To ensure the safety and well being of the children in our care, Shelter Them decided to build a primary school where all ECD children will move after their ECD education.  

Our education program currently supports 110 primary school students. There is a publicly funded primary school in Gateko, but despite the efforts of our Shelter Them staff to encourage improvement, the level of education our boys and girls have received has not been satisfactory, and their safety and well being cannot be ensured. So, to achieve a smooth transition for our children from ECDC to primary school, we decided that the best solution would be to build our own primary school in Gateko. In fact, the first stage of its foundation is already completed. As with the ECDC, the primary school will be for all children in Gateko and the surrounding area, not just for the children supported by Shelter Them.

Unfortunately, Shelter Them did not yet have the funds to complete its primary school, so in 2023, we were able to arrange a partnership with Open-Door Christian School, a private school near Gateko. Starting last September, this collaboration saw 37 students from Shelter Them, in Grades Primary 1 to Primary 4, integrated into the private school's system. Because there were not enough funds available to move all our students, our educational staff in Gateko chose to begin with our younger students who have benefitted from our ECDC program. The Open-Door School is a 10-minute walk or 5-minute cycle from Gateko. The positive impact of this arrangement is already apparent. Students' language and math skills had been low, but they are already improving,  and all of our students express appreciation for the quality of teaching.

But Shelter Them has not given up on our commitment to build our own primary school which will benefit all of the children of Gateko, not only those supported by Shelter Them. In 2024, Shelter them received a very generous donation from the Global Trade Review, a British organization, which raised 39,000,000 Rwf at their charity gala in May, 2024. That very generous donation, along with 9,000,000 Rwf raised in Canada has allowed us to begin the construction of a brand new primary school in Gateko. 55% of the project is already complete. When the school is finished, there will be six classrooms, for approximately 200 students from P1 to P6. The continuing support and generosity of Shelter Them supporters will help us to achieve that goal. We understand that a quality education is the surest way to enable all children to build for themselves a sustainable and independent future of their own choosing. To help, please go to the donate page on our website and make a donation today!