Continuing our series of articles from our Annual Report 2025/26, we outline here our work on our Foundation Rwanda programme. If you are based in the US and would like to make a donation to support the work of Foundation Rwanda, then please do so here.
Through funding from Foundation Rwanda, Survivors Fund (SURF) is currently addressing the education and counselling needs of young people conceived through rape during and under circumstances directly related to the 1994 genocide committed against Tutsi in Rwanda. They are recognised to be a particularly vulnerable and marginalised population.
Since Foundation Rwanda’s inception in 2007, Survivors Fund (SURF) has been the key partner in providing life-changing services to the Foundation Rwanda families, which has helped more than 1,700 women and their offspring.
Unemployment is at a high rate in Rwanda, especially among young people. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been a principal solution to address youth unemployment because graduates with a trade are more easily able to start their own businesses, create job opportunities and sustain themselves and their families financially. In 2025, 26 new youth were supported to access TVET through funding for relevant courses and programmes.
Even though Foundation Rwanda have supported many young people to attend TVET courses and over 486 of them have graduated with adequate knowledge and skills, many of those graduate’s face unemployment challenge and do not have the capital to start their own businesses.
To address this challenge, Foundation Rwanda has set up a Small Business Innovation Fund programme to provide capital to youth who want to start small businesses. In 2025, 27 youth have been sponsored to start their own businesses and there is a plan to support more youth in the near future.
The students who have grown into inspiring, hopeful young adults now face the challenge of securing jobs or attending university while grappling with the circumstances of their birth and the legacy of trauma. SURF remains committed to continue implementing Foundation Rwanda’s programs with our local partner organizations, Solace Ministries, Kanyarwanda, and AVEGA Agahozo.
Jean *
Jean is 30 years old from Gasabo District, Kigali City. He is an orphaned youth who was identified among those who would receive vocational training after completing secondary school. He shared the following:
“I completed secondary school in Humanities in 2019. Since then, I have been searching for a job but could not find one. Poverty and the challenges of being an orphan affected me deeply, as I had to take care of my grandmother after my mother passed away when I was young. She is the one who raised me. Fortunately, Foundation Rwanda supported me to continue my education through vocational training. I have now completed a one-year short course in carpentry.
The profession I studied is in high demand, and even during the last holiday, I started taking on casual jobs in the Gisozi workshops area, serving many clients across Kigali City. While I was unemployed, I often felt isolated, went to bed hungry, and sometimes even contemplated suicide. However, vocational training has helped me overcome isolation, interact with others, and redirect my thoughts in a positive direction.
My grandmother, who once saw me as a burden, now sees me as a source of support, and I am committed to taking care of her. I am very grateful to Foundation Rwanda for the opportunity to acquire vocational skills. I have started working earning 200,000 Rwf (c. £100) per month, and I plan to save my earnings. My long-term dream is to own my own carpentry workshop within the next five years, including a sales counter for the items I produce.”