Our Mission
Our Mission

Building sustainable houses in Rwanda to enhance wellness, stability, and a resilient future. We are improving living conditions, creating local jobs, and growing a self-sustaining community of Inshuti.

Our Vision, Families, Workers
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Our Vision

We believe housing is a human right. Everyone deserves refuge from the elements and to raise their children in a safe and sanitary environment. It is our vision that once the fundamental need for shelter has been met, the families who dwell in these homes will have the opportunity to start building their own independent lives.

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Our Families

Inshuti of Rwanda is dedicated to providing shelter to genocide survivors, single mothers, hard-working father families and disabled indivduals living in deplorable conditions due to a lack of resources. Our families typically have three or more school-age children. By focusing on younger families, our houses will have a longer-lasting impact by improving their lives early on.

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Our Workers

We are committed to creating local jobs by employing a 100% Rwandan team to conduct our programming. Through our house-building projects we are providing over 150 stable jobs with livable wages for the Inshuti community. Our two-prong approach to community development provides houses to those living in deplorable conditions and ensures employment for families to support themselves.

What Our Houses Provide Families
What Our Houses Provide Families

Inshuti families are the foundation of who we are. Our goal is to provide housing to families living in deplorable conditions due to a lack of resources.

Houses Provide Families
Safety From the Elements

We believe housing is a human right. Everyone deserves access to refuge from the elements and a safe environment to raise their children. Our houses are built to meet the basic need of shelter for impoverished families in Rwanda.

Prevent the Spread of disease

Unsanitary living conditions are a pressing problem for poor people in Rwanda. We are dedicated to alleviating the spread of disease by building each Inshuti house with sanitary cement flooring and a properly dug pit latrine.

Basic Living Necessities

Our houses come equipped with the basic needs of a family. We wire homes with electricity and provide beds, mattresses, bedding, mosquito nets, and cookware. A new Inshuti initiative includes school uniforms and supplies for children of house recipient families to ensure everyone can attend school.

What Our Houses Provide the Community
What Our Houses
Provides the Community
Your donation goes beyond helping Inshuti house recipients as we are dedicated to helping our Rwandan community prosper.
Houses Provide Communities
Liveable Wages

Our budget includes livable wages for our masons and workers, impacting more lives than just our house recipients. In 2023, the entire Inshuti crew will receive a 20% raise to guarantee they can support themselves. This allows families to buy school uniforms, pay for national health insurance, purchase livestock, and ensure food is on the table every night.

Sustainable Materials

We utilize local and sustainable materials to construct each Inshuti home. Local clay deposits are used to make adobe bricks, mud for mortar, and eucalyptus trees for wooden roof scaffolding. By staying committed to using only locally sourced materials, Inshuti is helping to boost the Rwandan economy while protecting the environment.

Building An Inshuti Community

We are building more than just houses; we are building a community of Inshuti (friends). While providing homes for families in need, we connect people from around the world through contributions, spreading awareness, and growing both a global and local Rwandan community.

Genocide Slide
Rwanda Genocide
Over 1 million people were massacred in less than 100 days.
Learn how the Genocide affected our Inshuti Families.
How We Make A Difference
How We Make a Difference
Hassan's Family through the years
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Old house - 2016

Hassan is an Inshuti mason. Before working with us, he spent years building a house for his family brick-by-brick with the small amount of money he earned. The house was constructed with cheap materials, old roofing sheets and the family slept on dirt floors.

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New inshuti house - 2018

We built Hassan's family a new house and provided them with essential items such as; cookware, beds, mattresses, bedding, and a pit latrine. After the first night in his new home, Hassan said, “Up to now, I never would believe that I could own a real house.”

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improved house - 2020

Hassan continues to work hard for his family and is dedicated to improving their lives. He saved money to install metal-framed glass windows and doors and also sends his five boys to private school for a better education.

History of Inshuti #1
History of Inshuti of Rwanda
Building Homes & Uniting Communities
History of Inshuti #1
History of Inshuti #2
History of Inshuti of Rwanda
100 families sheltered in 10 building seasons!!
History of Inshuti #2
History of Inshuti #3
History of Inshuti of Rwanda
Building Houses since 2014
History of Inshuti #3
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Rosa’s 1st Trip to Rwanda

April 2011

Rosa’s 1st Trip to Rwanda

Rosa travels to Rwanda for the first time with the University of Florida, Arts in Medicine Program. She meets Felix, the program translator and falls in love with Rwanda. She sees a need, but doesn’t yet know how to help.

Rosa Returns

November 2012

Rosa Returns

Honoring her initial impulse in 2011, Rosa returns to Rwanda and volunteers for Rwanda Sustainable Families, a micro-loan organization. During this trip she and Felix conduct home visits to loan recipients.

Solome & Rosa Meet

November 2012

Solome & Rosa Meet

During a home visit Rosa meets Solome, and her family, who were living in a corrugated metal structure with a tarp roof.  Walking home, Felix turns to Rosa and says, “You should come back next year and build them a house.”

A House for Solome

November 2012

A House for Solome

Even before leaving Rwanda, Rosa decides she wants to build a house for Solome. 

