Survivors Fund (SURF)

Further Information

Philosophy

All our work is informed and underpinned by four guiding principles.

SURF is:
- Committed over the long term to survivors in Rwanda and the UK.
- Independent and flexible in its response to the priorities of survivors.
- Identifying activities to fund that are high impact and sustainable.
- Building the capacity of its partners to deliver programmes.

Holistic programmes are developed and delivered by survivor-led organisations, with technical support from SURF. Any one angle of assistance on its own - be it medical, economic or social - would be an incomplete answer. Thus the program

The Social Need

There are 400,000 survivors of the genocide in Rwanda. 100,000 survivors are aged between 15 and 22, 75,000 were orphaned as a result of the genocide and 60,000 are categorised as very vulnerable. Over half of the children stopped their schooling because of poverty. 53% meet the criteria for depression on a psychiatric screening scale.

History

SURF was founded by Mary Kayitesi Blewitt OBE, a British citizen of Rwandan origin. Mary lost over 50 members of her family in the genocide and helped establish the first survivors’ organisations in Rwanda working for the Rwandan Ministry of Rehabilitation from July 1994. On her return to the UK in 1995 she began to support survivors through establishing SURF, registering the organisation in the UK as a charity (No. 1065705) and a company limited by guarantee (No. 03411565).