Dear John,

All too often, people who lack social status and economic power, especially women, are exposed to poor treatment, exploitation and abusive relationships. Our Cultivating Change appeal focuses on our work with communities in Rwanda to develop opportunities for survivors of gender-based violence.

Clarisse Dusabimana, our Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator in Rwanda, explains: 

“Our recently launched project builds on our earlier work supporting people who’ve experienced gender-based violence by focusing on economic empowerment.

Lack of finance makes people more vulnerable to victimisation by partners. At the same time, [our partners] are interested in supporting enterprise growth and lack of [trained workers] is a big issue in the tea industry in Rwanda."

Alongside our partners in Rwanda we’re training people and supporting them so they can gain employment and, crucially, earn a living wage in the tea industry.

By connecting people with tea estates, and helping them develop specialist tea harvesting skills, we’re creating opportunities for people to improve their livelihoods and bring more money into rural communities struggling with high rates of unemployment.

Clarisse tells us: "We’re working with people who we’ve already supported through existing initiatives addressing gender-based violence and others who are at risk of becoming victims. There’s a link between gender-based violence and poverty, so we’re empowering the poorest families economically." 

Through this initiative thousands of Rwandans, primarily women, are gaining financial independence and improving their social status, so they can better defend their rights. At the same time, they are contributing to their communities as wage earners and role models.

Clarisse is keen to share a little about the changes that she has witnessed already:

“It’s rewarding seeing people with no monthly income now earning 100,000 Rwandan Francs a month…mothers being able to cover their families’ needs and send their kids to school.”

You can support communities, activists and health workers globally to help marginalised people empower themselves by contributing to our Cultivating Change appeal today.

In solidarity,

Siaffa Bunduka,
Supporter Engagement Manager

P.S. Whatever you can give will contribute towards building safer, healthier and more prosperous communities for all.