Other Tourist Scams in Kigali

Charity Orphanage Voluntourism Fraud

Several informal "orphanages" and community projects in Kigali solicit donations from foreign visitors, presenting children in staged photographs and claiming funds support schooling and meals. Independent investigations have found that some of these establishments are not registered with Rwanda's MIGEPROF (Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion) and that children are not orphans but are brought in from families as props. Donations rarely reach genuine welfare programs. Rwanda's government has actively worked to close fraudulent facilities, but some persist in tourist-accessible areas.