As a donor and volunteer for African Road, it doesn’t get much better than this: Pulling up to the Togetherness Cooperative in person for the first time, feeling the breeze, seeing the view, smelling the farm, and knowing it really is real.
On Tuesday, I was delighted to visit the cooperative while bakery training was in full swing. All 21 students have completed the first half of training (which focused on financing and nutrition) and are now beginning the second phase: Baking!
A flurry of young women gathered around the trainers, asking questions, taking notes, and congenially laughing at each other when technical skills — like kneading the dough — were put to the test. Their giggles were infections, so I laughed too.
The trainers, Aime and Denyse, were patient and thorough, demonstrating techniques with their own hands and frequently asking if everyone understood — to which everyone in the group would nod and say “mmm!” (a common way of saying yes in Rwanda).
I chatted with Aime and Denyse to see how things were going. They told me all of the students were doing very well, but that a young woman named Hilaria (hill-ah-ree-ah) had stood out to them.
Hilaria, a soft-spoken young mother, was excited about the training. She told me through a translator that the best part about this training was how nutritious the breads are: “Compared to what’s on the market, these breads provide practically everything you need.” She listed off the nutrients using her fingers: “carbohydrates, protein, fruits and veggies!”
I heard other trainees also talking about the nutrition of the breads, and the opportunity to prepare a nutritious meal while living within their means. Hilaria said she’s learned that while nutrition is important for everyone, it’s especially important for kids.
Most rural Rwandan families don’t have ovens, so like most women in the area, Hilaria had never baked before this training. Now she’s looking forward to baking in the Togetherness Bakery. She told me the training will improve her life and her health – as well as the lives and health of her family, her community, and (her eyes lit up) her nation! I think she’s right. Young Rwandans learning to bake and sell nutritious foods can only bring good things to this community and beyond.
This training never would have taken place without the help of dedicated friends of African Road — especially the Bakery Champions, who each put their creative efforts into raising these funds!
The women of Togetherness thank you! And I’m grateful too. Because what I saw at Togetherness on my very first visit was a beautiful thing.
*Timira Cobbs and her family are in Rwanda visiting her mother, who is teaching at the University of Rwanda.