From overcoming addiction after becoming involved in smuggling illicit alcohol to building initiatives that have reached 17,000 adolescents, two young Rwandans shared how opportunities helped them change their lives and create opportunities for others.

Palemon Shimirwa, from Rubaya Sector in Gicumbi District, and Amina Umuhoza, an entrepreneur from Kimisagara Sector in Nyarugenge District, shared their experiences during the MeetThePresident event at BK Arena on Wednesday, October 21.

ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Kagame meets 10,000 youth at BK Arena

Their testimonies highlighted how vocational training, access to funding and information about available programmes can help young people overcome challenges and turn their ambitions into reality.

Shimirwa said he once had a promising future, having completed secondary school and earned the trust of local authorities, who gave him responsibilities at the sector office.

"I was fortunate to have good parents who took care of me from a young age. By the time I completed secondary school, I was a bright and well-behaved young man,” he said.

However, his life took a different turn when he began interacting with young people involved in smuggling illicit alcohol into Rwanda through unofficial border crossings.

Because he worked at the sector office, the smugglers offered him money in exchange for information about the movements of security personnel.

"They wanted me to provide them with information about the whereabouts of security forces so they could identify alternative routes to avoid being intercepted,” he said.

ALSO READ: Use social media to build skills, ICT minister tells youth

What began as a way to earn money gradually drew him into a lifestyle that cost him his savings, damaged his relationship with his parents and led him to alcohol addiction.

"I increased the amount of alcohol I consumed, and my behaviour changed. I became a troublesome young man who regularly returned home drunk,” he said.

Shimirwa eventually left home and formed his own smuggling group, recruiting others who had previously been involved in the illegal trade.

The group transported illicit goods across the border at night, navigating steep and dangerous routes.

His arrest and subsequent placement at a local transit centre became a turning point. He spent two months there, receiving counselling and guidance on changing his behaviour.

"We were counselled and encouraged to understand that we could change, become responsible young people again and develop a clear direction for our lives,” he said.

After his release, he returned to his parents, who supported him as he began rebuilding his life.

His next step was vocational training. While some young people with similar backgrounds took up work in road construction and terrace development, Shimirwa chose carpentry.

He trained for about a year and saved Rwf230,000, which became the foundation of his business.

"That money became the foundation of my carpentry business. I started by making a door for my parents’ house,” he said.

Rebuilding his reputation was not easy. People who had known him before were reluctant to trust him with their money, fearing he would spend it on alcohol.

But he gradually won them back through hard work and reliable service, eventually moving from working at home to opening a small workshop.

"I loved my work and treated it like medicine. I worked hard to finish each assignment, sometimes exhausting myself so that I would not have time to waste,” he said.

As his business grew, Shimirwa began looking for other opportunities that could help him advance.

He discovered the YouthConnekt Awards through the Ministry of Youth’s social media platforms. His first application was unsuccessful because he had not completed some requirements.

Determined to try again, he spent seven months monitoring announcements before the next opportunity opened.

"When the application link for YouthConnekt 2024 was published, I saw it just four minutes later and immediately applied,” he said.

He won at the district and provincial levels before competing nationally, getting capital for his business.

The experience strengthened his resolve to leave alcohol behind and focus on his future.

"I realised that I could not recover the opportunities I had lost, but I could resolve to work harder and move forward,” he said.

Today, he follows government announcements and reads budget documents to identify opportunities that could help him grow his business.

Reflecting on his experience, he said: "First, recovery begins with me: the initial decision to change must come from within. Second, the family must provide support. Third, local authorities and society at large must reach out and help those who need support.”

Turning Rwf500,000 into an initiative reaching 17,000 adolescents

For Umuhoza, the challenge she wanted to address was teenage pregnancy. She had witnessed how it affected girls in the community where she grew up.

She said seeing some of her peers experience teenage pregnancy motivated her to find a way to help other young people avoid similar challenges.

Her interest in entrepreneurship grew when she learned to identify problems in her community and develop ideas to address them.

In 2017, she became one of 30 national finalists in a youth competition and received Rwf500,000 in start-up funding.

"Because the money was not enough to establish the business I had in mind, I went to the Maison des Jeunes youth centre and asked for permission to organise events there. They agreed,” she said.

She began with limited resources, relying on a friend who lent her a table and chairs to get started.

Today, she runs two centres: Kigali Menstruation Station in Nyamirambo Sector and the Teenage Mothers Sewing Programme in Kimisagara Sector.

The centres teach adolescents about sexual and reproductive health through creative activities. They also provide vocational training to girls who have experienced teenage pregnancy, including sewing and making products used at events.

"So far, we have trained 17,000 adolescents,” she said.

Umuhoza also highlighted what she described as a major achievement in her organisation.

"One of the things that has made me and my colleagues particularly happy is that, last year, all the schools where our club we operate, recorded zero pregnancies,” she said.

She is now completing a master’s degree in Global Challenges at Radboud University in the Netherlands while continuing her entrepreneurial work through Saye Company, established in 2017.

Looking back on her journey, Umuhoza said young people should not allow their backgrounds to limit their ambitions.

"The first lesson is never to allow your background to limit you or make you believe that certain opportunities are meant for other people. That is not true,” she said.

She also emphasised the importance of perseverance, saying some of the opportunities she pursued took years to materialise.

"I applied for many programmes and opportunities at different times, but it took me three, six or seven years to achieve some of my goals. Therefore, we must not give up,” she said.

Umuhoza urged young people to make better use of available resources, including youth centres in their communities.

"Facilities such as Maisons des Jeunes belong to us, and we should use them,” she said.

She also called for greater involvement of boys and men in efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy, citing figures from the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey that she said put teenage pregnancy at eight per cent.

"Do not assume that the problem concerns someone else. It concerns you, too. Men, young men and boys must all take responsibility because teenage pregnancy is an issue that affects all of us,” she said.