Support street girls and teen/pre-teen mothers.

Dear Donors,

Greetings You All,

On behalf of Centre Marembo, We are pleased to present our report for this year, highlighting the progress we have made in protecting, rehabilitating, and empowering vulnerable girls, young women, and children in Rwanda. Through the commitment of our team and the support of our donors and partners, we have made meaningful progress in livelihoods development, GBV prevention and response, healthcare access, legal assistance, and child protection. Among our key achievements are supporting children through improved school feeding, empowering beneficiaries through farming and beekeeping, certifying young women in painting and decoration, and reaching community members through GBV prevention outreach. While challenges such as climate change, damaged poultry infrastructure, and delays in legal proceedings remain, we are committed to building on these achievements, strengthening our community partnerships, and expanding sustainable opportunities for the people we serve. I sincerely thank our donors, partners, local authorities, staff, and community members for their continued trust and collaboration in advancing our mission.

Nicolette NSABIMANA

Centre MAREMBO CEO

Overview of the charity and its purpose
Centre Marembo is a local Rwandan non-governmental organization dedicated to rehabilitating, protecting, educating, and empowering vulnerable girls, young women, and children. Through an integrated approach, it addresses livelihoods, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, legal assistance, seasonal humanitarian support, and child protection and education primarily in Ndera Sector and Masaka (Gasabo District) and Gikondo while addressing the social, economic, and legal factors that cause vulnerability.

Our holistic reintegration approach for street teen mothers

Street teen mothers who have experienced GBV arrive at Centre Marembo carrying different types of vulnerability: rejection by family, lack of identity documents for themselves or their children, untreated health conditions including sexually transmitted infections, no safe place to sleep, interrupted schooling, and the daily pressure of survival with a young child. Rwanda’s policy framework for GBV survivors places the person at the centre and insists on multi-sectoral, coordinated support. Our approach translates that policy into a practical, human pathway.

Step 1 - Needs assessment

Every young mother begins with a careful, confidential assessment. We listen to her story, map her immediate safety risks, health needs, legal situation, educational history, family relationships and economic assets (or lack of them). The assessment is not a form to be filled; it is the first act of respect. From it we design an individual reintegration plan that the young woman herself helps shape.

Step 2 -The road to reintegration begins

Once the plan is clear, the young mother is placed in safe housing as close as possible to Centre Marembo offices. Proximity matters: it allows daily accompaniment, rapid response when crises arise, and consistent follow-up by our social workers, health staff and legal team. Housing is provided for an initial six months, with the possibility of an additional six months up to twelve months in total while the young woman rebuilds the foundations of an independent life.

Step 3 -The integrated service package

While she lives near us, each young mother receives a coordinated package of seven interlocking services:

Sexual and reproductive health, Mutuelle de Santé (Health Insurance) and treatment of STIs. Through Marembo Health Post she receives counselling, screening, medication and help to enroll in Rwanda’s community-based health insurance. Access to contraception and maternal health services protects both her and her child.

Civil registration, child protection and access to justice. We support her to register her child at sector level, secure birth certificates, and pursue legal remedies related to GBV, paternity or child support. Two teenage mothers received legal aid this period; two fugitive perpetrators were identified.

Childcare and nutrition. Her child is welcomed into our early childhood programme or linked to school feeding. Produce and eggs from our Ndera farmland contributed directly to meals for 400 children in the community aand at the Gikondo ECD Centre; surplus mangoes from Masaka reached another 300 vulnerable children in the community.

Psychosocial support. Individual and group counselling help her process trauma, rebuild self-worth and develop coping skills. The same outreach sessions that raised GBV awareness also offered basic counselling to community members.

Return to school or vocational training. Where it is her choice and circumstances allow, we support her return to formal education. Eleven young women completed and received certification in painting and decorating, a skill with steady demand in Rwanda’s construction sector, and were linked to potential clients and small businesses.

Economic empowerment. Alongside technical skills we offer financial literacy, school gardening and pathways into farming, poultry or beekeeping. The goal is not short-term relief but the capacity to earn a stable income and reduce the economic dependence that so often traps young mothers in cycles of exploitation.

