Josephine is 34 years old. She has 4 children of her own, and also cares for the 4 children her husband has from a prior marriage. 

This is her story: 

I can start by telling you how I escaped to Congo in 1994. I was twenty. We escaped because of the division in Rwanda. People were being killed because of the divisionism. I escaped with my parents and siblings because there was no security.

While we were escaping, we suffered from much hunger. We had no food. We had no water. We only had the one clothes on our bodies and there were lice in the clothes. We were hiding at night and walking during the day. We walked for three days to Congo. We escaped because the Interahamwe told us the country would be attacked by RPF.

During the escape I separated from my parents and arrived in Congo by myself. There was a cloud of people leaving for Congo. There were so many people you could not count them. I watched two children die because they were kicked.

When I arrived in Goma (DRC), there was no water or food, but after one week I received help from friends. There were many many dead bodies. There was deadness. Every night we were weeping. At that time I was living with many people who also escaped to Congo. Some friends brought us mats to cover at night. My parents searched and searched for me. After a week they found me. After they found me, my father died. He died in Congo.

We lived in Congo for two years. At night I would sleep on the ground next to many many people. We lived like this for two weeks. An aid group came and helped us find mice and gave us beans, peas, rice and vegetables. Many groups came. I do not remember all their names. We lived like this for two years.

After two years, the government of Rwanda sent a bus to take all the exiles back to Rwanda. We refused to go because we were afraid they would kill us. A week later they came back and moved us by force.

We came back to our house. We found our house burned by fire. Many of our things had been taken. We did not find any of our domestic animals. When we got here [Rugendabari] the government tried to help us as exiles and because of the many trips we were very tired. Hence our mother died. At that time we start to cultivate to grow some plants.

While I was in Congo I got married, but my husband died fighting. He was fighting with the Interahamwe, but after the war he joined the Rwanda army. He died fighting in Congo with the Rwanda army. He left me with one child.

After that I got married again. So I am married to a man who was married before. His first wife died of sickness, and he had four children. Together we make a family, but I am not happy. His children despise me. He does not treat me good.

I joined the Zamuka Cooperative a year ago. I make money from selling my baskets. I would like to sell them for a very long time.

As of May 2009, Rising has helped Josephine make $384 through her baskets.

Click to view products from the Rwanda Basket Project