Meet Raoul

Raoul is a kind boy, who was born in 2008

Raoul is currently living with his mother, step father, 3 sisters (one of them is also a student at Hope Shines, Eliane) and 2 brothers in a two bedroom mud house with limited electricity and no access to clean water. The house is located in a sketchy area of town because it stands on the hillside. At any point, the house seems as if it could slide down the hill.

Raoul’s parents also live a difficult life. Both parents are HIV positive and that makes it difficult for them to work consistently due to their health issues. The family often eats only once a day because of so little money coming in. Raoul’s step father gets some low-paying part time jobs in plumbing and his mother gets food from her village offered by kind and generous neighbors.

The family often has problems. It’s mainly based on an issue that both parents brought children in the union of their marriage. The father sometimes menaces the mother because of Raoul, who was born in a previous relationship. The Hope Shines parents committee is following up on the situation in order to resolve some of these problems to make life better for the kids and Raoul specifically.

Raoul is clearly affected by these issues as a young child that he is. But he is still trying to get good grades at school and determined at the same time. When at home he tries to keep a low profile where he mostly cleans or studies for school. He is in primary school, where his favorite subjects are Kinyarwanda (the Rwandan native language) and English. At Hope Shines’ after-school program he likes to do gymnastics. He also greatly loves to play football (soccer) and it’s no surprise that he even wants to become a professional football player when he grows up!