Duhu-ful

Last week, I started this message titled "57 reasons why I am thankful for Duhu" and I wrote the names of all the Duhus & Gabie, our program coordinator. I was going to schedule it to send the night before Thanksgiving so you could see how thankful I am for each and every girl. But then I got a phone call and life came to a screeching hault.

Amina Bateta "Teta" from our first girl (pictured above, front row, pink shirt) had passed away from liver failure. She was one of our university graduates who finished school and was not able to find employment. She came to us looking for help with her future.

 There are no words to adequately describe what our Duhu family is feeling right now. Our hearts are heavy in this loss of a promising young woman. We want to take this time to honor her memory.

I personally have taken this loss as a challenge to do better. Each day Gabie and I meet, I ask her, "What can we do better? How can we do what we are doing better?". I want to go into each future Duhu class thinking, "If this is the last words they hear, what do we need to tell them?".

It comes down to this, "God loves us, He has a plan for us; something He prepared in advance for us to do. If we choose to glorify Him with our life then we and others around us will be blessed because of the choices we make."

My heart is thankful for Duhu. I am Duhu-ful.

Jamie

 

Duhu 3 Needs You!

Dear Friends and Duhu Supporters, Duhu 3 will launch January 13, 2014 and we are in full planning mode for the next 25 participants and we need your help. We have added a new course, (which I am really excited about) allowing the young ladies to not only learn how to write a business plan, but creating a unique business idea and given a small investment to implement their idea. Over the last two months, we have been in meetings and doing a lot of research and planning. We feel really positive about the work we are doing and have had that affirmed by various organizations, including USAID, who developed the core Work Readiness Curriculum. We have listened to many needs of the young women, two of which we are trying to address by casting our nets to see how to implement a vocational training class teaching basic computer skills and English classes for those not able to pass the entrance exam. We have also started a weekly Bible study, inviting all the Duhu graduates, “Duhu Disciples”. When I say “we”, I mean Gabie and I. “Gabie” Immaculee Ingabire has been promoted to a full time position as the Program Coordinator. I was going to call her director, but she said that means I have to give her a car to drive, so Coordinator is it! All the day-to-day training work, including all contact with the graduates and planning for future trainings are now her responsibility. I realized when I returned to Rwanda in August from the U.S. that I don’t have to mentor all 56 young women (and counting). It is my responsibility to mentor 1 on how to empower the other 56. So my support to her, among many things, is making sure there is enough money to run the trainings. Here is where you come in! Below you will see a breakdown of the expenses for the next training. As our training grows, so do our expenses. I am raising $3,000 for Duhu 3. $3,000 divided by 25 Duhus = $120. $120 will sponsor one young lady to complete our training, gaining not only work readiness training and experience, but also training in creating a small business. Gabie tells me, “We have to train them to create jobs so they will hire their friends or classmates. That is how we will make a difference in their lives and how they will make a difference in their community.” Click here to make a donation to help support the Duhu 3 class.

Work Readiness Training Living in God’s Zone Personal Development Financial Fitness Leadership Job Interview Preparation Sanctity of Human Life Why Wait? Gender Based Violence HIV/AIDS Education Women’s Health & Nutrition Trainers: $900 Participant Guides, Classroom Materials: $300 Lunch (25 meals x 15 days): $600 Total: $1800   Career Exploration Sessions Visiting various types of business Networking with local business owners Encouragement Transportation Expenses: $100 Lunch Visits: $200 Total: $300   *NEW* Creating Entrepreneurship  Introduction to Small Business and Income Generating Creativity workshop Business Plan Creation and Presentation Small Business Short-term Implementation               Trainer: $200 Participant Guides, Classroom Materials: $200 Business Investments: $500 Total: $900

Thank you from Ritah Tumukunde

(Click to see a larger image)

Duhu's doing what

Of the 56 students who successfully completed the 2 Duhugurane In-Class Trainings offered since the project's launch in 2013, 70% have gained work experience through placement in internships, part-time or temporary jobs; 7% of the young women have obtained full time jobs; 3% have started businesses and many have pursued or continued educational endeavors.

Our business partners throughout the community have committed to invest into their youth and it is demonstrated each time they offer to host a Duhu participant at their business. 

Bottom line: Duhu is "learning from each other". 

Themes of Rwandan Youth

A recent estimate states that two-thirds of Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, is composed of youth (ages 14-35). 