The 1st House is Built

March 2014

The 1st House is Built

Rosa raises $4,000 and returns to facilitate the construction of Solome’s house. Felix & Rosa begin learning how to build houses in Rwanda.

Inshuti is Unofficially Created

May 2014

Inshuti is Unofficially Created

When Rosa returns home she raises $9,500 in the hopes of building more houses. This is when Inshuti of Rwanda was unofficially created.

Four New Houses

January 2015

Four New Houses

Rosa and Felix assist in the construction of 4 homes and developed the standard Inshuti house model. They also visited Solome, finding she made her house into a home. Her children were clean, in school, happy and healthy.

Inshuti Becomes a Non-Profit

September 2015

Inshuti Becomes a Non-Profit

Rosa decides that Inshuti needs to become official to help more families. A board of directors is created and 501(c)3 nonprofit paperwork is filed.

The 2016 Build

January 2016

The 2016 Build

With $15,000 raised, Rosa and Felix oversee the construction of 6 new homes. One year later, the 2015 families are able to focus on their own futures.  

New Beds for New Homes

March 2016

New Beds for New Homes

Exceeding our fundraising goal allowed us to provide beds, mattresses, bedding and mosquito nets for all the 2015 and 2016 families.

Inshuti Website Launch

October 2016

Inshuti Website Launch

For several months Scott and Rosa work at creating a website for Inshuti.

10 New Homes

January 2017

10 New Homes

What a successful year! Felix, Hussein and Rosa oversee the construction of 10 new homes for Inshuti families.

Cookware For Families

February 2017

Cookware For Families

In 2017, Inshuti started supplying cookware to families. Previously, women were cooking in pots with holes in them or borrowing from neighbors.

Rwandan Government Collaboration

February 2017

Rwandan Government Collaboration

Inshuti and the local Rwandan government are teaming up to build two Umuryango Family Houses, housing eight families in total.

The 2020 Build

January 2020

The 2020 Build

In 2020, we raised $36,000 which allowed us to build 11 standard Inshuti homes and two Umuryango Family homes. A total of 19 families were housed this year.

Covid-19 Food Aid

May 2020

Covid-19 Food Aid

As the world faced the Covid-19 pandemic, our Inshuti families suffered under a strict lockdown. We raised $6,000 for emergency food aid to feed over 60 families for several months during Covid.

Campaigns For Families

September 2020

Campaigns For Families

Inshuti launches campaigns for families. Campaigns are run by individuals, schools, or groups who want to support a Rwandan family in need of shelter. They raise money from their circle of friends and family with the end goal of funding the construction of a new house for their Inshuti family. These campaigns allow for more than the building of homes it also builds a bridge between communities.

Officially An NGO In Rwanda

November 2020

Officially An NGO In Rwanda

Inshuti of Rwanda’s registration with the Rwanda Government Board (RGB) was approved and became an NGO in Rwanda. A new Rwandan board of directors is formed to meet government regulations and to ensure we continue to support the Inshuti community most effectively.

We Build 15 Houses

February 2021

We Build 15 Houses

Committed to helping more people with each build, in 2021 we constructed 15 new houses and provided over 150 local jobs with liveable wages to our growing Inshuti community.

Inshuti Has Interns

November 2021

Inshuti Has Interns

Inshuti partners with Talanta and begins offering NGO Management, Digitial Media and Communication internships. The first interns jump into projects and immediately join the Inshuti team.

January 2022 Build

January 2022

January 2022 Build

Ten more houses are built, but that’s not all we have planned for 2022.

Inshuti Has An Office

April 2022

Inshuti Has An Office

We have an office; right in the heart of the Inshuti community in Rwanda. It’s a place for our team to have meetings, conduct weekly worker payments, and host community gatherings.

Two Builds in 2022

October 2022

Two Builds in 2022

It’s our first time building houses twice in one year. We constructed another ten houses in October for a total of 20 homes in 2022, allowing us to provide more consistent work to our crews.

Greenwood School Trip

December 2022

Greenwood School Trip

Our first school trip! Inshuti collaborates with the Greenwood School to offer a service learning trip for students. It’s a wonderful opportunity for cross-cultural experiences, learning, and building friendships!

Inshuti Volunteers

January 2023

Inshuti Volunteers

Volunteers come to Rwanda to help with the January building season. We’re not sure who had more fun our workers or volunteers? Either way, we are sure lasting friendships were made.  

1st Build of 2023

February 2023

1st Build of 2023

That’s a wrap on the January building season! Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we built another 13 houses for the Inshuti community.

Our Growing Inshuti Communiy

March 2023

Our Growing Inshuti Communiy

We have sheltered 88 families! Our Inshuti community is growing with each year as we build more houses, provide more local jobs, and expand our donor base. We are incredibly grateful for the support of our donors, who help make our impactful work possible.

Partnership with RLP-Jumelage

July 2023

Partnership with RLP-Jumelage

We are so proud to announce our partnership with Partnerschaftsverein Rheinland-Pfalz Ruanda, a German organization that provided a grant for 10 new houses.