In 1994, Jean de Dieu Rukundo was one year old when the Genocide against Tutsi occurred and claimed lives of his parents and four siblings.

He survived with his then 3-year-old sister, and they were taken to an orphanage. Later in 1995, their aunt adopted them.

According to Rukundo, the aunt took care of them together with her children (Rukundo’s cousins) until 2003 when she moved from Rwanda to Belgium.

Rukundo always saw his aunt as his mother and his cousins as brothers and sisters. Their departure hence affected him so much.

When they left, Rukundo and his sister started living in different families. From 2003 to 2009, Rukundo said he lived in over seven families.

"Most of them would see me as a burden,” narrates Rukundo. "That made them hand me over to other families. I was young and didn’t know what was going on. They would tell me: ‘tomorrow, you will stay with another family, and I’d agree and go.”

It wasn’t an easy childhood. And apart from being ‘tossed’ around, he recalls enduring harsh words that always reminded him of his orphan hood and how he didn’t have a brother – something he said miffed his mind and deepened his sorrow.

In 2009, when he was in senior two at Association des Parents Adventistes pour le Développement de l’Education (APADE) school, he found himself in a group of students who smoked marijuana and started taking it too as a way of blending in. He wanted friends.

Within no time, he had become an addict to drugs, he said, and was only sixteen at the time.

Drugs took him on a complex journey that almost robbed him of his destiny.

But like other high school graduates, in 2014, he was set to join Ingando, a Rwandan civic education programme.

When setting off, Rukundo recalls carrying in his bag six pieces of marijuana so that he could smoke some whenever he felt the urge to, but little did he know there were security forces ready to search him and all he had.

They indeed caught him with the drugs and was later sent to prison to serve a 5-month sentence. In prison however, things only got worse as he reunited with old friends who pushed him further into drug abuse.

"I thought they were still like me but they had gone far,” he continued. "They were now taking heroin. They befriended me again so that when people visit and bring me stuff, they would sell them and buy heroin.”

Their lives spiralled for the worst, that even after prison all they ever did was plunge themselves in heroin.

After being released, he lived with his cousins but even then, he would steal from them; money, house equipment or any other item that would help him access drugs.

It wasn’t long before he got kicked out of the house. Yet again, finding himself alone, wondering if it was ever going to get better.

One of the cousins rented him a house, but deep down he was expecting to spend there his last days, for he had made up his mind to take his life.

"I wanted to commit suicide. I had lost people, things, and hope for tomorrow. I tied a rope to the ceiling and prepared it well,” he said. "I then called my cousin via phone and told her that I couldn’t push forward with my life anymore. Perhaps she realised I had a plan to commit suicide, and since she was a Christian, she encouraged me to have hope. She then called Pastor Willy and told him everything.”

Pastor Willy Rumenera is the CEO of Teen Challenge Rwanda, a faith-based organisation that aims to help young people with drug-related challenges, get rehabilitated and transformed into new and reformed individuals.

When he and Rukundo’s cousin reached Rukundo’s house, they found him asleep.

According to Rukundo, he had injected himself with heroin, thinking it would help him die without pain but instead, he immediately fell asleep – an incident he believes was the will of God.

Getting saved, rehabilitated

Pastor Rumenera and Rukundo’s cousin took him to Teen Challenge Rwanda’s transformation centre, located in Ruyenzi, Kamonyi District.

As a Christian based organisation, they first sought God for solutions, praying and fasting for three days.

With a deep desire for change, Rukundo plunged into prayer and on day two, he went into the prayer room where he cried out to God; telling him how he was tired and wanted to leave his habits behind; he believed God could heal his heart.

"I then heard a soft and calm voice of Jesus Christ,” said Rukundo. "It told me: don’t fear because I am with you. Don’t lose hope because I am your God. I give you strength and I save you so that you can testify to my works.”

That was the beginning of his healing journey. At the centre, they taught him about his value and the word of God. He was also given skills in playing different musical instruments like piano and guitar as well as small-scale agriculture activities.

They all aimed to help him and his colleagues get occupations and embrace better directions they could take.

"The centre is like a rehab but built on religion,” he said. "They told me: a life without God can’t have a purpose and a life without purpose can’t have value, and thus a life with no value can’t get you anywhere or give you any hope. Embracing those words changed my life,” he added.

Apart from that, Rukundo says that the love he was shown by members of Teen Challenge Rwanda as well as the testimonies of colleagues he found there, made him long to quit drugs and live a better life.

"To quit drugs, you have to change your mind-set and the way you view things,” he said. "I used to say that Protestants (abarokore) are ‘snitches’ (abababiloni) but now, I am an evangelist and I am helping other people to be saved by God.”

Teen challenge Rwanda has been operating in Rwanda for ten years now.

According to Pastor Rumenera, the centre emphasises on Christian values and cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

They have a one-year program designed to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of their students.

"Throughout their stay,” he continued. "We provide Christian discipleship classes, individual advising sessions, basic computer classes, English and a curriculum designed to help each student re-integrate into society.”

The teen challenge curriculum for addiction recovery is based on God’s Word – the Bible.

He declares that classes facilitate the transition from alcoholism and substance abuse to a life of hope and freedom in Christ.

After graduating from the centre in 2021, Rukundo started raising awareness by sharing his story with the public, telling people how it is possible to elude drug addiction.

He has so far helped other three addicts join the centre, and they are currently being taken care of.

"To addicts, it’s possible to quit drugs and be clean again. You should tell yourself the truth, understand that you are taking the wrong direction and transform before it’s too late,” he said.

"If I didn’t accept to test marijuana, things wouldn’t have reached far. Nobody forced me to take drugs, so, if you haven’t tried it, don’t dare test it.”

Today, Rukundo is working as a graphic designer. He designs signposts and prints different designs on t-shirts. He plans to hold more gatherings in public spaces to share his story, raising awareness on drug use.