A life in the day of .... A blind man

Fabian Hagenimana is blind and has lived on the streets of Kigali for over 14 years. He strolls through Kigali streets playing his jitter. I wake up at 6am in the morning. I first pray to God before I do anything. After the prayer, I go for a shower. At 7.30am off I go to the streets carrying my guitar on my back while my hand boy carries the battery on his head and holds my hand to guide me. I move from Gikondo on foot; there seem to be lots of people. There is no single stage I play my music from. Whoever calls me to play for them pays above Rwf100. My day is difficult. But I have to strive for a living. At around 10am, I am in Remera where most of my fans are. They like my music and will always call me play the guitar for them. This is the same even with other places that I go to such as Kimironko and Nyabugogo Taxi Park. I eat my lunch at 1pm. By this time, I am very hungry as I do not take breakfast. Singing and playing the guitar is no easy thing and most especially in the open when it is hot. I resume hawking at 3pm, after I have had a small rest in the shade wherever I may be. At 5pm, I go back to Remera to play my guitar from there. Most of the people are going home around this time and would not mind throwing Rwf100 to a blind man to play the guitar for them. At 6.30 pm, I go back home to Gikondo. This time I board a taxi as it is a little bit dark. At home I first thank god for seeing me through the day. It’s not easy for a blind person to survive speeding vehicles for over 30 years, when those who see die of accidents every day. It’s God’s protection. I go for a shower at 7.30 pm, as my hand boy cooks our supper. We eat at around 8.30pm and there after look at what we made that day. In most cases, I earn more than Rwf 3,500 a day. I pay my hand boy a quarter of the money I earn, while keeping some for rent and home affairs. We go to bed at around 9pm. Contact: tumusteve2008@yahoo.com