Meet Raissa

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Raissa is a beam of light and a girl born in 2008. She lives with her mother, brother and sister in a one room mud house with limited electricity. To make money for the family, her mother sells vegetables in the neighbourhood by buying from the large markets and re-selling in her village. For some months, however, she can’t work due to on-going health problems. This family went through a difficult time recently and were not able to eat. It happens often that the family only eats one or even less than one meal a day. The mother tries to look after her children as best as she can by staying involved with her kids’ school studies because she understands the value of education.

The family is close to one another and Raissa likes to help her mother in the house by cleaning. She says it is something they enjoy together and bonds them.
She is now able to attend primary school called Cyivugiza Primary School, where she likes to learn English. She enjoys school very much and at the Hope Shines after-school program that meets 4 days a week, she likes to be in the classes and enhance her education. When she grows up, Raissa wants to become a doctor, specifically a gynecologist so she can help mothers who are expecting babies.

Raissa loves acrobatics and traditional Rwandan dance. However, she prefers modern dance more and she happens to be really good at it!