Turbulent Times

Some of you may have already read about the increased rebel activity and fighting in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) along the Rwanda border. I want you to know that all children, workers and animals at Imbabazi are safe and sound. This is a very tense and stressful for time for Imbabazi as we are located close to the DRC border. At times we have heard the fighting which makes us all feel on edge.

Our local government officials and police have come to reassure the children and staff that they are safe. The children have been particularly concerned as for some it brings back memories of being separated from their parents and living in fear before finding a home at Imbabazi. For others, it is their first time to hear fighting which is just as concerning. We have been meeting regularly with the children to listen to their questions and concerns and reassure them.

Throughout this turbulent time, Imbabazi operations are generally continuing as usual with the exception that plans to reunite some children with their families have been temporarily suspended. We have still been delivering our weekly flower bouquets and vegetables and  receiving visitors with our tourism project.

We thank all of our friends and supporters for their concerns, prayers and notes of encouragement.

Celebrating 1 year of English!

This week we celebrated one year of English classes for our gardeners and staff! Although they are only able to have one 2-hour class a week, they work very hard and can often be spotted studying together from their notebooks during their breaks in the afternoon. They are eager to practice their conversation skills with our English-speaking staff and visitors. We celebrated with a small party at Roz’s house, complete with chocolate cake, orange juice, speeches and a certificate ceremony. The students were very happy and proud of their hard work, as you can see below – congratulations!

Our proud staff members with English teacher Ashley

Family Reunification

A new program has begun at Imbabazi; Family Reunification. It is in response to the Rwandan government mandate to place orphans with families in the community. The government is working with orphanages to ensure compliance with the new policy.

Imbabazi identifies family environments in which children can be placed including distant relatives and surrogate families. We have qualified staff members who visit families before and after reunification to ensure living conditions are safe and satisfactory and that the child is adjusting well. We only place children in secure situations where they will benefit from being with a family and living in the community. Upon reunification, Imbabazi continues to support their education and personal needs and provides financial assistance to the family.

Most children at Imbabazi have several distant relatives and visit them on a regular basis during the school holidays. We are happy that they already have a relationship with their relatives.

The children of Imbabazi will forever be a family. They are always welcomed to come back and visit and often do especially for our yearly memorial to celebrate Roz’s life.  Our independent young adults have even started a group called Reba Kure – which means “look beyond.” This group is meant to keep the Imbabazi family together and support each other.

We are deeply committed to the children as well as Roz’s vision and legacy. Even though our residential orphanage activities are coming to a close; we will continue to support and care for all of Roz’s children until they graduate from school and find jobs. Our sponsors are very important part of this process.

Imbabazi’s future is very bright. Our goal is create new and support existing educational programs for children and young adults in our local community. The Roz Carr Cultural Center (a special building on Imbabazi’s property) houses our first educational programs; English classes and computer lessons. These programs are just the beginning!

More information to come. Please contact our Executive Director, Devon Kuntzman, at devon@imbabazi.org.

All of Imbabazi’s activities are made possible by our generous supporters. Thank you for continuing to make a difference in the lives of children in Rwanda. 

New Mural in the Refectory

Here are some pictures of the fantastic mural that Imbabazi children painted in the refectory over the summer vacation. Our art volunteer, Anna, helped guide the children in painting this over the course of her seven week stay. Great work to everyone who helped!

Celebrating Madame Carr's 100th Birthday!

This past Tuesday afternoon we commemorated Madame Carr’s 100^th birthday at Imbabazi Orphanage. Though it threatened to rain all day, it held off and we had a wonderful celebration in the dancing garden. In addition to Madame Carr’s birthday we also celebrated the birthdays of all the children born in May, June, July, and August. 

Serving up sambusas and cake!

The event was a showcase of how hardworking our kids are here at Imbabazi. Three of our cooking students helped bake six cakes to feed everybody. Another coordinated with a local bakery to place a large order of sambusas – a deep fried pocket stuffed with ground meat that everybody loves. Our band practiced all morning – even learning a brand new song “Happy Birthday”. We had a master of ceremony who ran the show. After the party was over everyone pitched in to clean up.

