Imbabazi orphanage

In the kitchen cooking with the kids.

Cooking for the Canadian group with the orphans.

The grave of Rosamond Carr.

A view of Mt. Karisimbi from the orphanage.

The orphanage where the children sleep and eat.

Devon (left), the director of Imbabazi, and Ashley (right) a Peace Corps volunteer helping with the orphanage.

           The American Rosamond Carr spent most of her life in central Africa, particularly Rwanda.  She made a living planting flowers for sale or pyrethrum, even at times squeaking out a living as a hotel manager in Gisenyi.  When the genocide happened in 1994, Rosamond left for America to escape, but returned soon after to rebuild her home. 

            Ms. Carr never had any children.  Living out in the farms of rural Africa leaves little chance to find a husband and raise children.  When she returned after the genocide she found her vision, purpose, and finally got her children: the Imbabazi orphanage near Gisenyi. 

Post-genocide, Rwanda was teeming with orphanages and people taking in children that weren’t their own.  Orphanages are a common site here, but Rwanda is moving away from an orphanage based child care to foster care system as the children of the genocide become adults.  Furthermore, Rosamond Carr wanted the Imbabazi orphanage to house orphans from the genocide only. 

            Currently, the orphanage houses approximately 60 children (all above the age of 10).  Imbabazi is not accepting any further orphans but will raise these orphans until they become an adult and leave the orphanage.  It is unknown what will happen to the orphanage after the last child has left, but there is a board of directors debating how it will be put to public good afterwards. 

            I spent a day at the orphanage walking around with the orphans, viewing the gorgeous landscape that sits at the base of the volcanoes.  We cooked for a Canadian group and I got to know the American staff better.  The pictures are from my rainy day visiting a place I had wanted to see for quite some time.

            To learn more about Rosamond Carr’s amazing life in Africa, you can read her book “Land of a Thousand Hills.”  If you want to donate to the Imbabazi orphanage, go to http://www.imbabazi.org/