Shelter Them Poverty Relief

What Shelter Them Poverty Relief does

Shelter Them Poverty Relief is a registered Canadian charity (Registration Number 838736924RR0001) and the sister organization of Shelter Them Rwanda, a nationally registered NGO (certificate No 100/2014). The organization was founded in 2005 by twin sisters Jocelyne Alexandre and Josephine Murphy, Canadian-Rwandan diaspora who were inspired during a visit to Rwanda to assist children affected by the 1994 genocide and extreme poverty. In 2015, Rwandan President Paul Kagame donated a five-acre parcel of land in Gateko, Bugesera District, and in 2016 operations relocated from Kigali to Gateko, where the organization now operates an integrated campus comprising a community centre, Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC), primary school under construction, housing, farming cooperative, and water infrastructure.

The organization's offering is structured around three program pillars: (1) Education, including the ECDC (106 children aged 3-6), a primary school program (110 students, with a new dedicated school 55% complete), secondary school support (39 students), and post-secondary education (12 enrolled, 5 graduates); (2) Family Support, including shelter support (19 houses built by end of 2022, 7 rental subsidies in 2024), Community Based Health Insurance (85 families / 350 individuals), psychosocial counselling, and emergency support; and (3) Community Development, including a farming and saving cooperative (36 members), local labour opportunities, and a clean water project serving approximately 3,000 people. The Child Sponsorship Program at $40 CAD per month is the primary sustainable funding mechanism, with 150 children currently sponsored by 230 active sponsors; over 90% of sponsorship contributions flow directly to children. The ECDC Club ($15 CAD/month), general donations, annual galas (18th Annual in 2024 generated over $15,000 net profit), and grants (BK Foundation, Gay Lea Foundation, Global Trade Review) provide supplementary funding. The Canadian organization is volunteer-run; on-the-ground operations are led by a small Rwanda-based team of approximately 6 staff under Country Director Regis Muhire Manzi.

Name

Shelter Them Poverty Relief

Legal name

Shelter Them Poverty Relief

Website

https://shelterthem.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shelter Them Poverty Relief is a registered Canadian charity and Rwandan NGO operating in Gateko, Bugesera District, Rwanda, delivering integrated education, family support, and community development programs for vulnerable children and families through child sponsorship, donations, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO), Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

Keywords

• Child sponsorship programs
• Nonprofit humanitarian aid
• Early childhood education
• Community development programs
• Family support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ontario

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Child Sponsorship Program: Monthly sponsorship contributions of $40 CAD per child provide sustainable funding covering shelter, education, nutrition, and healthcare. Currently 150 children are sponsored by 230 sponsors. Over 90% of sponsorship contributions go directly to children's needs. This is described as the organization's most important regular, sustainable source of income.
2. ECDC Club Membership: Monthly membership at $15 CAD (or $15,000 Rwandan francs) providing exclusive support to Early Childhood Development Centre in Gateko for children ages 3-6.
3. General Donations: One-time or recurring donations to general fund supporting all programs in Rwanda. Accepts Canadian Dollars, US Dollars, and Rwandan Francs via PayPal, Flutterwave, E-Transfer, and cheque.
4. Event Fundraising: Revenue generated from annual gala events including ticket sales, online auctions, and other donations. The 2024 gala in Brampton, Ontario generated over $15,000 in net profit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Shelter Them Poverty Relief is a registered Canadian charity (Registration Number 838736924RR0001) and Rwandan national NGO that delivers child sponsorship, education, family support, and community development programs in Gateko, Bugesera District, Rwanda. Its core offerings include a $40 CAD/month Child Sponsorship Program funding shelter, food, education, and medical care for sponsored children, plus a $15 CAD/month ECDC Club supporting the Early Childhood Development Centre for children aged 3-6, with over 90% of sponsorship contributions going directly to children.