Issa and the band performing

The children played frisbee and baseball for an hour in the garden and even invented a version of badmitton hitting balloons back and forth instead of a birdie. The band put on a faboulous show for us all - and for many of our neighbors who gathered to listen when they heard the musicians warming up. Issa serenaded us with a cover of a well known pop song here in Rwanda called “Narashize.” One of our older students, Bingwa, stepped up as the master of ceremony and said a few words about Madame Carr and then all the kids shared their memories. Our MC distributed presents to those children with recent birthdays and the student-chefs served up sambusas, cake, and candy for all – including the Imbabazi staff members and young children in the community. It was a great time! Join us for next year’s celebration!

Summer Break at Imbabazi!

Late July marks the beginning of a long break from school for children in Rwanda. Many of our students at Imbabazi return from boarding school excited to reunite with their friends and share stories from school.  While there are plenty of chores to do, they find time to do what teenagers worldwide do: nothing! Or in Kinyarwanda: “Nacho.”  After only two weeks of vacation, many students are off to summer internships. We have three students in a restaurant and food service internship in Musanze, one interning in masonry and one in accounting also in Musanze, four in Gisenyi interning in electrical and mechanical work, and one at an entrepreneurship camp in Gitarama. We caught up with three who are remaining at Imbabazi for short interviews about the summer break:

Rose is sixteen years old and studies in Senior Two in the Rwaza secondary school in Musanze.  After finishing school she hopes to continue studying in university and medical school and become a pediatrician to help children.

Are you happy to return home from school?

 Yes, but I miss my friends.

Can you tell me what you do day to day on vacation?

 I wake up, I mop in the room or clean the bathrooms and showers. I help wash dishes in the afternoon and help to peel potatoes. We eat corn or rice at lunch. After chores, we chat and play.

What do you like to do on break:

I like to play monopoly and mancala.

Do you like to be at school or on break more?

At school. Because I like studying.

Rukundo is also a student at the Rwaza secondary school in Musanze. He studies in Senior Six and will be graduating this November!

Do you like to be at school or at home more:

I like to be at school. Because at school there are more people to see and things to do.

Can you describe a typical day on break?:

On break, I like to wake at 5AM and find some water to drink. When I finish at 5:30AM I go to pray. I return at 7AM. I start to do normal chores: mop in the dining room or dormitories, clean the bathrooms and sweep up or cut grass. We finish at 9 or 10AM then sometimes I do laundry. When we finish work early I go to play soccer at 10 or 11. Then we come back and eat lunch and rest for an hour. In the afternoon sometimes I go use the computers in the computer room or play music in the music room.  If I have time I’ll read a book or review from school.

Is it good to see your friends here on break? 

Yes it is good.  But it’s better to visit my friends from school on break!

What else do you want to say:

In general, I like to play soccer. I like to watch films. In particular action films: ones that are scary or have high technology. I like to pray. I pray on the Sabbath. But I’m not an Adventist; I’m in the Temperance movement. Also, sometimes I think of Madame Carr and what she did. Sometimes we help in the fields planting onions and cabbage, but we only help plant vegetables. Sometimes I go to visit my friends. I take a bus when they live far. I like to visit friends. 

Hakizimana is a student in the Kanyundo Primary school next door to Imbabazi. He is a student in P5 and lives at Imbabazi year round.

Do you like to be at school or on break more? I like to be at school more. Because at school we learn a lot!

What do you like to do on break? I do work. I like to mop in the room or in the bathrooms. You like to mop? Yes very much! Also I like to play games with the visitors who come and to visit our neighbors outside of Imbabazi. I like to go walking in the mountains or in the caves nearby. We tried to walk to the volcanoes.

What else should we know:  I use the computers, I like typing on the computers. I play football and I really like hiking in the mountains! I like studying and listening to the radio!

Welcome Anna!

Anna hanging out Nadia, Shadia and Roger

Welcome Anna Labarias, our newest volunteer here at Imbabazi! Hailing from Montreal, Canada, Anna has a degree in art history and is currently working on another degree in art education. She aspires to work in the field of art therapy and use creativity as a means of solving conflicts and bringing people together.

Anna arrived just in time for school vacation, so the kids will have a lot to keep them busy over the next few weeks while they are home. She will be here for two months working on art and other projects with our children, including a mural in the dining room, indigo dying and puppets. Fun fact: Anna is multilingual and speaks French, Spanish and English! 

Our new volunteer room!

Anna is the first official guest in our brand new volunteer dorm! We can now accommodate up to 10 volunteers at a time and hope to expand the number of beds in the near future. If you or someone you know is interested in coming to volunteer and/or spend time at Imbabazi, please contact us at imbabaziorphanage @gmail.com.