antoine-tardy-portrait-10
Yvonne fled Rwanda with her mother and brother in 1994 during the genocide. She was only 5 and had just gotten into primary school. The family then transited through various camps in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) until they finally reached Senegal in 1999, a place they have been calling home ever since. Thanks to several UNHCR scholarships, Yvonne eventually graduated from college with a masters, and has since been holding a managerial position in a renowned construction company in Dakar. “Our mother taught us that someone who is educated will always be better off than someone who isn't. She was a widow, she had two children and no means. She had to fight in order for us to get food. In spite of all this, she's always preserved her dignity and has always been independent. It is thanks to her, to her education and her contacts that we have made it.”