It was such an emotional Friday afternoon as caretakers at the ‘Centre Inshuti z’Abakene’ which is translated as ‘Friends of the poor’ received a team of employees from the Kigali Marriott Hotel who had visited the center and offered their support. Among the support that was offered by the hotel to the centre included foodstuffs and drinks which are essential in such an institution. Led by the hotel’s Director of Human Resource Nicole Ingabire, the team that consisted of around 17 members was welcomed by Emerita Nyirandayizeye who is a caretaker at the centre that is currently taking care of 39 mentally disabled children but with a few mature members of over 25 years. She welcomed the entire team and narrated to them the background and the hardships they (caretakers) go through to see that the children are shown love that they cannot get in the community as they are looked at as burdens. ‘’This centre was established in 2000 and we began with three children most of which had no relatives and it is then that we began getting children who were abandoned or thrown away because they were mentally unstable and their families didn’t welcome them,’’ she narrated. She went on to say that many of the children are seriously disabled and support like this from different individuals or organisations only gives them strength and boosts their morale to keep looking after these people. ‘’As you all know that it requires a lot of patience to take care of people who can’t do anything for themselves, we really get uplifted by people and organizations that come out to lend us a hand in many different ways,’’ she happily said. Speaking at the charitable event, the hotel’s Director of Human Resource Nicole Ingabire noted that The Kigali Marriott Hotel has a culture of participating in the community it operates in, in different ways and identifies those that need support and it offers what it can. ‘’As a hotel, we do not only focus on the work we do, we go a step further and look at the society in which we operate and lend a hand to those less fortunate and today we chose this centre as it is doing such a commendable job,’’ she said. Emerita Nyirandayizeye, on behalf of other caretakers thanked the entire Kigali Marriott Hotel team for having thought of the ‘Inshuti z’abakeene’ centre among all other centers and showed her great appreciation for the support that was extended to the centre. ‘’I would really want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to this entire team and the top management of the hotel for having supported us in this way. Usually, it is not easy meeting all the needs of these children but when we receive such support, we do not take it for granted,’’ she said to The New Times Kigali Marriott Hotel takes part in similar activities on a monthly basis as part of an initiative called “Serve 360” Doing Good in Every Direction platform.
