Maison Shalom

About us

Maison Shalom was born in1993, in the middle of the atrocities of the Burundian civil war, to turn on the light brought by forgiveness, and to create a new generation, capable of breaking the cycle of violence.

Since its creation in 1993 by Marguerite Barankitse, Maison Shalom has been committed to giving dignity back to orphans of war, HIV/AIDS orphans, street children, children in prison, and children in various other forms of difficulty.

Vision
For every child to grow in a community that favors his flourishing and integral human fulfillment.

Mission
To promote the rights, and human rights of children. By providing a psychosocial, educational, and economic support to those most in need, so that they may become independent,and become agents of development for their own communities.

Our actions in Rwanda:
• Education: Preschool; Secondary education; Vocational training; Post-secondary education (Maison Shalom enrolls young eligible students in different universities in Rwanda, pays all fees related to university training (school fees, accommodation & food, travel, health care, other materials, internship.); Language learning
• Psychosocial support: Maison Shalom provides psychological support, medical assistance, food and other necessities of life to support the poorest and unsupported refugees.
• Socio-economic support: Project “Chain of Solidarity" - This consists of training and granting microcredit to women with children under 5 and young people between the ages of 18 and 35, promoters of micro-projects and working in solidarity groups of at least 5 people. Supporting these refugees, Maison Shalom seeks a dual purpose: to contribute to the improvement of their socio-economic conditions in exile and prepare them for a constructive return to Burundi.
• Oasis of Peace Community center: The Oasis of Peace Restaurant is a social business, 100% run by refugees. The mission of the restaurant is to train and employ refugees, providing them with the knowledge and economic resources to improve their lives. The benefits of this restaurant are used to give psychosocial support to the refugees; Internet Cyber - In order to facilitate access to information for refugees, Maison Shalom has set up a cyber, equipped with computers with internet connection. Refugees attend introductory courses in computer science, do research for memory work or for general culture, take online courses and prepare their application for employment; Elite Design is a clothing brand developed by refugees in Rwanda with the support of Maison Shalom. She produces clothes of all kinds, bags, napkins,tablecloths, bedspreads, and a lot more. She organizes fashion shows and evenings to promote the talents of refugees. Like the Oasis of Peace Restaurant, Elite Design aims to develop the talents of young refugees, create jobs and generate income to support social activities for refugees; Culture and leisure - Young refugees develop cultural activities such as traditional Burundian drumming, traditional and modern dances.
• Mahama Elite Centre: The center offers different training in trades including cutting, sewing, plastic art, tannery, initiation to computer and access to the internet. This centre quickly became a center of influence with a library, an exhibition space for artistic works, learning and promotion of languages and various talents.
Our actions in Burundi
• Education: Nursery and primary school; Centre for vocational training
• Healthcare: Presentation of the socio-medical axis - Purpose: Prevention, Treatment, Health Promotion
• Community Development: "UCP - GIRUBUNTU", a movement of cooperatives of production, and the ITEKA Microfinance program,
• Income generating activities: Maison Shalom invested in a range of infrastructure and services to increase financial autonomy, create jobs, and contribute to the development of the Eastern Region of Burundi.
• Culture and leisure – Cité des Anges: Through the Cité des Anges, these youth had a key to open a door to the outside world, i through the cinema, the library, the cyber café and the swimming pool. The youth were also trained in drama, traditional and modern music, and beating of Burundian drums.

Emery Emerimana is the Chief Communication and Public Relations Officer of Maison Shalom.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.