Acorn’s Visit to the Kinamba Community Project
In late October 2023, Acorn’s Keith and Claire Longney, and Pippa Mitchell and husband Jimmy, travelled to Rwanda to fulfil a long-held ambition to visit the Kinamba Community Project, an organisation they have been supporting for the last four years.
The Project was founded by Meg Fletcher who has worked in Kigali since 2006 when she first went there as a volunteer with the VSO organisation.
Rwanda is still witnessing the impact of the genocide of 1994, an awful chapter in the country’s recent history which continues to effect the lives of so many.
The Kinamba Community Project offers hope to war widows, genocide orphans, the marginalised and vulnerable people of this community.
In 2008, Meg and colleagues bought a house and additional smaller buildings in Kinamba which have gradually been converted into teaching spaces, a kitchen, play areas, stores and toilets for the children and staff.
Claire Longney explains further, “The team at the Project find children and families in need, usually the poorest and most vulnerable as it is they who are in greatest need of support. This typically means visiting a student’s family home to establish what the basic requirements are.”
“Beyond practical items, the Project provides supplementary schooling for nursery, primary and secondary aged children. Education may sound like an obvious area for support, but for a lot of children living in poverty it simply isn’t an opportunity they get. Having shoes and a school uniform is a requirement for attending a government school but if a family can’t afford these then the child simply doesn’t get an education.”
“All of the children at the Project are provided with shoes, uniform and meals before and after school, along with help with homework. It also provides them with a safe space to play.”
In the last year alone, ten young people from the Kinamba Community Project have progressed to studying at university: “This is massive for them; for some of these kids they are the first in their family to go to school, so the chance to then go to university is nothing short of life-changing.”
“It also has the effect of inspiring the younger children, seeing older kids from their community going to university really is an incredibly positive message and provides role models to look up to and aim to emulate in the future.”
“The Project is also challenging the perception of females, with everyone expected to treat each girl, each woman, with the respect they deserve. They’re taught to look after their sisters and their mothers, and that girls are just as capable as boys and men.”
The Project provides adult literacy during the day when children are at school, as for adults, being able to read and write creates opportunities for employment and self-reliance.
The Project also provides a lot of employment opportunities in and around the centre, as well as providing training in practical skills in areas like tailoring, basket making and hairdressing. This enables people to find paid jobs to support their own families and achieve greater independence and self-sufficiency.
Aside from just visiting the Project, Keith, Claire and Pippa were very much looking forward to meeting one person at the Kinamba Community Project – Josepha Nyinawumuntu.
Acorn has been contributing to the education of Josepha through the Project since she was just 6 years old (she is now 10) and our sponsorship has been covering staff salaries, her school uniform, educational materials and food, ensuring that she gets at least one good meal per day whilst she is at school.
“We met her and her mum and enjoyed a morning of drumming and singing performances. All the children seemed to take real pride in the performance and had great fun showing us their skills.”
In addition to schooling, uniform, shoes and meals, the sponsorship from Acorn has also paid for cooking pans and a mattress for the family to sleep on (Josepha and her mother plus four siblings) which previously would have been just cardboard on the floor.
“It was so wonderful to finally meet Josepha and her family, and all the staff, teachers and students.” concludes Claire, “We’re going to continue supporting the Project in the years ahead and hopefully will make a return journey to Rwanda at some point in the future.”