Testimonials

Ndagijimana Jean de Dieu is the Father of nine children. The two youngest children have been enrolled at the FMO Early Childhood Development Center and currently his youngest daughter, Angel, is a student there. FMO has previously helped his family during the One Cow program and provided them with goats to produce income. He believes that the ECD has helped his family, especially the children, because their “kids used to start school when they were 9 years old and now they are able to start schooling at the age of 3”. This helps his kids to improve emotionally, gain more understanding from an earlier age and excel in classes at the normal pace. Jean de Dieu is also thankful for the two meals a day he knows Angle is getting while at school. Having his children attend FMO ECD has also helped the family in their daily lives because the parents used to have to walk the children 2 km to and from school each day which would be time consuming and tiresome for the children. FMO has also provided a sense of community and belonging for the family, as Jean de Dieu is the president of the parent committee for FMO. Having the children be in the FMO ECD will enable them to be more independent and productive members of the Ndagijimana family as well as society because of the tools and skills it will teach them early on in life.

ndagijimana
Ndagijimana Jean de Dieu

Eric Nshimiyimana is a recipient of the MicroCredit program with FMO. He is married with two kids and is an agent with mobile banking. “I heard about this program because I live in the same neighborhood as FMO so whenever they have new programs they let all the neighbors know about them”. In order to be accepted into the program he had to present the project that he wanted to do and explain how it would benefit the community. After applying and presenting the project in great detail he was granted a 200,000 RWF loan. Once he paid back the loan on time he was able to apply for another loan of 200,000 RWF which he was granted as well. He now does not owe FMO any money and has a successful small business in Rilima with mobile banking. “FMO has been really helpful for people around here with small businesses to help them grow. I think that the program is very helpful to the community and is something everyone should appreciate. I would like to apply for another loan once I am able to again. It has been a year since I paid my last loan off and have no debt. I would love the opportunity to apply for a larger loan in the future.”

Eric (1)
Eric Nshimiyimana

The Rutuku family was a selected recipient of one cow through the Girinka program in 2020, since then the cow has reproduced three times. Three cows remain in the family, one cow was given to a neighbor during Passover. The cows have been able to provide for the family in numerous ways. First, the milk produced is used to strengthen a sick family member, the remainder of the milk is sold at the market for profit. The cow’s manure can be sold for agricultural fertilization and is a steady source of income for the family. In the coming weeks, the family is going to sell one of the calves at the market. With the profit generated by the cow, the family has been able to pay for their children's school fees, uniforms, materials, and more. The cows also provides a sense of security in the home for its members. “The support given has been able to provide for our family in so many different ways, I appreciate what FMO has done for my family. Without the one cow program, I would not be able to afford to keep my children in school. It means so much to me that we were chosen to be part of the Girinka program and I will continue working hard to support my family.”

Rutuku
RUTUKU

Seraphine was previously one of the beneficiaries for house rehabilitation and was built a house from FMO in April 2022. She is a 77 year old woman, who lives alone as all of her children except one had passed during the genocide against Tutsi, and the other child is unable to support her as he is unhealthy. Being on her own as an older woman makes it very difficult to provide for herself and was in need of FMO’s help. Prior to having her rebuilt home, she would stay in the damaged home during the dry season and stay in her neighbors homes when it became rain season to stay protected as she was not in her old home. Seraphine stated, “I can’t begin to express my gratitude. I used to have a lot of trauma and could not sleep at night, but now I am much happier and feel more at peace in my home.” Now having the rebuilt home, somewhere protected to live, a proper toilet, she can upkeep animals, and now is no longer afraid of her items such as food to be stolen from her as she was previously. She expressed her feelings of appreciation by saying, “I am very thankful and may god bless FMO. You can’t understand how I feel unless you open my heart and see FMO.”

Seraphine
Seraphine