Last year, I was invited to participate in the first ever AYA Summit for digital influencers at Google’s DC headquarters. The Summit focused on issues facing girls and women in the developing world and was organized by ONE Girls & Women (a program of the global ONE campaign co-founded by Bono).
AYA was a profound experience. It opened my eyes and my heart to some of the most remarkable and inspirational people on the planet. One of those people is Sydney Price, Senior VP for Social Responsibility at Kate Spade & Company and a self-described intrapreneur, who founded a program called On Purpose that is changing the lives of women (many of whom are moms) in Rwanda.
Through this program, Kate Spade & Co. works with 150 women artisans who are suppliers for several brands of the company. And unlike most other corporate trade models, this program isn’t charitable, and instead is designed to develop local, independently viable, women-led businesses that bring enormous benefits to entire communities.
On a recent visit to Rwanda, representatives of Kate Spade & Co. interviewed some of the moms in the program on behalf of Mamalode. With just this tiny window into their personal and professional lives, we hope you will take a moment to get to know them and this program, and to acknowledge how we are all at once different and the same.
~Dori Gilels, Publisher
Meet Josiane Uwera, 37, mother of three, one 11-year-old and 9-year-old twins
What is the biggest challenge for you as a mother?
The biggest challenge for me is that my oldest child is not doing very well at school. It’s hard for me and I don’t know how to help him because I didn’t go to school myself. I don’t have the knowledge I need to help. So what can I do?
What is your job at Abahizi Dushyigikirane Ltd. (Kate Spade & Co.’s registered supplier)?
I draw the patterns and cut the fabric for handbags.
What is your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part is drawing the bag and then seeing it go through sewing and finished. It makes me happy to see that.
One year later, how has your life changed from before having this job until having it now?
There is a big change. Before, I was only working in the fields. Now that I have this job, I’m able to pay school fees for my kids and pay for their medical insurance. It’s a huge difference.
How does that make you feel? Being able to pay school fees, buying a home?
I feel very, very happy. I feel like I have value. And now my husband will even come and ask me for advice.
Meet Violette Musabyimana, 29, widow and mother of one 6-year-old son.
What is a normal day like for you?
I wake up every day at 5AM, I prepare breakfast for my child and prepare myself for the day. It takes me 20 minutes to walk to work. I work until noon and then I go home to have lunch. I return by 1PM and work until 5PM. I then return home to my child and prepare dinner for us. I then spend time with my son and make sure he is okay. We then go to sleep around 9PM.
What do you think is the one biggest change or difference in your life since having this job?
Before, I was living a worried life. How am I going to take care of anything? My family? And now I’m able to live my life the way I want because of my job.
What is your biggest hope for the future?
I hope that I will be able to help many people be where I am now. That I will help them increase their value to themselves.
Is there anything that you would like mothers in the United States to know about mothers in Rwanda?
The women in Rwanda work together. Before I was able to have my home, I was living with another mother who was helping me get through. So we work together to solve our problems where we can.
Images provided courtesy of Kate Spade & Company, credit Jeremy Stanley.
