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First Lady Mrs Jeannette Kagame speaking at the launch event

BUGESERA, Rwanda — First Lady Mrs Jeannette Kagame on Friday launched the first Imbuto Hub, a modern community centre that brings education, childcare, health services, sports, digital learning and vocational training together under one roof.

The facility, located in Nyamata, Bugesera District, is the flagship of the Imbuto Foundation’s new strategy as it marks its 25th anniversary. The foundation plans to establish 30 such hubs across Rwanda. A second hub also opened on Friday in Kimisagara, Kigali.

First Lady Mrs Jeannette Kagame officially opens Imbuto Hub, the first in Bugesera District, more planned across Rwanda

The hubs represent a shift from running individual programmes to creating permanent community spaces where children, young people and families can access essential services close to home.

The Bugesera facility has 20 multi-purpose rooms designed to host several activities at the same time. It offers an early childhood development centre and daycare, a library, ICT and digital learning facilities, vocational training, health and wellness counselling, sports and recreation, innovation spaces, and entrepreneurship support.

Young people can train in tailoring, hairdressing, beauty services and other practical trades. The centre also includes a gym, spaces for karate, football, basketball and handball, as well as areas for traditional Rwandan dance.

Although it mainly targets young people, the hub also serves older residents, who use the facility in the evenings for age-appropriate fitness sessions aimed at improving their health and reducing isolation.

Speaking at the launch, Mrs. Kagame said the hub should be viewed as more than a building.

“Imbuto Hub is not just walls. It is a home,” she said.

She said the foundation had learned that young people need more than education alone.

Adding: “We saw that youth need knowledge, but they also need guidance, values and a space for innovation. We also saw that families need information and conversations that help them raise children well.”

The First Lady said the centres are designed to support beneficiaries throughout every stage of life.

“It is a home that brings all these services together and accompanies a person from childhood, through youth, until they become parents themselves,” she noted.

Mrs. Kagame said the long-term vision is to ensure that every child enjoys equal opportunities regardless of where they are born.

She said: “Our dream is that one day every child, wherever they are born, will no longer feel that opportunities belong only to some. Talent does not choose where you are born.”

Addressing young people directly, she said the hubs would provide knowledge on health and well-being while helping them develop their talents and practical skills.

“Above all, we want you to leave here believing that you can achieve your goals, that you are capable, and that you have an important role in building a better future,” Mrs Kagame said.

She also thanked development partners whose support made the project possible.

“When we look at this building, these programmes and the smiles on the faces of children and young people, we see the fruits of your partnership. You are planting seeds that will continue to bear fruit in our country for many years.”

The centre has already been operating for about three months. During that period, it has attracted about 200 young people each day.

More than 960 people have used its library, 875 have received health and wellness counselling, 117 regularly attend fitness sessions, and 1,402 children have benefited from the daycare services.

Among the early beneficiaries is Sylvie Mujyawamariya, who left school and has spent the past three months studying beauty therapy at the hub.

“The skills I am learning are already changing my life,” she said. “The little money I earn is helping me meet my daily needs, and I believe that when I complete the training, I will earn enough to support both my family and myself.”

Sports Minister Nelly Mukazayire welcomed the initiative, saying the hubs will strengthen sports, innovation and skills development in communities across the country.

Residents also described the centre as a transformative investment that gives young people a safe place to learn, build new skills, nurture their talents and spend their time productively.

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