Product overview

Shelter Them Poverty Relief is a charitable NGO (registered in Rwanda as certificate No 100/2014 and as a Canadian charity, registration 838736924RR0001) operating in Gateko, Bugesera District, Rwanda. The organization is not a technology company — it delivers humanitarian programs directly. Its offering is a unified set of three interlinked program pillars: (1) Education, comprising the Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) for children aged 3–6, a Primary School Program (with construction of a dedicated school underway), and Secondary and Post-Secondary Education; (2) Family Support, including Shelter Support (housing construction), Medical Insurance (CBHI), Psychosocial Counselling, and Emergency Support; and (3) Community Development, encompassing the Farming and Saving Cooperative (Tubeho Neza), Local Labour Opportunities, and Access to Water. The Child Sponsorship Program ($40/month CAD) is the primary sustainable funding mechanism underpinning all programs, while the ECDC Club ($15/month) provides dedicated early childhood support. Over 90% of sponsorship contributions go directly to children. As of 2024, 290 students are enrolled in the education program, 150 children are sponsored, and 85 families receive medical insurance coverage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) A play-based preschool program for children aged 3-6 in Gateko, Rwanda, providing early childhood education, two nutritious meals daily, health monitoring, hygiene facilities, and caregiver training. The ECDC serves as the foundational pillar of Shelter Them's education continuum and in 2024 enrolled 106 children.
• Child Sponsorship Program A monthly sponsorship program at $40 CAD per month providing sponsored children with shelter, education, food, and medical care. Sponsors receive letters, photos, and can build personal relationships with their sponsored child. Currently supports 150 children via 230 sponsors.
• Primary School Program A primary education program supporting 110 primary school students, including a partnership with Open-Door Christian School for integration and ongoing construction of a dedicated primary school in Gateko serving approximately 200 students from P1 to P6.
• Secondary and Post-Secondary Education Secondary school and post-secondary support program for academically capable students. As of 2024, 39 secondary students are enrolled and 12 students are attending or entering college/university, with 5 young adults already having graduated.
• Shelter Support Housing assistance program providing safe, secure homes to families in extreme poverty. By end of 2022, 19 houses were built for families in Gateko; in 2024, seven families received rental housing assistance and furniture donations.
• Medical Insurance Free Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) coverage for vulnerable families, covering 85 families and safeguarding 350 individuals with access to reliable healthcare in 2024.
• Psychosocial Counselling Professional counselling and parenting skills services addressing trauma from the Rwandan genocide and resulting poverty, organized by the Community Support Manager with assistance from a professional psychologist since 2023.
• Emergency Support Temporary emergency assistance for vulnerable families in Gateko, including medical care payments, food allocations for caregivers unable to work, and crisis rental accommodation.
• Farming and Saving Cooperative (Tubeho Neza) A cooperative of 36 members empowering adult beneficiaries to achieve economic self-sufficiency through joint farming and savings. In 2024, produced 538 kg of maize and 313 kg of red beans, with profits reinvested and micro-loans offered to members.
• Access to Water Clean water supply project serving Gateko village and the ECDC community centre, providing reliable fresh water to approximately 3,000 people for drinking, irrigation, and laundry, eliminating the need for children to walk long distances for unsafe water.
• Local Labour Opportunities Local employment and skill-building opportunities through construction projects (community centre, houses, drying facility, water supply) and the ECDC caregiver program, enabling men and women in Gateko to achieve independence.
• ECDC Club A monthly giving club at $15 CAD per month ($15 USD) dedicated exclusively to supporting the operating costs of the Early Childhood Development Centre in Gateko, covering books, toys, teacher salaries, food, and cleaning supplies.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 university graduates as of 2024
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Lanes Retirement LivingmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Hearts for Rwanda campaign partner across Newfoundland & Labrador locations. Raised $3,406 across five Lanes locations, with total campaign raising $10,160 supporting 220 children in Gateko, Rwanda.
• Israel-Rwanda Youth Development (IRYD)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in Bio-Diversity Program connecting students in Rwanda and Israel. IRYD provides financial and technical assistance alongside Harmony Foundation and This is My Earth. Students learn biodiversity conservation, group decision-making, language skills, and agriculture.
• Harmony FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Provides financial and technical assistance for Bio-Diversity Program connecting students in Rwanda and Israel. Works with IRYD, Shelter Them, and This is My Earth.
• This is My EarthmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner in Bio-Diversity Program connecting students in Rwanda and Israel. Students from both schools learn biodiversity conservation and practical actions for protecting habitat.
• Government of RwandacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Shelter Them Rwanda is registered as national NGO (certificate No 100/2014) and partners with Government to ensure provision of children's rights and protection from harm. President Paul Kagame donated five-acre parcel of land in Gateko in 2015.
• National Child Development Agency (NCDA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Shelter Them continues collaboration with NCDA to reintegrate children living without parental care back into their families in Rwanda.
• Open-Door Christian SchoolmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Private school near Gateko partnered with Shelter Them in 2023 due to delay in constructing own primary school. 37 Shelter Them students in Grades P1-P4 integrated into the school. 10-minute walk or 5-minute cycle from Gateko.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Africa New Life Ministries: Rwanda-focused Christian NGO operating child sponsorship, education, and family support programs in Kigali and other regions. Closest geographic and operational peer with similar sponsorship-driven model.
• SOS Children's Villages: Operates family-based care villages for orphaned and abandoned children, with strong presence in Rwanda. Closely matches Shelter Them's integrated village-style community model and family-strengthening approach.
• ChildFund International: Direct child-sponsorship peer focused on children in developing countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Similar recurring-per-sponsor model and youth development emphasis.
• Compassion International: Largest child-sponsorship NGO globally with similar $40+/month per-child model, letter-writing programs, and integrated child development outcomes. Most directly comparable peer on sponsorship economics and donor relationship model.
• Hope International Development Agency: Canadian-registered international development NGO with sponsorship-style giving, focused on child welfare in developing countries. Closely comparable on Canadian donor base, governance, and program mix.
• Rwanda Children's Trust: Direct Rwanda-focused child sponsorship and education NGO supporting vulnerable children through sponsorship. Most comparable on geography, target beneficiary, and donor-driven funding model.

Broad incumbents

• Plan International: Global NGO focused on children's rights and gender equality, with active programs in Rwanda. Comparable in child sponsorship plus community development, but at much larger institutional scale.
• World Vision: Large incumbent humanitarian NGO with child sponsorship at scale, community development, and Africa operations including Rwanda. Overlaps in integrated child-and-family programming but operates at vastly larger scale and broader geographic scope.

Others

• Survival International: Global NGO supporting indigenous and vulnerable communities; adjacent in mission of protecting marginalized populations but differs in advocacy-led model versus direct service delivery.

Emerging players

• buildOn: Nonprofit that builds schools in developing countries and delivers adult literacy programs, with active East Africa presence. Comparable in education-infrastructure focus and community development model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shelterthem
• Facebookfacebook.com/shelterthem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shelter-them-rwanda
• Instagraminstagram.com/shelterthem

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shelter Them Poverty Relief