2005: Dr. Paul Oas, a retired Psychotherapist in San Diego, CA, invited Dr. Ron Reinsch, an OB/GYN Surgeon to train professionals and treat patients devastated by war and genocide in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They visited Rwanda and were exposed to the dire needs of thousands of “Street Children” – orphans left homeless by families destroyed by genocide, disease and poverty.
April 2006: Dr Oas traveled to Kigali with a team of ten volunteers. Seven Trauma therapists from the Association of Thought Field Therapy (www.ATFT.org) treated children suffering from PTSD wounds of the 1994 genocide and initiated a longitudinal study to assess the treatment’s effectiveness. Three other volunteers assessed the orphans’ physical and emotional needs for safety, food, water, medical care, education and vocational training.
April 2007: The needs of the children living in an abandoned warehouse, prompted Dr. Oas to assemble another team of 14 people, consisting of nurses, a dentist, trauma therapists and facility/program developers to return for future needs assessment.
Accomplishments during this visit include:
· The medical team examined 215 of the neediest children, collecting data on the physical conditions present in this population. A health plan was instituted providing funds for Rwandan National Heath Insurance for the children.
· The ROP was able to facilitate the donation and installation of filtration unit on the water supply to address the gastro intestinal problems identified in the examinations. Trauma therapy was provided by ATFT for children suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and other psychological/social problems.
· Restructuring of the staff was accomplished to provide for receiving, accounting and use of funds sent from the USA.
May 2008: Tim Botsko, Paula Herring and James Hall traveled to Kigali with the mission to observe the general health and welfare of the children supported by ROP. They began outreach into the community, meeting respected community leaders and seeking their advice and help in providing for the children.
A local Advisory Committee of Rwandan Citizens was formed to provide oversight of the orphanage and be the “eyes and ears” in Kigali for the ROP in San Diego.
Among the Advisory Committee volunteers in Kigali is a graduate of the School of Finance and Banking who is an accountant. He has created the accounting system in the orphanage to provide clear and transparent information on the use of funds sent to the orphanage. He sends detailed records back to San Diego on a monthly basis.
MITABU Celestin who was the Chairman of the Advisory Committee is now the Director of the orphanage.
January 2009: Dr. James Hall returned to Kigali to confer in detail with the staff as well as the Advisory Committee and accountant, with the intent of having the orphanage policies in accord with the Mission Statement of ROP. He met with government ministers, enlisting their aid in bringing the orphanage into compliance with government policies and made them aware of the financial support of the orphanage by American donors. The Sector Council President, Mr. RULISA Chrissy now serves on the Advisory Committee.
At the suggestion of the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, the new name of the orphanage is “ROP Center for Street Children”. The Rwandan government now discourages the use of the term “orphanage”.
January 2010 Dr. James hall returned to Kigali along with new ROP Board of Directors member Sean Jones, who decided to stay with the Center for several months in order to give the ROP a long term presence in Rwanda to further the mission and establish new objectives.
In March the ROP Center hired a new supervisor, Tom Muzigura, and began graduating children and repatriating them with their families in the Kigali area. This brought the current number of boys housed at the Center to 127. In the same month the Center also restarted the successful ROP Quilting Project, which uses the proceeds from the sale of quilts to pay for the school fees for about nine girls who are attending secondary school.
In April the Rwandan Orphans Project Center for Street Children moved from the noisy, bustling neighborhood of Nyabugogo to the quiet and calm area of Kanombe in the district of Kicukiro. This move was celebrated by everyone in the organization from the staff, donors and most importantly, the children who now have large dormitories, great facilities and wide open spaces to enjoy.
