Valens Rusagara Muvunankiko recently released "Intimba Y’ineza Umusirimu Utazwi” loosely translated as "The Kind One's grief, the Unknown Smart One”, a book that reflects the life of a child and a parent from birth to death and offers insights on child abuse and generosity.

The 32-year-old author started writing the book in 2008 when he was in Senior 5, inspired by the lives of children who were hurt by people who were supposed to take care of them, given that he was one of them.

"Some people were hurt in their childhood and when they grew up, they lived with trauma due to the life they lived. Writing this book, I wanted to tell people that living a bad life is not the end and that all kinds of parents in our society can help build Rwanda by educating children,” he said.  

"You can hate a child but you don’t know how God will make a way for him or her to become a better man or woman. Never hurt a child because tomorrow they can shine.”

Muvunankiko is aware that some children have lost their parents, became orphans and met people who could take care of them but instead treated them as house workers which made them lose hope and start using drugs – something he said could lead them to suicide.

He added: "This book advises parents and guardians to take care of any child and never violate their rights. If you adopt a child, you don’t have to make them struggle more. Instead, you should cultivate hope in them so that they can achieve something great in life and develop the country.”

The author also revealed that the end of chapter two and the whole chapter three of his book were the hardest to write because he had to reflect the times he faced intense heartbreak in his life.

"My childhood was characterised by hurt caused by guardians who were supposed to take care of me. They said bad words about my parents who were killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. They tried to collapse my mind, chased me out of their home and I struggled to survive. That part was so difficult to finalize,” he said. 

No matter what happened to him, Muvunankiko managed to find joy in him and now aims to keep building a better future for himself as well as Rwanda, his motherland.

Explaining why he decided to write the book in mother tongue, he said he was interested in Kinyarwanda and wanted the book to be read by many Rwandans since most of them understand the language.

Intimba Y’ineza Umusirimu Utazwi can be found at Imprimerie Stylex, Kigali and at Kamonyi Youth Friendly Canter.

For delivery, one can reach out to the author on Facebook: @Rusagara Muvunankiko Valens, Instagram: @rusavalens, Twitter: @rusavalens_M or contact +250785145520.