Here are some consistent themes (recently published) that people believe about Rwanda's youth:

1. Youth won't take advice
2. Youth are unproductive with their time
3. Youth won't collaborate
4. Youth need education

Over the last few months, we have learned that young people do need education, but they also want to be heard. They have ideas and concerns for their future. The young women of Duhu have proved that in the right conditions, the top 3 for them are not true. They do work together, they will use their time well and they will take advice.

We have encouraged our Duhu girls to dream big and create SMART (Specific, Measureable, Adjustable, Realistic, Time-Oriented) objectives to achieve those dreams. But they need resources, so we should just give them money, right? Nope.

The model of Duhu is built on empowering young women to create a sustainable livelihood. We will soon be offering a Creating Entrepreneurs class for our graduates to educate them on running a business within a small group. We hope to create an environment for them to not only learn, but see if they have what it takes to collaborate together on a business idea and actually launch their idea.

We are motivated to prove those themes against youth wrong.

Duhu Video is up!

Check out the Duhu Facebook page to see our video, or click the picture below. Don't forget to LIKE us while you are there!

Thank you Olivier Rule for putting so much hard work into this video!

Duhu 1 Stats and beyond

During our first cohort, we had all 21 students complete the internal assessments with above 80%. 60% of those who successfully completed the In-Class training and Career Exploration were placed in internships or part time jobs; 1 young woman obtained a full time job. 25% pursued educational opportunities.

We are currently hosting our second cohort--20 in the morning class and 20 in the afternoon. And we are making plans to offer a Small Business/Income Generating Training for all of our Duhu Graduates in the near future, using the Akazi Kanoze curriculum and include a mock business implementation experience.

Duhu 2

From Jamie Boiles, Project Director

For our second class, we are still learning how to better serve the girls and meet their needs. We are trying a few new topics and hands-on learning experiences.

My personal priority is seeking ways to continue to involve more Rwandan women of various ages to train, mentor and coach these young women. The young women need to hear from women who have gone before them to inspire and encourage them along their path.

There are a few values the leadership and advisory team have agreed upon as our core values that I would like to share:

• Education: We believe in the value of education in increasing opportunities. This goes beyond knowledge, but is complemented with hands-on applicable skills.

• Community: The individual exists in the context of their community.  Therefore, change in attitudes, ideas and practices can impact the lives of community members, businesswomen, and others who interact with the girls in whose lives we invest and vice versa.

• Faith: We are founded on the belief that each individual possesses dignity and deserves respect because we are all created in the image of God.

• Accountability: Our greatest responsibility as an organization is to remain accountable to our beneficiaries in all operations. We commit to being wise stewards of our resources and to keep young women at the center of our financial decisions.

• Youth Empowerment: We believe that young women should be at the center of initiatives. They are key stakeholders in the future of their communities and have the capacity and ingenuity to shape strategic responses to events impacting their environment. 
  

As Duhu continues to grow and evolve, these values may evolve; but we commit to hold the young women as the highest priority, using everything we have to empower them to not only positively impact their lives, but to impact their community and country.

Daily Duhu

Divine Akimana
(The family name "Akimana" translates to "of God")

All my goals that I have now were like dreams to me before. Since I joined Duhugurane, I really feel like I am in control, am more focused and more motivated.

I can work on all the stories that I had kept private until now and produce some good novels. Because of Duhugurane, who inspired us, I can inspire some other girls not only in Rwanda but all over the world.

We will never have another Week 1 like this one

From Jamie Boiles, Project Director

As we end our second week of three weeks of Work Readiness training, I realize we will never have another first week of Duhugurane and that makes me excited for the future.

We started with 25 and only 4 have had to drop for personal reasons. To receive a certificate, each participate must attend 90% of the training. I was a little nervous on Day 2 to see who would be returning; most returned.

I have watched an evolution in team work, participation and voice level. The more they work together and participate in class, the more comfortable they get with it.

These 21 girls are beautiful, ambitious and strong. One young lady works several nights a week at a call center, gets off work and then comes to class. Another lady lives a 30 minutes car ride away, but isn't able to take a car, so she uses a combination of bus taxis and her own feet to get to class, taking about 2 hours each way.

Through this training, we are learning how to do things better. I feel like these girls are our first-born; we are making all the parenting mistakes with them, so we will do better next time. (I can say this being the baby of the family.)

We have already determined our goal is not just to churn participants through the training, but walk through these next steps with them and then focus on our next group. And we've gotten to really like and enjoy each and every girl. As we get to know them more, we want to see each one to find success in achieving their dreams.