Nestled outside the walls of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is an area bustling with locals living their lives alongside tourists eager to see the endangered mountain gorillas. Community is paramount here – not just for protecting the gorillas, but for the thousands of Rwandans who live at the foot of the Park, stewarding the land and all who live within it.

Welcome to Musanze, a vibrant city put on the world’s map because of its proximity to the gorillas — but it is more than just the gorillas it protects. It’s a city just like any other around the world, recognizable in its humanity: everyday people who share the same hopes and dreams, and facing similar challenges to achieve them.

This is Kwigira’s neighborhood and the home of our community center, where young mothers come from across the district for education and support toward a more independent future for themselves and their babies.