The Director-General of National Rehabilitation Service (NRS), Aimee Bosenibamwe, Tuesday called for the reintegration opportunities for graduates of rehabilitation centres just like those from Iwawa. The call was made during a meeting between the City of Kigali and the Non-Governmental-Organizations known as ‘social clusters’ that operate in Kigali. The meeting aimed at making strategies for social development, fighting delinquency and domestic violence, among others. Of the 5,044 rehabilitated graduates, only 439 have been reintegrated; 72 in cooperatives and 365 in other job opportunities. “We need to work on their reintegration. The thousands that we don’t know their whereabouts is a big problem. And these are numbers from the past 10 years”, Bosenibamwe said. City dwellers dominate the rehabilitation centres; 100 per cent of 1,851 in the temporary KTC were arrested from Kigali, 100 per cent of 1,432 in Nyamagabe Rehabilitation Centre were arrested from Kigali, and 100 per cent of 250 in private rehabilitation centres were also arrested in Kigali. 2,701 of 4,320 in Iwawa were arrested in Kigali, and 437 of 556 in Gitagata Rehabilitation Centre were also arrested in Kigali. Hopethiopia, a Canadian based NGO works with Iwawa centre to shelter some of those rehabilitated. Their mission is ‘to foster the educational, physical, social, emotional, economic and spiritual growth of the most marginalized youth/young adults’, most of whom were street children. According to Glenda Dubienski, the International Director of Operations at Hopethiopia, they have sheltered 355 Iwawa homeless graduates in their home in Gahanga, Kicukiro. They take 30 graduates per intake, but they have to be selective as many would love to be part of the shelter. Other affairs discussed were decent housing and toilets, sexual violence, and school dropouts, among others. Ignatienne Nyirarukundo, Minister of State in the Ministry of Local Government in charge of Social Affairs, said the social clusters play a big role in the development of the country. “The reason for this meeting is because the Government of Rwanda has different stakeholders in the social development of citizens, and NGOs play a big role, and we agree on that,” she said. “Partnership is what has helped us achieve much, and I thank them (NGOs) for their role in improving the situation in Kigali”.
