Rwanshetsya is a remote rural area within the Rukararwe project area in Bushenyi District, Western Uganda, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic has left many children without parents hence vulnerable.
2001, Mrs Bakirahi (rest in peace), a member of the Rukararwe traditional healer association (BUMETHA) and a grandmother of 11 orphans, noticed with dismay how child-headed families were on the increase within her village and approached the board of RPWRD for possible collaboration in establishing an orphanage. With the assistance from Ernst-Barlach-Gymnasium (EBG) in partnership with Ev Pagel and Dr. Klaus Onnasch, they have provided funds for the wellfare and education of the orphans.
Today, Rwanshetsya Orphanage is headed by Mrs Jane Kekitinisa with the assistance of three qualified teachers and two other staff members. The orphanage is now a model for other schools on how to cope with grief through music, dance and drama. Jane has continued to give counseling to the orphans, they now live happy and with hope to have a better life in the future. With the support of partners from Germany like Anna and Bernhard they have ensured that orphans enjoy christmas like other children with their parents. They have also managed to provide basic needs to all orphans at the orphanage.
Life at the orphanage, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpKHp6FCwto