Family reintegration and dialogue. Most street teen mothers have been rejected by their families. We facilitate careful, mediated conversations that aim to restore relationships where it is safe and possible, recognizing that family acceptance is often the deepest form of protection a young woman can receive.

Achievements, impacts, and challenges

Livelihoods: Supported combined crop farming and poultry in Ndera (6 workers; produce and eggs contributed to school feeding for 400 children in the community and 30 children at ECD Centre for malnutrition prevention efforts). In Masaka, crop farming and beekeeping reached the full target of 30 beneficiaries; high mango production enabled surplus distribution to approximately 300 vulnerable children for malnutrition prevention efforts. Purchased 30 traditional and 7 modern beehives from local artisans (creating dual livelihood benefits); beekeeping remains early-stage with no harvest yet. Fully achieved vocational training target: 11 young women completed and received certification in painting and decorating, with market linkages provided.

GBV prevention and advocacy: Conducted 4 community outreach sessions (9 December 2025 onward) under the 16 Days of activism campaign in partnership with Imirasire Youth Clinic, Marembo Health Post, and Ndera Sector authorities, reaching 360 community members (including youth, teen mothers, parents, women, leaders, and persons with disabilities). Provided health screening for non-communicable diseases to 97 people (12 referred for further care), psychosocial support, and legal education. Strengthened coordination with health facilities, Maison d’Accès à la Justice (MAJ), and local authorities.

Health: Marembo Health Post (first year of operation) provided basic treatment, sexual and reproductive health services, psychosocial support, and assistance with Mutuelle de Santé (Health Insurence) enrollment/referrals, linking healthcare with child protection, GBV response, and reintegration (target range 800-1,000 beneficiaries).

Legal assistance:Supported  2 teenage mothers with legal aid related to GBV, paternity,or child support; handled 2 cases. Fully achieved target of identifying 2 fugitive perpetrators.

Seasonal support: Fully reached target of 300 vulnerable female beneficiaries with Christmas/New Year food distribution.

Child protection and education (Gikondo): Fully reached target of 30 children; 10 children successfully transitioned from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to primary school (full target met). Farm produce and eggs from Ndera directly supported school feeding.

Cross-cutting impacts: Activities demonstrated strong interlinkages (e.g., agricultural produce supporting child nutrition; local procurement supporting multiple livelihood groups) and effective local partnerships, advancing empowerment over dependency.

Challenges: Poultry house collapse in Ndera; climate change impacts on crop productivity; slower progress on legal case resolution (dependent on external justice-system factors and capacity); beekeeping still pre-harvest.

Expected activities& impacts for the remainder of the funding year

1. Continue and strengthen farmland operations in Ndera and Masaka, including repairs/improvements to poultry housing, introduction of more climate-resilient practices, and progression of beekeeping toward first honey harvest and sales.
2. Maintain and expand GBV prevention outreach, health post services (including insurance enrollment and referrals), and integrated psychosocial/legal support.
3. Advance follow-up on existing legal cases and pursue additional support for teenage mothers toward full case resolution and reinforce local partnerships.
4. Continue child protection/education programming in Gikondo, supporting further ECD-to-primary transitions and school feeding linkages.

Conclusion

Across livelihoods, GBV prevention, legal assistance, seasonal support and child protection, the work of Centre Marembo in this reporting period demonstrates a coordinated, human response to the interlocking challenges faced by street teen mothers and their children. Strong results were achieved in vocational training, seasonal food distribution, the Masaka farmland activities, community GBV outreach, and the successful transition of children from early childhood into primary school.

What makes these results meaningful is the underlying approach, and partnerships that root the work in local systems rather than parallel structures. This is the pathway we offer every street teen mother who walks through our door and the pathway we will continue to strengthen with the support of GlobalGiving and partners. Protection, education, health and economic empowerment are most powerful when are interconnected. Centre Marembo remains committed to that integrated vision: empowerment over dependency, dignity over isolation, and a future in which no young mother has to raise her child alone on the street.