Where are we?

Rwanda

Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is highly elevated, giving it the soubriquet "land of a thousand hills".

It had a long and independent history until it was colonised by Europeans in the 19th century. It is now infamous for the terrible genocide of 1994, when up to a million people were killed in 100 days.

Rwanda’s economy is largely based largely on subsistence agriculture, and it has lfew natural resources to trade. The population is growing and is substantially young (with approximately 40% under the age of 14, compared to 17% in the UK). Although the capital, Kigali, is a modern and dynamic city. in parts of Rwanda there remains considerable poverty.

Nyamasheke District, Western Province

Rwanda is divided into five provinces, and these are further divided into districts. Nyamasehke is a district on the shore of lake Kivu (which forms much of the boundary with the Democratic Republic of the Congo) Its capital is Nyamasheke town, also called Kagano.

Gihombo

Gihombo is one of the fifteen sectors within Nyamasheke Dictrict. It is an entirely rural area of 57.35 km2 bounded to the North west and North east by Lake Kivu, tand to the South east by the metalled road from Bukavu (on the Sourhern border of Rwanda with the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Kibuye to the north. In 2022, it had a population of 29,843.

VRUK works with its NGO partner throughout the Sector.