Residential Care

Residential Care — Restoring Home & Purpose

Nurturing Hope, Building Futures.

Overview
Our Residential Care program restores safety, stability, and purpose to children who arrive from transit centres and the streets. We welcome children referred by government transit centres, offer them family-style shelter, meet their immediate needs, and work with each child to return to school or learn practical trades that will help them build a livelihood. Children live with us for up to two years while we support their physical, emotional, educational, and social recovery.

How the program works

1. Safe intake: We receive children from transit centres where they are temporarily placed by police. Each child receives a comprehensive intake assessment, including a health screening, psychosocial support, and an individualized care plan.
2. Family tracing & reintegration: Wherever possible, we trace and assess families for safe reunification. When families face financial hardship, we evaluate whether reintegration is in the child’s best interest and provide support or referrals to boost a safe return. Our priority is the child’s well-being and long-term livelihood.
3. Education & skills: Younger children are returned to formal schooling when appropriate. Older children receive hands-on vocational training, whatever their interests may be, so they leave with marketable skills.
4. Holistic care: Children live in a family-style setting with consistent caregivers. We provide meals, healthcare access, counseling, life-skills training, and a stable routine that rebuilds trust and confidence.
5. Transition & follow-up: Before leaving, each young person receives support to find apprenticeships, further education, or safe family placements. We follow up after the transition to increase prospects for long-term success.

A typical day
Mornings begin with shared chores and school or vocational classes; afternoons combine hands-on workshops, tutoring, and recreational time; evenings are for family-style meals and mentoring. This balance of structure, learning, and care helps children regain a sense of normalcy and hope.

Impact & outcomes
With a focus on practical skills and family reintegration, our Residential Care program helps children move from crisis into a life with purpose. Over the decades, our broader organization has cared for 2,000+ children, and every child who comes through our doors benefits from targeted support designed to increase their chances of lasting self-reliance.

Our history in this work
The program began when Father Hermann started walking the streets with a few boys, teaching them basic trades and giving them direction. With support from friends overseas, he grew this effort into an orphanage that supplied food, shelter, schooling, and most importantly, purpose. The 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda devastated the community and the orphanage, but Father Hermann returned to rebuild, and the program evolved into the residential care model we run today: a family-style village dedicated to helping young children find life, dignity, and a path forward.

How you can help
We cannot do this alone. Your support helps us provide shelter, schooling, vocational tools, counseling, and family-tracing services that change a child’s future. Ways to help:

• Donate — flexible gifts fund daily needs and long-term programs.
• Sponsor a child — provide steady support for education and care.
• Volunteer — bring skills, mentoring, or short-term teaching support.
• Partner — collaborate on vocational placements, health services, or income-generating projects.

Quick facts

• Locations: Musha, Rwamagana, Rwanda
• Current residents: 70 children (space available for more)
• Typical stay: up to 2 years
• Referral source: government transit centres and child protection services
• Primary goals: safe shelter, reunification with family where possible, and vocational training/reintegration when reunification isn’t appropriate
• Core supports provided: intake assessment, health screening, psychosocial care, education or vocational training, and follow-up after transition

• Nurturing Hope, Building Futures.