Ubumwe Center

In part owing to the 1994 genocide, Rwanda has a disproportionate number of physically and mentally disabled people. Most have no option but to live as street beggars.

The Ubumwe Center is a place where adults with disabilities and their children are given an alternative; where they can be educated, learn skills, work and ultimately take control of their own lives.

Learn more more about the center here.

Presently, the greatest need identified at the Center is a preschool for the children of Gisenyi. The land has been secured and a fence is currently being built with funds raised by Congregation B’nai B’rith and other partners in the greater Santa Barbara, California community. This preschool will be attached to the existing Community Center building. It will provide a safe, stimulating and nurturing environment for local children who are both healthy or have a disability.

As a fifteen-year-old boy in his native Rwanda, Frederic Ndabaramiye was dragged from a bus and brutally attacked by Interahamwe rebels. When he refused to kill 18 fellow passengers the rebels hacked off Frederic’s hands with machetes and left him for dead.

Please join us in helping The Ubumwe Center and the future Ubumwe Preschool Project.

With the Partners in Conservation Program the center, which is close to Rwanda’s endangered gorillas, teaches the importance of preserving their habitat. MORE