Global Communities Rwanda

Global Communities is an international non-profit organization that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable. Global Communities has existed for 60 years.

Most recently it has been known as CHF International and, before that, the Cooperative Housing Foundation.

Global Communities started as a domestic US housing organization in 1952, then in the 1960s began to work internationally in housing. By the 1990s, the organization worked entirely internationally. Today, Global Communities works in close partnership with communities, governments, the private sector and local organizations in more than 20 countries around the world, and has worked in more than 80 countries since its inception.

Global Communities began working in Rwanda in 2005, implementing the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Program (CHAMP). Funded by USAID and PEPFAR, CHAMP mobilized and strengthened Rwandan organizations to improve and expand HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services, including care and support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). During the course of the four-year program, Global Communities and its Rwandan partner assisted more than 170,000 people, including 40,000 OVC with:

  • HIV/AIDS prevention messages
  • Health and nutrition education
  • Clinical services
  • Palliative care services
  • Counseling
  • Vocational training
  • School supplies and uniforms

The program was followed by the completed USAID Higa Ubeho prgram (“Be Determined and Live”), which assisted over 75,000 vulnerable households in 23 districts. Working in partnership with local authorities and civil society, more than 5,000 new community-based service points were established with the goal of increasing self-reliance – services which benefited both vulnerable households and the wider community; the Ishema Mu Muryango (‘Pride for the Family’ in Kinyarwanda), a two-year program funded by USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphans Funds (DCOF). The program goal was to safely and sustainably reintegrate children living in institutions in two districts of Rwanda back into their families or communities, and prevent further institutionalization through family-based alternative care options that are suitable and sustainable.

Currently implementing the USAID-funded Twiyubake, Global Communities works in 12 districts, mobilizing more than 3,000 community-based volunteers and assisting more than 50,000 Rwandan households with activities to improve food production, health and economic status, childhood development and access to finance to support rural livelihoods and build resiliency.

Area(s) of Focus

Agriculture, Behavioral Economics, Education, Family Planning and Reproductive Health, Gender, Gender Based Violence, HIV and AIDS, Life Skills, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health, Nutrition, Patient or Client Rights, Private Sector Partnerships, Sexuality, Social and Behavior Change Communication, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Youth

Other Areas of Focus

Health Promotion, Households Community Strengthening, Households Economic Strengthening

Current Districts Working in Rwanda

Burera, Gasabo, Gicumbi, Huye, Kamonyi, Karongi, Kayonza, Kicukiro, Kigali, Musanze, Nyamasheke, Nyarugenge, Rutsiro