Programme 1
Home Care Access Support
Full or partial support towards home visits, nursing care, lab tests and medicines for eligible patients, with home medical equipment through supplier partners.
Our story
My Story: The Inspiration Behind CareReach Africa
By Scovia Kayirangwa, Founder & Executive Director of CareReach Africa
CareReach Africa was born from a deeply personal experience that changed the way I see access to healthcare. Through my family’s journey, I witnessed firsthand the challenges of navigating a healthcare system under high demand, the high cost of medical treatment, and the difficulty of finding affordable professional support for patients recovering at home.
A family’s struggle became my mission
The turning point came when my 93-year-old father suffered an accident at home, sustaining a fracture that required urgent medical attention and surgery.
What followed was a painful and exhausting journey for my family. We moved between hospitals, hoping to find the right treatment for him. We navigated referrals and transfers, spent long hours waiting for a hospital bed, and watched my father endure pain while we struggled to secure the surgery he urgently needed.
At the first public hospital we took him to, the wards were full. Despite the dedication and professionalism of the healthcare workers, beds were limited, and many other patients were also in urgent need of care. My father had to wait for hours before he could get a bed. His fractured thigh was temporarily supported to help manage his condition while we waited for further treatment.
After spending several days at that hospital without the surgery taking place, we decided to transfer him to a private hospital, hoping he would receive treatment more quickly. We were asked to deposit RWF 700,000 to be admitted, which we paid. However, the surgery still could not proceed because the hospital lacked the intensive care facilities needed to manage the risks associated with his condition.
We then had to navigate the transfer process again, returning to the public healthcare system before my father was eventually transferred to King Faisal Hospital. There, he was admitted, underwent the necessary examinations, and finally received his surgery.
By the time the operation took place, our family had endured days of uncertainty, repeated hospital transfers and the emotional burden of watching someone we loved suffer while trying to access the care he needed.
Following the surgery, my father remained in hospital for a week. Although we had initially expected a shorter stay, his recovery was complicated by pain and trauma. The care he received, including physiotherapy and counselling, was excellent, and I remain grateful to the healthcare professionals who supported him.
However, when he was discharged, the next challenge began.
My father needed at least three months of recovery and rehabilitation before he could stand independently again. His doctor recommended continuing his recovery at home to avoid further costs and reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections.
Clearing the bill for just seven days in hospital cost us approximately RWF 5 million.
At home, we quickly realised that caring for him properly required professional support. He needed help with wound care, pain management, movement and rehabilitation. We had to hire a nurse and a physiotherapist, paying approximately RWF 50,000 per day for their services.
I kept asking myself: How many families can afford that level of care for months, especially when they have already spent so much trying to secure treatment in a hospital?
That question became one of the most important reasons behind my decision to establish CareReach Africa.
Seeing the wider problem
My father’s experience was not an isolated case. During our time in hospital, I witnessed other families facing similar difficulties.
I saw a patient who had been discharged after surgery, with a heavily pregnant wife struggling to find a safe and affordable way to take him home. The hospital needed the bed for another patient, yet the family had limited options for transporting someone who could not sit independently.
I also encountered a woman who had spent weeks sleeping on a hospital floor while waiting for medical results because she could not afford the transport needed to return home and come back. Her circumstances reflected a wider reality: access to healthcare depends not only on the availability of medical professionals, but also on whether patients can afford transport, treatment, follow-up and the support needed to recover.
I was also reminded of the burden carried by families caring for loved ones with serious illnesses. My uncle’s wife suffered from breast cancer and needed regular professional wound care. Her experience further reinforced the financial and emotional pressures that prolonged illness can place on patients and their caregivers.
Through these experiences, I recognised a gap that deserved greater attention: patients may receive treatment in a hospital, but their recovery does not end when they return home.
The idea behind CareReach Africa
These experiences inspired me to establish CareReach Africa, with a mission to help vulnerable patients access home care and home healthcare while promoting disease prevention, health education and community well-being.
CareReach Africa seeks to bridge the gap between hospital treatment and recovery at home by helping eligible patients access professional care they might otherwise be unable to afford. Through partnerships with licensed healthcare providers, volunteer professionals, hospitals, pharmacies, medical suppliers, donors and community organisations, we aim to mobilise the resources needed to support vulnerable patients.
Our work also extends beyond home healthcare. We are committed to raising awareness about chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, supporting early screening, and equipping patients, family caregivers and community health workers with the knowledge to prevent and manage long-term conditions.
We do not seek to replace hospitals or compete with them. Instead, we aim to work alongside healthcare facilities, supporting appropriate transitions to home-based care and helping reduce avoidable hospital stays while preserving dignity and continuity of care.
A vision rooted in dignity and compassion
For me, CareReach Africa represents the belief that every person should be able to receive appropriate care, whatever their circumstances.
Behind every patient is a family that may be struggling to cope, a caregiver who needs support, and a community that can play a role in improving health outcomes. By bringing together healthcare professionals, institutions, partners and people willing to contribute, we seek to turn compassion into practical, sustainable support.
Beginning in Rwanda, with plans to expand our work to other African countries, we aspire to help build communities where vulnerable patients can recover safely at home, people living with chronic diseases can receive better ongoing support, and families do not have to face the burden of illness alone.
My experience transformed my family’s difficult journey into a wider purpose: helping others access the care, support and dignity every person deserves.
“Every patient deserves care, dignity and hope. When we reach one person, we help the whole family.”
This is the heart of CareReach Africa: standing alongside vulnerable patients, supporting their families and working with communities to make quality healthcare more accessible to those who need it most.