SUPPORT CENTRE MAREMBO REINTEGRATE 6 TEEN MOTHERS

This first progressive report serves to update Global Giving, donors and whoever who might be interested in Centre Marembo activities on what has been going on during the recent three months.

In the last three months since we posted the project entitled ‘‘SUPPORT CENTRE MAREMBO REINTEGRATE 6 TEEN MOTHERS’’, we did not raise any funds, but we remain convinced that our donors for the recent project can also join hands in this project aims at providing reintegration kits and family therapy for the teen mothers ready for reintegration.

We planned to put more effort in sharing our projects whether on social media and other platforms which will provide our projects with more visibility to interested donors.

Teen mothers’ reintegration needs to carefully processed given that they need particular care and follow up. It is challenging to reintegrate them in their families, given their life conditions of motherhood and their affecting background that relates to their prior violence situation when their offenders most of the time are not identified to be brought into courts.

Therefore Centre Marembo opted to reintegrate them in independent living where we want to follow up them and their babies.

Major expectation on this project is to solve the problem of dependence of the teen girls and lack of self-confidence if they continue living in the facility. Once the project funded, reintegration teen mothers will be able to participate in different programs that are put in place by the government to support the communities and the Centre will no longer be over populated as we reintegrate we free space for possible more victims who join our program.

Conclusion

As this project was unable to raise any funds within the period of three months, we decided on putting our mind on sharing the projects more than we did it before. We will achieve this by carefully going through the given links by Global Giving and participation in different workshop like the incoming GG workshop scheduled in Kigali-Rwanda on 20 August 2018.

Sonia story

‘‘I no longer sleep under the bridge with my daughter. My life no longer depending on begging. I always have hope for my lunch and dinner respectively,’’ quote by Sonia, one of Centre Marembo beneficiaries after 3 years of service.

Sonia experienced bitter life since the death of her mother when she was 6 years old. Her reckless father destroyed the house and Sonia with her siblings started struggling until their 10 years eldest brother committed suicide.

She later on decided to live with her elder sister but the life went on unexpectedly until she decide to come in Kigali, the main city of Rwanda.

The experience of street life

It was a simple deal to convince hungry and strolling young girls to rural exodus. She relocated to Kigali, the main city of Rwanda seeking for employability, but her dreams turned into nightmare when they denied her a job saying she is not qualified due to her physical appearance and age limit, she was only 7 years old.

‘‘At night I would sleep on verandas or outside one of the garages,’’ Sonia during her two months life hostile at Nyabugogo suburb.

From street life to sexual abuse

After several 2 months on the street, Sonia met a good Samaritan who took her at his home and vowed to look after her as her own child.

Rehabilitation did not last long as she started experiencing rape from the little brother of her new adopted father. She was continuously sexually abused which resulted into unwanted pregnancy at the age of 14, then expelled from home when she was 3 months pregnant.

Thriving life at Centre Marembo

Sonia and her 3 years daughter, commend life at Centre Marembo as she no longer lives in fear for future after finishing sewing studies in our program of empowerment through vocational training studies.

Her life changed a lot and the centre helped to readapt to normal life and regain lost dignity and resilience.

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