Iwawa passes out over 650 ex-street kids

Six hundred fifty-five former street children have been passed out after completing various courses in different disciplines at the fourth graduation ceremony of Iwawa Rehabilitation and Vocational Skills Development Centre (IRVSDC). The students, trained in construction, carpentry and tailoring, among others, graduated on Saturday.The youth have been undergoing training as well as rehabilitation at the Iwawa Island of Lake Kivu in Rutsiro District, for the past 16 months.Upon graduation most of the young men interviewed said that they lived a deplorable life before joining the centre, vowing to work hard to live a meaningful life.Jean Habimana, 22, who hails from Musanze District, said he quit school and went to Kigali where he lived on the streets for more than three years.“I used to pick-pocket in markets of Kigali, I was only concerned about how to get money to buy cannabis, I was arrested numerous times and released.“‘When I was brought here with my colleagues, we couldn’t believe in any positive change but here we are. We have been rehabilitated and trained; I am sure from here, I will be an agent of transformation to others I left on the street,” Habimana narrated. Habimana trained in construction and maintains he will have value to add in his community, once he returns home.Other graduates also witnessed the positive change and promised to play an active role in nation building.‘Shape your future’Speaking at the event, Western Province Governor Celestin Kabahizi told the graduates that the knowledge acquired should be the foundation for them to shape their future through self reliance.He called upon parents and guardians to accept the youth in their respective families, saying they have been reformed.“Let’s work together to support the youth who graduated today by getting them start up kits to start their own projects,” Kabahizi said.So far, more than 3,970 former juveniles have been rehabilitated and trained from the centre since it was opened in 2010.

National

Iwawa passes out over 650 ex-street kids