About Irembo
Opportunity should move forward.
Irembo means “gateway” in Kinyarwanda. We create practical passages from exclusion to education, from hunger to readiness to learn, and from dependency to skill and income.
Why we exist
The genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda left many families mired in poverty and struggling to provide basic needs for their children. It destroyed infrastructure and the social fabric, leaving a lasting impact on communities — and on the lives of Rwanda's youngest, most vulnerable people.
Many children in Rwanda live on the streets without access to education, food or medical care. Some are orphans; others come from poor families who cannot provide for their basic needs. Without an education or hope for the future, these children grow up with few options and are often caught in the cycle of poverty.
Irembo Foundation was founded in 2015 to break that cycle — by keeping children in school, feeding them, and equipping their parents to earn a living.
A door opened should become a door held open.
Our founder, Bertrand Ishimwe, knew hunger and an interrupted education as a child in Kigali. When a British supporter named Doug helped him return to school, it changed the course of his life. He started Irembo so children facing the same barriers could find their own gateway.
Read Bertrand's storyWhy Irembo? Why the hummingbird?
Irembo is the Kinyarwanda word for “gateway,” because the foundation strives to be a gateway to a better life for those it serves. We are represented by a hummingbird, from the parable of the forest fire: as the fire sweeps through the forest, the animals are transfixed. Only the tiny hummingbird has the strength of heart to try to put it out, one drop at a time — until the other animals realise every bit helps and begin to work together.
The hummingbird acts one drop at a time. No contribution is too small to begin change.
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