Friday, May 30, 2025 - The National Child Development Agency (NCDA) celebrated Malayika Murinzi day reflecting the role of selfless guardian angles who offered home and parental care to children in need.  

The celebration event took place in Kigali and was presided over by the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), Consolée Uwimana alongside other senior government officials, partners and over 2000 Malayika Murinzi from across the country.

For the second celebration, Malayika Murinzi day was celebrated under the theme “Treat every child as your own”.

During the event, Minister Uwimana recognized the critical role guardian angels played in restoring hope and dignity to abandoned children. 

“We recognize your kindness, your courage, your parental love, receiving abandoned children and raising them without any expectations in return, giving them a home, parental care and love, family, their rights like all other children,” said Uwimana. “You are a true definition of what a Rwandan citizen should be; you are what our culture encourages us to be.”

She recalled that by tradition, Rwandan society did not have abandoned children.

“Even when a child lost parents, responsibilities remained in their extended families and the society, rather than the child becoming family-less or a street child,” she said.

Uwimana emphasized that the first orphanage in Rwanda, established in 1974 in Nyundo, Rubavu District, signaled a deviation from traditional parenting responsibilities. It still poses challenges today, she added, as some children continue to be denied the right to grow up in a family due to the neglect of parental duties.

The Director General of NCDA, Assumpta Ingabire called for community engagement and vigilance in protecting vulnerable children.

“If you see a child suffering or abandoned in your community, and you cannot help directly, at least report the case to the relevant organizations,” she said adding that urging the community to give a home to those without one, so they have the chance to grow up in a loving and supportive environment.

Jean-Baptiste Serugendo, a guardian from Nyabihu District, speaking on behalf of guardians from the Western Province, said: “We received our children willingly and raised them alongside our own. They see us as their parents, and today, they are youth that fit our country’s vision. Raising children without families does not require wealth, it takes heart, love, and the mindset to help.”

The Malayika Murinzi initiative started in 2013 following the closure of orphanages in Rwanda.