The American photographer Kresta King Cutcher travelled to Rwanda. She captured the street children in Butare, the orphans of Gisimba Memorial Center in Kigali and kids in the village of Gitarama.

Cutcher writes about the series on Butare: "There are thousands of street children in Butare. Some are amputees on crutches. Some are blind. Some have AIDS. Everyday they scavenge for food. They make their home in trash heaps bordering the streets. At night, these children burrow beneath blankets of rotted refuse, heads at odd angles to the highway. Some of these children are orphans, others come from broken or abusive homes, a sobering fact which can turn street life into near sanctuary."

The Gisimba orphanage is located in the Nyamirambo quarter of Kigali and is led by Damas Mutezintare Gisimba. Damas's father founded the orphanage in 1980 with 18 children living in one house. Damas took over in 1986 after the death of his father. During the genocide Damas sheltered over 400 children and adults in the small orphanage compound from the predations of the interahamwe [the Hutu paramilitary squads that carried out much of the genocide]. Though the orphanage was repeatedly menaced, Damas and his colleagues held their ground and did not give in to the genocidaires. He has been honoured for his heroism by the Rwandan government and many other organizations. The orphanage currently houses over 150 children. Ten years ago almost all were genocide victims, but many of the newer arrivals have been orphaned by AIDS. Because their parents were HIV+, a number of them are also infected. (Source www.orphansofrwanda.org)