Gisimba Memorial Centre is an after-school centre for disadvantaged children in

Kigali, Rwanda Kigali () is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwanda's economic, cu ...

. Formerly, it was the oldest and best-known orphanage in

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, 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 The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

of 1994, the Damas and Jean-Francois Gisimba (the founder's sons) along with American aide worker

Carl Wilkens Carl Wilkens (born 1958) is an American Christian missionary and the former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International in Rwanda. In 1994, he was the only American who chose to remain in the country after the Rwandan gen ...

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."

Media

Brandon Stanton Brandon Stanton (born March 1, 1984) is an American author, photographer, and blogger. He is the author of ''Humans of New York,'' a photoblog and book. He was named to ''Time'' magazine's "30 Under 30 People Changing The World" list. Since 20 ...

, the creator of

Humans of New York ''Humans of New York'' (HONY) is a photoblog and book of street portraits and interviews collected on the streets of New York City. Started in November 2010 by photographer Brandon Stanton, ''Humans of New York'' has developed a large followin ...

, visited Rwanda in September 2018. Beginning on October 16, 2018, he began covering the genocide on his site through a series of interviews and photos from persons who were affected. On his site, he stated his objective: "During my week in Rwanda, I focused on the stories of people who took a moral stand during the genocide. These are members of the Hutu majority who risked their lives to shield and protect Tutsis. In Rwanda they are known as ‘The Rescuers.'" In conjunction with the series, he hosted a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

campaign to benefit the Gisimba Memorial Centre in Rwanda and the planned the yet-to-be-built Gisimba House in Uganda. He supplemented the campaign with $13,000 from HONY's

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...

fund, as well as with $1 for every donation beyond the 5,000th donation. The campaign reached its goal of $200,000 in 18 hours,

References

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External links

Eyewitness Testimony: Damas Gisimba
video interview with the

United States Holocaust Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hist ...

Educational institutions in Africa Buildings and structures in Kigali Orphanages in Africa