In 2005 Frederick Ndabaramiye and Zackary Dusingizimana, a teacher at the Imbabazi Orphanage, founded the Ubumwe Community Center in Gisenyi, Rwanda, with their own money. The goal of the UCC is to respectfully assist handicapped children and adults. Traditional crafts and sewing classes are offered to 
help adults gain economic independence. This program is extremely successful; twenty adults are now selling hand-crafted items they designed and made.
PIC met Frederick at the Imbabazi Orphanage. At the age of 15 Frederick was maimed by those responsible for the genocide because he refused their command to kill other people. Frederick, after almost a year in the hospital, went to stay at the Imbabazi. In 2002, the Columbus Zoo arranged for Frederick to come to Columbus to receive prosthetic arms. All medical and prosthetic expenses were provided to Frederick at no expense to him.
“The Columbus Zoo gave me a chance to be independent again and now I want to help other people who are just like me.” Frederick Ndabaramiye
Although the Community Center was initiated to assist handicapped children and adults, they are also helping 12 street boys by providing their school fees, books and uniforms. This is the first time most of these children have been given the opportunity to attend school.
In March of 2007, the UCC started a new program to help 17 deaf children. These children also have never been able to attend school; Frederick says they have been “hidden” in their homes. But now these children come to the center everyday and are receiving classroom instruction in sign language.
In 2007, 10 children and adults from the Center received new braces and prosthetics with funding from PIC. PIC is also providing operating expenses for the center and is funding a hot lunch program for more than 60 children and adults who attend the center every day; for most of these people this is their only meal of the day.
Frederick’s dream has become a reality, because he is helping people who are “just like him.”