Newfound Hope

By Susan Macaulay

CK was born in Rwanda, the first child of her mother's second husband. But when she was still very young, her father ran out on them, and they moved around, living with different relatives.

Then came 1994, and the genocide.

CK’s father and four of her elder step-brothers were murdered in the massacres. She and her mother feigned death during beatings that killed their family members, and somehow managed to escape. They survived for weeks by hiding in churches and lying under the bodies of people who had been killed there.

No Happy Memories...

However, with many open wounds from the beatings, her mother contracted a bacterial infection and eventually died. When CK tells the story, she describes holding her mother in her arms, covered in blood, not knowing where her mother's injuries ended and the blood of the corpses began.

Having lost both parents, CK survived for a bit by working for her step-brother as a housekeeper. Then a cousin offered her a “job,” but he really brought her to be a servant for his family. When she scraped together enough money, she ran away to the city.

...But Hope for the Future

When Cards for Africa offered CK a job, some of her new co-workers invited her to stay with them until she got on her feet. After fourteen years on the run, she was finally able to start settling down.

CK says she has forgotten any happy memories of her life before. But now, with a steady income; honourable work; a clean, safe place to live; and people to care for her, one thing is definitely returning into CK’s life: hope.

Click here to see and buy the beautiful cards made by CK and other orpans in Rwanda.