Nicolette Nsabimana is the Coordinator and Co-founder of Marembo Centre, a Non-Government Organization which supports abused and other vulnerable children. She holds a bachelor’s degree in law and another one in business administration from Kigali Independent University (ULK). She talked to Donah Mbabazi about looking after vulnerable children.

Who is Nicolette?

I am 44 years old. I have two children; a daughter who is biological and a son I adopted. I have been married before but I am now divorced. Before I started this organisation, I worked with the City of Kigali in the Central Secretariat and later, I became the labour Inspector.  

How did Centre Marembo come about?

On May 28, 2003, I met a young girl who could have been either eleven or twelve years old with a baby on her back near Hotel des Mille Collines. I could tell that she was a street child and the fact that she had a baby to care for under the horrible circumstances touched my heart and it was then that I took a decision to do something.

With some colleagues, I came up with an idea of starting an organisation that would help these children. We started with almost nothing. We had no finances and experience but we were determined. The love and concern we had for these children kept us going.

We first put up two centres for both boys and girls but after four months we closed the girls’ centre because a lot of bad things happened there. We remained with the boys’ centre for some time until my colleagues went back to Britain to fundraise for funds. I later decided to concentrate on helping girls after the boys were taken back to their families.

Today, the centre is a home to 58 children and its main purpose is to help these children get better lives and transform for the better.

Why girls?

Girls are the main victims of many circumstances and it has always been my wish to be able to help them especially those on streets, they are faced with a lot of hardships yet it’s not their choice.

How do most of these children usually end up on the streets?

The children I receive have different problems which are mostly a result of family issues such as divorce, domestic violence, poverty, sexual abuse from family members etc.

Some are raped by their fathers, brothers and after impregnating them, they send them away to avoid shame.

Some children run away when they can no longer handle some situations. For example, there is one who ran away because her mother was a prostitute and she could let the men she brings at home sleep with her. Another one was dumped by the mother and the child grew up from the streets being used by men from all over. These children face a lot at a tender age.

What kind of support does Marembo Centre offer these children?

When they come to the centre, we give them a place to call home; counseling and those who have more complicated situations we give them extra care. I take my time personally to have a one-on-one with children with special cases.

We also give them education, medical care and we teach them other activities like weaving and tailoring among others. If the child shows serious promise, we do advocacy for her until someone gets to pay for them school fees, some even get chances of going to boarding schools. We impart various skills they need so that by the time they leave at the age of 18, they are able to sustain themselves.

What are your biggest challenges?

There is a lot of demand. Many children want to join the centre yet the capacity to accommodate them isn’t enough. Right now, I only take in children who are under the age of ten and those ones who have kids.

Also the expenses are many. Feeding, medical expenses and education all require money. Paying social workers is also a challenge. Even the social workers who stayed after our restructuring had to work for a salary that was lower by 30 percent but we have faith that everything will work out eventually.

What plans do you have for the centre in the next few years?

We have plans of starting construction so that we get a bigger place to accommodate more children. The place will be having pitches where the children can spend their leisure time. I also have a doctor friend who is helping us construct a laboratory where children will get faster access to tests.

What kind of support would you like to lay your hands on right now?

My message goes to all stakeholders involved in promoting the welfare of girls and fighting gender abuse. I think it’s time to put emphasis on extending support to children who are victims of rape, the children who are born out of rape and other vulnerable children whose plight is not always reported. These children need us all.

I also wish to appeal to the government to help us with infrastructure because we have the land; all we need is a shot in the arm in terms of facilities.

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