Gisimba Memorial Centre

About

Gisimba Memorial Centre is a trauma informed community center and an after-school centre for disadvantaged children in Kigali, Rwanda. Formerly, it was the oldest and best-known orphanage in Rwanda, however, in 2016 the government began closing orphanages and transferring the children under foster care and adoption to families. It was founded by Peter and Dancilla Gisimba in the 1980s. They took orphans into their home from the local community, until there were too many to house, at which point they transferred to a larger location. It was renamed the Gisimba Memorial Centre in 1990.

In the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Damas and Jean-Francois Gisimba (the founder's sons) along with American aide worker Carl Wilkens help hide and save 400 children, and even more adults, within the orphanage from the Interahamwe, or Hutu militia. On November 21, 2017, the former orphanage officially changed its mission. In a statement to the press, the director said, "We have turned the orphanage to Gisimba after School Initiative – it is a training centre which will bring the youth together for several entertainment and education activities."