Imbabazi orphanage is located in Rubavu District, Mudende Sector; originally started in December 1994 by Rosamond Carr from Manhattan , USA.  Having arrived in Masisi from Matadi in 1949, Rosamond Carr bought a plot of land in 1955 where she started with planting pyrethrum and later flowers, for the next 50 years she witnessed the end of colonialism, celebrated Rwanda’s independence and became one of Diane Fossey’s closest friends. Rosamond was forced to leave by the American Embassy in April 1994 due to the outbreak of the genocide.

She returned in August 1994, aged 82, to find her home and plantation ruined. She then decided to open her doors to genocide orphans and developed Imbabazi Orphanage. Due to security reasons the Orphanage has had to move locations 4 times, but is now settled in Rubavu. The flower plantation is still running and provides fresh produce for the orphanage.

IMBABAZI means ‘a place where you will receive all the love and care a mother would give in Kinyarwanda (local language). Since the Orphanage opened its doors in December 1994, Roz Carr and her staff have cared for more than 400 children. Many have been reunited with family members by relief agencies still working throughout Rwanda.

Others have grown up and moved on to lead successful and meaningful lives. Imbabazi have one child of pre-school age, 54 children in elementary school, 10 in vocational schools, 41 in secondary schools and 3 in university.

The Imbabazi is and remains a haven of love and safety and a symbol of hope for all. Rosamond Carr was born in 1912 in South Orange, NJ; she traded in her life as a fashion illustrator and New York City socialite to follow her husband, dashing British hunter and explorer Kenneth Carr, to what was then the Belgian Congo.

Roz’s love for the country and its people was kindled. She bought a plantation of her own in the tiny neighboring country of Rwanda and created a remarkable life for herself there – a life filled with romance and adventure, untold hardships and personal loss, political upheaval and civil wars, and a life that was dedicated, in large part, to the Rwandan people. From the beginning, she helped people by distributing medicine for small ailments, administering first aid and paying school fees for children.

Roz Carr was the longest-living foreign resident in Rwanda and the last of the foreign plantation owners. She witnessed the decline and fall of colonialism in Africa and the emergence of new and struggling African states. She sailed up the Congo River and camped in Pygmy villages. She survived civil wars, revolutions, and one of the greatest human tragedies of our time, the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. Roz was a close friend to Dian Fossey and they stayed together in a room at Roz’s residence in Rubavu before Dian moved to the Volcanoes area. Their stories and love to conservation and humanity is great and we should work to keep their legacies.

Rosamond Carr died on the 29th September 2006, at the age of 94. The operations and management of the Imbabazi have been passed onto the Imbabazi Foundation, which is dedicated to the continuation of her work and the preservation of her legacy.

For a visit to imbabazi Orphanage, reach out to us on our below address;

56 KN 2 Ave, Room 4, Kigali-Rwanda

Phone/WhatsApp: +250785576756

Email: [email protected]

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