The Charlotte Wilson Memorial Fund is pleased to support the Kinamba School and Nursery in Kigali, Rwanda. All donations made via this page will go directly to this vital and inspiring project. 

Meg Fletcher, a retired headteacher and former VSO volunteer who regularly visits Kinamba and who has been championing the project here in the UK, says: 

"In 2005 a group of local people formed an association to try to do something about a number of children in the area who could not access education because they could not afford the school fees uniforms, books etc. They started a small nursery school with 28 children. I met with them in June 2006 and agreed to help them in a small way with pencils, notebooks, benches and other small items.

The project grew as I asked friends and family to support me with money and it has now become a significant community project.

There are now 124 children in 3 nursery classes and a Primary 1 class. We plan to add a class each year up to Primary 6. We provide all the materials they need and also feed the children each day and provide health checks and insurance.

The women of the project were mostly working in the sex trade and needed to find other ways of making an income so that they could live with dignity and feed themselves and their children in greater security.

From the initial meeting with 85 women in 2007 we have run classes in hairdressing, basket-making, jewellery making. We have begun to train 30 women in tailoring. Many are now earning regularly and the future is looking good for them. Classes for men and a youth literacy programme were begun this year. We now help around 200 adults and young people.

With the help of friends and family across the world we have now bought premises from which to work, so we are secure and can plan for the future. As we have become more successful our need is now to find bigger premises. For this, we need land to build.

For the moment we are looking for financial support to renovate and refurbish our current home to make better use of the space, build a kitchen to improve our capacity to feed the children, assistance with the feeding and health programme and books and furniture for the new classes.

This project was begun by local people in response to a local need and will continue and grow with financial, logistical and training support.  Together we can make a difference to a community which is growing stronger as those involved work together and support each other.

Our motto is 'even the smallest person can make a difference' - thank you for bringing smiles to so many faces!

Meg Fletcher, retired Headteacher and VSO volunteer 2006-2007 Rwanda."

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. If you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation. So please support the Kinamba Nursery appeal!