Odette Nizeyimana, 18, is doing well in school and in her income-generating activities. With CARE's help, she developed business skills that allowed her to earn enough money to return to school, two years after being forced to drop out. Share

Yes, school reintegration is possible when you get money

My name is Odette Nizeyimana. I'm 18 years old and come from a poor family, where finding food was sometimes difficult. But, my father always promised me that he would support my education until I got a diploma. In 2012, I passed the national test so I could begin secondary education. It was a great joy for me. Few children have the chance to pass this test. This was my opportunity to fulfill the dream of my father to see me with a diploma.

Unfortunately, my father died before the following school year. My mother's health was very bad—and still is. She could not provide school material for my studies, so I was forced to abandon the idea of continuing my education. I stayed home for two years and did housework.

I kept the dream of going back to school, but I was finding it more and more unreachable.

In 2014, I heard about a community meeting for a new CARE Burundi project called POWER Africa—Promoting Opportunities for Women's Economic Empowerment in Rural Africa. I learned about a project that would focus on savings and credit. I decided to join. I had seen other projects CARE Burundi had led in my community, and I had seen women learn how to do income-generating activities. I thought this would be a way for me to finance my return to school.

After three months of saving in the group, I took out a loan of 15,000 Burundian francs ($9.50) to start an income-generating activity buying and selling chickens and vegetables. After a few months I repaid the loan and had 96,000 Burundian francs ($61).

I discovered that reintegrating into school is possible if you have money! With the money I had earned, I bought all the school supplies I needed and I went back to class. The teachers cited my wisdom and courage for returning to school, and they began to use me as a role model for other girls.

I was proud to be back at school, and I wanted to set a good example as a businesswoman. I developed a strategy: I would buy bunches of unripe bananas and resell them when they were ripe. Any unsold bananas were used in making banana wine, which I would sell on weekends and in the evening after school.

I am continuing to grow my business, but I remain focused on my dream—and my father's—to finish my studies. Education is possible only when you have money to support it, so I'm going to save progressively so that I can pay for my university studies.