About us
Serenity Wellness Oasis – Iriba ry’Ubuzima
Founded by Dr. Chaste Uwihoreye, Serenity Wellness Oasis – Iriba
ry’Ubuzima (SWO) is a specialized center located in Rwamagana, Rwanda. The
center is dedicated to providing integrated pediatric medical care
alongside specialized psychological services, striving to ensure the holistic
well-being of the wider community. SWO primarily focuses on creating
a restorative environment where mental health is seamlessly integrated into
Rwandan culture, actively reducing social stigma and providing accessible,
equitable healthcare services to everyone.
Our Mission
Serving as a sanctuary for wellness through providing pediatric medical care and psychological services ensuring holistic wellbeing.
Our Vision
A culturally grounded space where children and families flourish and access health services in a Rwandan context.
Our Vision
Elevating children’s voices, leading with empathy, treating families as the cornerstone of development, and empowering well-informed community networks.
SWO delivers its clinical, educational, and community initiatives through five specialized functional spaces designed to maximize service effectiveness:
1.Exhibition Space
A public-facing space where visual and audio therapeutic tools including local art, music, and cultural narrativesare demonstrated to individuals, families, and professionals. This space serves as an educational bridge, making mental health concepts accessible and reducing stigma through cultural familiarity
2. Healing Space
A dedicated, serene environment designed for professional counseling and psychotherapy. This space provides a secure atmosphere for one-on-one or group sessions, allowing individuals to process emotional distress and develop resilience through evidence-based clinical interventions. This space also serves a workshop for children and families which foster family dialogues and offers a medium for family connection, healing, growth, and vision creation.
3.Training and Capacity Building Space
This space functions as a professional development hub dedicated to elevating mental health standards nationwide. Operating in partnership with the Rwanda Allied Health Professions Council (RAHPC), this space hosts accredited Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses and specialized training programs for healthcare practitioners and educators. Through internships and mentorship, we have trained 5+ local and international clinical psychology students offering advanced hands-on experience and knowledge. SWO holds training for mental health practitioners as well, such as Narrative Therapy, which took place in June, to provide evidence-based practices contextualized to our cultural context.
4. Creation Lab
An innovation center dedicated to the development of specialized diagnostic tools, therapeutic instruments, and culturally grounded and evidence-based interventions while building the technical skills of healthcare providers.
5.Care space
serves as the primary medical area where assessments and treatments for pediatric diseases are administered. This space also houses a dedicated Pedagogical Clinic tailored to providing specialized care and educational support to children with special needs.
School System
We believe that without the wellbeing of the students, education would be almost impossible. Within school systems, SWO partners with institutions like Tubafashe Academy School to deliver weekly therapeutic sessions, nature-based metaphorical pedagogy leveraging local farming concepts, regulated break transitions, and calm “Safe Spaces” for child-led creation and learning. We accomplish our impact in school through the participation of various school clubs such as traditional dance, basketball, cycling, etc, where every child expresses themselves, learns, and boosts their self-confidence for early career development
Systemic Family Intervention Framework
SWO works directly with households to strengthen family dynamics and transmit resilience to younger generations. A 4-phase parental engagement process, where parents get to share experience and cooperate in coproducing tools to facilitate other families in the neighborhood based on the core principle: “You cannot promote children’s wellbeing without family wellbeing”.
Community Engagement
SWO is based in a community center. The community anchors some of SWO’s operational work. Operating from a central community hub, the organization conducts individual and group sessions designed to foster safe environments for healing and growth. Emphasizing collective responsibility and connection through the traditional Kinyarwanda proverb “Wanga guhanira undi mugahamuza hamwe,” SWO works with families to uplift broader community well-being.
Expressive and culturally integrated approach
SWO integrates modern clinical psychology with indigenous cultural wisdom across its clinical and community programs. The organization prioritizes expressive and culturally integrated modalities, utilizing drawing interventions, storytelling, and proverb-based discussions to help individuals articulate complex thoughts, express emotions, and externalize personal challenges while highlighting inherent strengths and abilities.
Specialized care
extends directly into developmental and academic environments. SWO provides family counseling and dedicated education to support children with special needs, focusing on early talent identification and nurturing to help them build fulfilling future careers. We are currently working with 10+ families with children with different special needs such as neurodevelopmental problems, physical disabilities, and others. Additionally, we are developing a curriculum to be shared with these families and school to further the children’s growth, competency, and development.
By placing wellness at the core of learning and development, Serenity Wellness Oasis (Iriba ry’Ubuzima) demonstrates that family well-being is the essential foundation for a child’s growth. Through its five functional spaces and culturally grounded approach, SWO bridges clinical care and Rwandan tradition proving that when families heal together, entire communities flourish.
