Aline in Rwanda

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Aline smiles once again

Aline, a 10 year old girl orphaned after the genocide, has formed new family ties thanks to our support and that of her adoptive mum.

Aline was just a few months old when she was taken in by the centre for unaccompanied children and orphans of Ndera. She had lost her entire family, apart from a brother three years her senior.

At the centre, she was entrusted to the care of Alphonsine, who lived at the centre with one-year old Leonie, her youngest daughter. The young woman instantly bonded with Aline, but Leonie was jealous and Aline had trouble integrating with this new family. During games and art workshops organised by Handicap International, she rarely played with the other children. This sense of isolation was reflected in her drawings: she drew herself alone in the middle of a room.

Within the framework of the family reunited programme, Aline and her brother were officially entrusted to Alphonsine. We continued to work with the little girl at home.

She improved gradually thanks to her adopted mother’s affection and our team’s constant support. She soon broke free from her feeling of abandonment and she displayed a complete change in behaviour.

One day, smiling wonderfully she handed over a very different drawing: she had drawn a picture of herself surrounded by her new family.

Read more about our work in Rwanda.