Hope and Homes for Children was founded in 1994 by a retired British army officer, Mark Cook, and his wife Caroline Cook. They were inspired to create the organization after witnessing the struggles of children in an orphanage in Sarajevo during the Bosnian War. Their mission was to provide hope, which led to the name ‘Hope and Homes for Children.’

In 2002, Hope and Homes for Children began its operations in Rwanda, focusing on supporting three categories of families: children-headed households, frail grandparents, and HIV-positive single-parent-headed households. The support provided involved building homes, providing financial assistance for household needs, school fees, healthcare, and promoting healthy family relationships.

Starting in 2010, Hope and Homes for Children Rwanda partnered with the Rwandan government to close down orphanages across the country. Hope and Homes for Children also played a key role in developing the National child care reform, which outlined actions needed to give Rwandan children in orphanages the chance to live in a loving and safe family environment while regaining their rights, to address the root causes of family separation, and to offer family-based alternative care for children when separation couldn’t be prevented, and when alternative care was in the best interests of the child.

From 2018, in partnership with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities and the National Child Development Agency, Hope and Homes for Children Rwanda initiated a disability-inclusive child care reform. The focus was on helping children with disabilities transition from orphanages to family-based care and assisting their families in becoming more resilient.

Today, Hope and Homes for Children continue to work on reintegrating children and young persons with disabilities from orphanages/institutions for children with disabilities into families. They also strive to strengthen families at risk of separation and those already separated, helping them become more resilient and functional. These families include families with children with disabilities and families of teenage mothers.