We planned to pay a quick visit to a business that makes gorgeous baskets for a large US retailer, but our visit turned lengthy when we struck up an inspiring conversation with one of the sister-owners, Joy N. Joy and her sister, Janet, were born in a Ugandan refugee camp after their parents fled during a previous period of unrest in Rwanda in 1959. Joy married a Ugandan man who worked for the World Bank which transferred them to New York City. After the 1994 genocide, Janet encouraged Joy to come back and help, which she did and then found her calling among her people. In 2003, Janet and Joy started the company by teaching 24 women to weave under a tree, sharing their stories and grief. They were moved by the strength of these women, who often would be weaving next to another woman who’s father or husband killed members of their family. Since then, they have grown their company to over 5,000 workers, predominantly widowed or socially rejected women (due to repeated rapes resulting in pregnancies or HIV). These workers are working around the country in various cooperative groups formed by Joy & Janet, and trained by members of their community who travel to Kigali for training in the various techniques. The company has also started producing a variety of jewelry styles using paper beads, glass beads, and semi-precious stones.
Joy and Janet do FAR more than providing training for their workers. They encourage them to talk about their sorrow and shame, and they train them in financial matters and health management. She lamented that the poor are not welcome in banks and that they cannot get the loans needed to expand their businesses. We asked her if she had approached Opportunity Bank and she said she had never heard of them! Susan immediately got out her cell phone and called Jeffrey, who graciously allotted us one hour of his time the next morning for a meeting with Joy and her business manager. She was so excited and thankful, and so were we!When we told Joy about the Kids Across Africa Camp and showed her a video of the vision for the property, she started to cry. She said that one of the women’s biggest concerns is that their children have nothing to do when they are not in school. She exclaimed that the First Lady of Rwanda MUST be told about the camp, and she pledged the support of her own company.
As we were getting ready to leave, I asked Joy about the possibility of selling some of her products through my own company and she was thrilled by the idea! She told me that they have been so worried about being dependent on just one major US contract, and that they had been praying for another buyer to come along. We talked about some of the details, and I promised her that I would do more research and that I would do anything I could to help bring the products to more markets. Joy & Janet’s goal is to employ as many Rwandan women as they can, at wages that are fair and reflective of the beautiful products they make. Although Rwanda has made a LOT of forward progress and is truly “the light of Africa,” as President Kagame envisioned, there is still a LONG way to go in bringing the majority of the population out of poverty, particularly women.
Finally, we tore ourselves away and started down the LONG road to the south, through Butari to Kibeho. The last 24 km we were on a narrow dirt, erosion washed road with a steep drop off and we were feeling very guilty for dragging Jonathan and Tim such a long way after all the long days they had already spent with us. The scenery was gorgeous in this area as well, so we tried to stay focused on that rather than the precarious road.
Kibeho is where the Blessed Mother Mary appeared to girls at a remote girls’ boarding school. The apparitions started in 1982 and have been “approved” as real by the Catholic Church after many years of investigation. There is a beautiful church built over this spot, and we spent some much needed quiet time in prayer there. Afterward, we had dinner in Butare at a nice Italian restaurant, and finally arrived back at the Mbanda’s after midnight.
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