“The body heals with play,
the mind heals with laughter,
and the spirit heals with joy.”
Buddhist Proverb
Hospital Children’s Centers
Project Life creates Children’s Centers in Rwandan hospitals. These spaces give hospitalized children a chance to play, laugh, read, draw, and heal. A place where children can just be children, rather than patients.
In 2022, the first Children’s Center was created in the Gisenyi District Hospital near the Democratic Republic of Congo border. Head Pediatric Nurse Hyacinth Uwamariya said, “Since the start of this project, there have been changes in the behavior of the children which clearly shows that this room helps them not feel alone. It gives them a place to play, read, talk and have fun which makes them recover faster.”
District Hospitals identify a space in their pediatric ward. Project Life partners with Agati, a Rwandan library in Musanze, who bring local artists to paint the space and help staff and maintain the rooms with educators.
So far, three children centers have been created. Our goal is to create one for each district hospital.
