Centre Marembo

‘Marembo’ is a Rwandan word signifying the ‘gateway’ to a traditional home & a welcoming meeting place.

The aim of Centre Marembo is to facilitate the transition to education, training and stability for vulnerable young people.

Centre Marembo was opened in September 2005. Since then, the centre has welcomed young people on a permanent basis and also welcomes many more for drop in sessions several times a week.

There are now 28 young people that live in permanent rYico accomodation close to the centre and they attend the centre on a daily basis after school. rYico is currently only able to meet the immediate needs of the other young people but with more support, rYico will be able to welcome more young people on a permanent basis. If you would like to support Centre Marembo, please click here.

Latest news from Centre Marembo

Below are a few of the activities and projects that have taken place in Centre Marembo's first 2 years:

• 28 street boys have been accommodated and resumed school
• Mechanics theory and practical lessons 3 times a week for 55 young people
• Computer lessons 3 times a week for 30 young people
• Drop-in sessions once a week for washing, activities and a meal for up to 200 young people
• HIV/AIDS club
• Arts groups learning new skills such as t-shirt printing, how to make gift cards and how to use sewing machines
• Regular football and cricket training and matches for the Marembo teams
• School holiday club
• Volunteers from Kigali Institute of Education, Kigali Health Institute, Secondary schools and local businesses offering their skills and time to support the young people at the centre
• Youth journal project developed as a result of World Bank funding. A monthly journal is produced by Centre Marembo with information aimed at young people outside the normal channels of information with topics including health, education and youth culture

All of these activities are made possible by a highly dedicated team of volunteers who have developed the activity programme in collaboration with the young people. Several other volunteers have also spent time working at the centre teaching English, arts and crafts and helping to develop the centre's capacity to deliver it's projects. Many thanks also to those who have supported rYico's work, particularly the staff, our regular donors and those that have carried out sponsored activities.

The latest from Marembo February 2006

In January 2006 Centre Marembo began a new programme. Now that the first group of children are going to school (see below), Marembo has started offering a new group the opportunity to study at the centre 3 mornings a week with a view to their resuming school at the next opportunity.

Tuesdays are drop-in days and are now including new activities including karate, crafts and guitar lessons and every Saturday anyone is welcome to come and join our KIE volunteers for study groups. The range of activities are designed to provide structured leisure and learning time for the children.

Gradually the centre is reaching out to more and more young people. The majority at present are boys but more activities will be developed to encourage more girls to join over the following months.

The centre aims to go beyond providing a home or meal for these young people by working together with other organisations that can support their families. We hope that this holistic approach will help to achieve our long-term aim of reintegrating the boys, where possible, back into their families and the wider community.

 

Boys start school January 2006

On 9th January, rYico had the pleasure of being able to send the first 21 boys to school that have been attending Centre Marembo.

rYico was able to enrol 18 children at Gatenga Primary School, 2 at Mere du Verb and 1 other at the local Secondary School. Thanks to rYico's supporters, Centre Marembo has been able to provide everything from school uniforms to note books, pens and stationery.

The boys are all really enjoying school and are getting extra help with their homework at weekends from students from Kigali Institue of Education (KIE).

"My best moment was being able to watch the kids wearing their school uniform for the first time and accompanying them to school. I was very proud of the big leap forward they made." Vivenie Niragira, rYico founder

 

World Aids Day 1st December 2005

Events were held at Centre Marembo on December 1st - World Aids Day. The activities were kindly supported by VSO in Rwanda.

Activities included poetry written by the young people at Marembo, a dance, sketches and art activities that were all related to issues surrounding HIV / AIDS.

Children from all backgrounds attended the event and all took part in a variety of activities.

A large board was painted with the symbolic red ribbon and with the Kinyarwandan words Fata Umwana Nku wawe, meaning 'take (all) children as your own'. This is the First Ladies' ‘PACFA’ organisation’s motto for AIDS Day. Each of the children from the centre added a handprint to the board to symbolise their agreement with the messages written.

 

Since the launch of Centre Marembo in September this year, its programmes have already delivered numerous successes:

• Provided a home for 18 boys aged 10-18 who previously lived and worked on the street


• Offered the boys an opportunity to follow a transitional programme encouraging them to give up their street habits and behaviour and to learn from volunteers in a classroom environment


• Invited many young people from different primary schools to join the boys at Marembo during their school holidays to share some organised activities such as computer lessons, journalism, dance, guitar and karate classes


• An information resource library has been established and provides access to a variety of information and material, much of which has been donated to the centre.


• Volunteers from Kigali Institute of Education, Kigali Health Institute, Secondary schools and local businesses offering their skills and time to support and challenge the young people at the centre


• Opened their gates to a further 30 street kids every Tuesday for showering and washing their clothes, sharing lunch together, and a programme of training and educational games


• Received support from a variety of organisations for example VSO and PSI for World AIDS Day and Christmas activities


• Enabled these boys to resume school this year