Aaaaaand we’re off!
21 women and young people have begun training to start a bakery business in Rwanda.
The bakery business will create jobs for women, provide nutritionally enhanced bread – a commodity that is in high demand but short supply in Rwanda – and impart skills that can be used for life, such as practical financial skills and business management. The training will be 123 hours, or three days a week for about 10 weeks.
Fundraising for the Women’s Bakery is ongoing as friends of African Road join in to meet the $36,000 goal, which covers a brand new building, inventory, and training. The campaign hit a benchmark today with 50% of the goal raised.
The group includes 18 women and 3 men. Most of the participants are from the Togetherness Cooperative, a group of orphaned young people who first joined together in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Young orphaned people have continued to join the cooperative over the years, with the older members acting as mamas and mentors for the younger members.
“We are grateful for an opportunity for full-time employment. It will improve our lives so much to be able to earn a regular income,” says training participant Clementine.
Training participants join in for hands-on fun!
The idea for a bakery business originated from a meeting between girls of the Togetherness Cooperative and African Road Executive Director Kelly Bean and Executive Assistant Jennifer Hatton in August 2015. The Togetherness Cooperative has more than twice as many boys and men as women and girls. The girls voiced their dream of a project and a special space that they could call their own.
“This is something we have been dreaming of for a long time. Our prayers have been answered,” says Athanase, a 35-year-old mother and founding member of the cooperative.
The participants are training with help from The Women’s Bakery, an organization that trains women’s cooperatives to bake nutritious bread to improve their livelihood. The Women’s Bakery has successfully launched bakeries in Rwanda and Tanzania that have empowered women and had a “ripple impact” across the entire community, lifting up families and neighbors along the way.
We are so thankful to our amazing champions who have been fundraising hard to make this bakery happen. It’s not too late to join in!