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About Jacqueline
Location: VOH Burundi
Position at Village of Hope: Student
Been a part of Villages of Hope since: February 2012
Tell us a bit about your life before coming to Village of Hope…
I was born in 1994 in Cibitoke. Before I was fully old enough to understand the happenings around me, my father died when I was 4 years old. I was number three among the four children that my father left behind.
From that time, our lives changed for the worse. My mother was chased from our family land by my uncles (my father’s brothers) – only because my mother did not give birth to the baby boy. My mother had to take us to our grandmother.
Life was not easy at our grandmother’s. My mother (uneducated) had to go around doing small jobs: farming for people to gain a little for us to eat even if it was only one meal a day. I and my big sisters had no chance to step in classroom even at least one day to see the way things are arranged in a class.
We really suffered in the hands of my mother and my old grandmother; though they loved us, they could not afford to take care of us.
When I was 7 years old, an auntie picked me up from the village and brought me to town to stay with her. At my auntie’s place I was turned into a maid, having a shelter, and food but without hope, and I always prayed to God to give me an opportunity to learn at least to write and read.
My auntie finally chased me when I became born again (a Christian) because I had refused to join her at the Adventist church as I had started attending a Pentecostal Assemblies of God church.
I moved from home to home trying to find a job as a maid. Before I could find a job, I heard an announcement at the church about VOH Burundi…
What is the story behind how you first came to know about Village of Hope?
The Burundi Assemblies of God church was in the neighbourhood of Bwiza, where we were staying. As I had started attending the church, I heard an announcements for VOH Burundi that they were looking for children who had lost their parents to apply to be helped by VOH.
That is how I started talking to the director who was merciful to me after hearing my story, and he arranged for me to move into one of the VOH homes.
How has Village of Hope helped you?
Village of Hope Burundi has been of a great help to my life.
“It is because of Village of Hope that I was able to find a stable place I can finally call home.”
I have experienced a tramendance love from the family that is taking care of me. I was able to learn to read and write as I had always prayed.
Now I am able to read the bible on my own, and I have since started a technical school where I am doing a trade of tailoring. I am looking forward to starting to work and raise money to help my family. VOH Burundi has given me hope!
Any final words?
God bless Village of Hope Burundi for the work you are doing; May God grant you grace to enlarge the territory to be able bring hope to other hopeless children like I was. Thank you very much!
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*Note: some edits have been made to this interview only for the purpose of translation and readability. No facts or details have been altered or removed.
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