RWANDA — “I do work and I am happy living in Rwanda,” was the response from the young mother when I asked her if life was good. Henriette Meridien (22) was playing with her young son, Prince (3).

Like so many others before her, Henriette fell pregnant out of wedlock and now has to care for her child. “It is not always easy being a single mother; the father does not support us. I just have to cope,” she said in broken English.

Later, speaking through an interpreter, she added: “Life in Kigali is not always easy and to be able to work is a privilege, but that does not deter people from being positive and looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

“Look at all the new developments, the new houses that are being built. Rwanda is no longer dead; it is alive and well. The young people will have a future.”