VANESSA VICK PHOTOGRAPHY

Rwanda

The genocide left thousands of children orphaned, some of the most vulnerable and marginalized are those struggling to survive and recreate a family life without the support of adults. In addition, the number of children living or working on Rwanda's streets has increased dramatically.

Street kids jump off trucks at the main garbage dump in Kigali where they go to find things to eat or sell.
   
Danielle, Rukundo, Shimbusho, Mbarushimana, and Nkubana sniff glue to dull the pain of hunger and pass the day.
  
Mbarushimana spends everyday at this intersection begging from passing cars.
     
  
Children play with toy guns found at the garbage dump in Kigali.
   
Gitagata Re-education Center rehabilitates children that have been accused of genocide.
   
Alphonsina sixteen cares for her four younger brothers and a cousin. Her father a Hutu was killed during the war and her mother died from what sounds like the complications due to AIDS.
     
  
A street boy high on glue stands in Kigali traffic.
   
Phillipe helps cook dinner for the family. Orphaned during the war his sixteen-year-old sister is head of the household.
   
Khazanzzia, 12, was orphaned during the genocide.
     
  
Arywanda stays at home to help Alphonsina. He no longer goes to school because the family cannot afford the fees.