially stable so I had to provide. I managed to do this because I chose not to give up, and kept finding ways to push myself, which is what I want for the beneficiaries of this initiative.”

Now an actress, Bazongere has a campaign to curb teen pregnancy and give hope to teen mothers.

‘Her Friends Family’ currently caters for 150 girls, open to only teen mothers in the 14 - 18 age bracket, and assists in boosting their livelihoods by training them in sewing and other income-providing vocations.

"So far, the girls have learnt how to sew, some rear animals, and others have been helped with small start-ups in different domains,” Bazongere says. 

Every year, the initiative organises a Christmas dinner where the beneficiaries and benefactors share food, but with the Covid-19 pandemic, last year, they instead took supplies to teen mothers living in the poorest conditions in the sector of Muhima. 

"Since we couldn’t host a dinner on Christmas, we decided to at least visit them and take what we could afford,” she says. 

Even though the life of these single mothers is not easy, Bazongere encourages them to not lose hope, because they can move on from the struggles and live better and happier lives.

One of the beneficiaries who does sewing as a daily job. 

"I didn’t have a rich family, so I struggled to raise my baby but now we are living better, we can afford anything without struggling, that is why I ask these young mothers to never lose hope and never take the wrong road because if they work hard and value themselves they will go high,” Bazongere says.

It started with the little money she had, and contributions from friends and family. "As we kept on going to different districts helping these girls, many people were touched by our initiative and gave us funds. Also, some people get to know more about us on social media in my posts, they contact me and provide help.”

The biggest challenge, she says, is that they still struggle to get find funds. "It is hard sometimes to get money to pay Mutuelle de santé for these young mothers, or reuniting them with their families for those were rejected by them.”

Becoming an actress

Before starting work as an actress, Bazongere worked as a waitress in different bars and hotels. "It was not easy as I would leave my baby with my mother and I was the one doing everything, sometimes I would even take breaks to cry in the bathroom then come out like nothing happened.”

In an article published by this paper, Bazongere said she wished to one day become an actress, but felt the dream was farfetched due to the hardships she endured.

"I loved acting from a very young age, I always wanted to be an actress, and so one day my cousin who knew how much I loved acting linked me to a producer who was casting actors in a movie called ‘Impeta Yanjye’. Luckily, I got the main actress role, and that character opened so many doors for me in acting. I entered the cinema industry in 2016,” she says. 

You can reach Bazongere  on 0781463323