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.

We are in this together

The word Duhugurane has become more than just the young woman's project, which is very important to me; helping each other, or building each other up has become more than just a name of a project for me. Most organizations have mission statements they can reflect on each day as a gauge to see if what they are working on supports the overall direction of the organization.

The ROC Partners mission statement is: dedicated to investing in the people of Rwanda through education, community development, and faith-based initiatives. As employees of ROC Partners, we seek to be involved in projects that support our 3 pillars: education, community development and faith-based initiatives in Rwanda.

But personally, my mission statement has become duhugurane. Let US help each other, or build each other up. What can I do everyday to work with someone to help and together we build each other up? How can we all work together to build someone up, to mentor them?

When I was home this summer, so many people said, "I just couldn't do what you do." I would laugh and think (and sometimes say outloud), I probably couldn't do what you do on a daily basis. We have all been given unique gifts, it is up to us to use them to glorify Him. Recently, one of the Duhu girls (university students who are learning to be trainers to take what they have learned to other young women) wrote in a blog post: If everyone makes an impact, what impact are you making wherever you are?

God has given me the capacity to be able to uniquely serve His daughters and sons in Rwanda. It is because of your prayers and financial support that we are able to be here together, working side by side. You may not be able to phsycially be in Rwanda, but you can support the work here. We can do this together, duhugurane-style!

We need $1300 to launch our first training in January 2013. I hope that you will consider donating to help us work together to build up young women in Rwanda!  Click here to make your donation