Our Story

OUR STORY

Born from the belief that no family should face pain alone.

Years of Work. Hundreds of families. One conviction: when families heal, communities transform — and nations thrive.

"Heal the individual. Strengthen the family. Transform the community."

How We Began

Emmaus Family Center

Emmaus Family Center was founded in the conviction that Rwanda’s deepest needs are rooted in relationships. In a nation still healing from the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, many families carry generational trauma that shapes parenting, communication, and community life.

Our work is inspired by Luke 24:13–31, where the disciples, weary and discouraged, were met by Jesus on the road. He walked alongside them, created a safe space for them to share their story, and guided them through Scripture. Through this, their hearts were strengthened, their hope restored, and they returned renewed.

This reflects the heart of our mission. Like those disciples, many individuals and families today feel broken, weary, and without hope. At Emmaus Family Center, we walk alongside them, creating safe spaces to process their experiences, find meaning, and begin to heal. Through this journey, they regain strength, restore hope, and return to their families and communities with renewed purpose and healthier relationships.

What began as a small initiative in Kigali—gathering families, opening conversations, and offering safe spaces—revealed a deep hunger for belonging, healing, and practical tools for daily life. Over the years, it has grown into a comprehensive center offering psychoeducation, trauma-informed care, peer support, child protection, and organizational wellness—grounded in the belief that strong families are the foundation of a healthy society.

The Problem We're Solving

Rwanda Has Made
Extraordinary Progress.

But beneath the economic growth, families remain fragile. EFC exists in the gap between the nation's progress and the quiet pain that persists in its homes.

2,674 divorce cases filed in 2024/2025

56% of women and 30% of men have experienced violence

An estimated 2,800–7,000 children live or work on Kigali's streets

Youth facing emotional overwhelm with limited culturally appropriate support

Intergenerational trauma from 1994 continuing to shape family life

Our Response

EFC's model rests on one conviction: if families receive trauma-informed psychoeducation, safe peer communities, and practical tools for growth, they will break the cycle — and build a different future for their children.

Our Vision

"To see a vibrant society where families are thriving."

Our Mission

We are a Christian family center that exists to empower a whole man, a whole woman, and a whole child to heal, grow, and thrive in a safe and nurturing environment.

What We Stand On

Core Values

Community

We build belonging. Our programs are cohort-based, fostering peer accountability and long-term support. We reject individualistic models in favor of relational transformation.

Compassion

We lead with empathy and grace. Every interaction prioritizes dignity over efficiency. We celebrate progress, not perfection.

Collaboration

EFC partners with the local government, faith institutions, schools, and community organisations.

The Faces of EFC

The Hands and Hearts
Behind the Work.

Our practitioners and volunteers are not distant professionals. They are people who chose this work because they believe in it — who walk into hard rooms every day with skill, warmth, and care.

Staff

"I have never met a family that didn't want to be whole. Sometimes they've simply stopped believing it's possible. My job is to stay convinced on their behalf — until they can believe it for themselves."

Igihozo Liliane Takia

Managing Director

Wholistic Care Trainer & Practitioner · Trauma-Informed Facilitator

To know Takia is to understand why EFC exists. She carries this organization's vision not as a job description but as a personal conviction — shaped by years of sitting with Rwandan families and witnessing both the depth of their wounds and the extraordinary resilience within them. As a Wholistic Care Trainer and Practitioner, Takia works at the intersection of emotional healing, relational restoration, and spiritual wellbeing — holding all three as inseparable, and bringing a warmth and generosity of spirit that families remember long after their programs end. She is the kind of person who remembers your child's name, asks about your mother, and means it. Her approach: nothing about you is too broken, too complicated, or too far gone. Every family deserves to be walked with — not fixed, not managed, but truly accompanied.

"I've sat with people at rock bottom. You know what I've never seen at rock bottom? Someone who couldn't eventually rise. I haven't met that person yet."

Philip Amoko Drasi

Program Coordinator

Trauma-Informed Practitioner · Debriefer

Philip has a rare gift: he can disarm a room with laughter and then, in the very same breath, help someone process something they have carried for twenty years. Trained in trauma-informed facilitation and psychological first aid, he creates the kind of safe environments where real change happens — often before participants realize the work has begun. As Program Coordinator and Debriefer, Philip walks with individuals and families through their most acute moments, bringing professional rigor and genuine human warmth to what is always deeply personal work. He holds space for the hardest stories without flinching — and helps people find, within those stories, the seeds of something new.

"I've sat with people at rock bottom. You know what I've never seen at rock bottom? Someone who couldn't eventually rise. I haven't met that person yet."

"Children do not act out to make your life harder. They act out because something in their world is harder than they know how to say. When we learn to listen to behavior, the whole conversation changes."

Amina Valentine

Administrator

TBRI Practitioner · Child & Family Advocate

Amina combines two things that don't always go together: an exceptionally organized mind and an extraordinarily open heart. As Administrator, she is the backbone that keeps EFC running with precision and care. As a TBRI Practitioner, she brings deep, specialized expertise to the children and families who need it most. Trained in Trust-Based Relational Intervention — an evidence-informed framework developed for children who have experienced complex trauma — Amina brings patience, attunement, and a fiercely child-centered lens to everything she does. She understands that a child who has been hurt doesn't need to be corrected — they need to be reached.

Volunteers

Our volunteers are the heartbeat of EFC's community. Each one brings specialized skill, genuine passion, and the conviction that no family should walk the road to wholeness alone.

"Every young person is already carrying something extraordinary inside them. My job isn't to give it to them — it's to help them find what's already there."

Dushime Osee Yabesi

Programs Volunteer

International Healing Facilitator · Leadership Coach

Osee carries a rare combination: the warmth of someone who has walked through his own valleys, and the clarity of someone who has found a purpose on the other side. With experience spanning international healing facilitation and leadership development, he brings a global perspective rooted in deeply local love for Rwandan families. His particular gift is with young people — helping young men and women cut through the noise of expectation and comparison to discover what is uniquely theirs.

"Every young person is already carrying something extraordinary inside them. My job isn't to give it to them — it's to help them find what's already there."

"A child who has been through the worst can still become someone who knows their own worth. I've watched it happen. That's why I keep coming back."

Masenga Therese

Children's Programs Volunteer

Child Wellbeing Advocate

Therese is the kind of person children instinctively trust — and that is no small thing for children who have learned that trust is dangerous. Working closely alongside Amina in EFC's child-focused programs, Therese is a dedicated advocate for every child's right to feel safe, seen, and whole. She brings a spirited, nurturing presence to spaces that children enter with caution — and the patience to stay until they feel at home.

"A child who has been through the worst can still become someone who knows their own worth. I've watched it happen. That's why I keep coming back."

"Technology is just a tool. But in the right hands, pointed in the right direction, it can carry a message of healing into a home we will never visit in person."

Shaffy Mahoro

IT & Media Volunteer

Digital Storytelling Specialist

Shaffy understands something that many people miss: the message of healing is only as powerful as its reach. His role at EFC is to make sure that reach is as wide as possible. A talented young technologist with a genuine heart for EFC's mission, Shaffy manages the intersection of technology, media, and storytelling that allows EFC to extend its impact beyond its physical walls.

"Technology is just a tool. But in the right hands, pointed in the right direction, it can carry a message of healing into a home we will never visit in person."

7 programs serving every member of the family.

See Our Programs

Rwanda's center of excellence for family wellness.

Vision 2031

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