Albertine

My name is Albertine Nyiranzeyimana. I am 39 years old and live in Kamusenyi Village with my husband and our five children. Our children, two girls and three boys, are all in school. My husband is a farmer. The house I lived in was destroyed during the genocide in 1994 but my family survived. I learned to weave baskets from my mother when I was 9 years old. The money that I am able to make from selling my baskets enables me to purchase clothing for my family. This money also allows me to pay people to help with the farming. Although I help some with the farming, being able to hire others to help allows me to weave even more baskets which really helps my family!

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Anastasia

My name is Anastasia Mukeshimana. I am 22 years old and single. I live in Mpanda village, Rwanda. As a child, I was unable to attend school because I had to stay home and take care of my younger siblings – two brothers and three sisters. Three of them are still in school. I learned to weave from my mother and my neighbors. The money that I make from weaving baskets helps me pay for medical insurance, buy clothes and help pay the school fees for my three siblings who are still in school. It also helps me take care of other financial needs our family has. If I can sell enough baskets, I will pay to repair our house and buy a goat or a cow to help our family. Thank you for helping these dreams to become a reality for my siblings and me!

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Christina

My name is Christina Ntakirutimana, I am 39 years old and I live in Mpanda Village, Rwanda with my husband who is a retired school teacher. We have nine children, four of whom are in school. I learned to weave baskets after completing primary school because there were no other jobs available and it was a way that I could earn some income. I now have a space at my home where my weaving group meets, a place where we can visit and share our mutual concerns and interests as we weave. This opportunity to share our lives with one another helps all of us deal with the difficult situations in our lives. With the money I make from weaving I am able to pay for health insurance for myself and my children, to buy clothes and to pay my children’s school fees. As I earn more money from weaving baskets, I hope to save some money for the future education of my children.

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Clementine

My name is Clementine Nyirakanyana. I am 27 years old, single and live with my sister in Tambwe village. Both our parents and two of our brothers were killed during the genocide in 1994. I learned to weave from my neighbors. Weaving gives me a source of income but also gives me an opportunity to get away from my loneliness by working and talking with other women who are weavers. It allows me to make friends and share concerns with them. The money I get from selling my baskets allows me to pay for my living expenses, to purchase health insurance and to buy my clothes. If I can sell more baskets I would like to buy a plot of land and build a house for myself.

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Clementine

My name is Clementine Uwanyirigira, I’m 25 years old and am a single mother with one child. I live with my parents but I also care for my niece because her parents were killed during the genocide in 1994. My family has some goats and cows, but we do not have a large enough plot of land to allow us to support ourselves by farming and raising livestock. I learned to weave from family members. With the money I make from selling my baskets I am able to provide for myself and my child including paying for medical insurance and school fees. If I can sell more baskets I hope to be able to save for my child’s future education and possibly purchase a cow. This will considerably improve our living conditions. Thank you for buying my baskets and helping me to help my family.

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Consolata

My name is Consolata Musabimana. I am 47 years old and live in Ruhango village. My husband and I have 8 children. Three of the children are in secondary school, four are in primary school and one is in nursery school. I learned to weave baskets from my mother because it was a way I could earn some money for our family. Weaving not only helps support my family but it provides an opportunity for me to meet with, work with and talk with other women who are also weaving and have similar interests and concerns. The money I get from selling my baskets helps to provide food for my family as well as paying for health insurance and paying for school fees and supplies for my children.

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Ephigenia

My name is Ephigenia Nyirarekeraho. I live in Kamusenyi village with my mother and my brother’s three children. I am 47 years old and have been a widow since 1999. My brother, his wife and my in-laws were all killed during the genocide in 1994. I have three daughters who are in school and I am also raising two orphans who are children of a relative who was killed during the genocide. In addition to weaving I help take care of some cows and goats that belong to our family and I help farm our small plot of land which is not large enough to support the family. I learned to weave when I was about 15 years old. The money I make from selling my baskets helps me with the expenses of raising my children. It enables me to pay for health insurance for them and myself and to pay for school fees and supplies for my children. It also helps me to pay for other family needs.

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Epiphanie

My name is Epiphanie Mukanyabyenda, I’m 48 years old and my husband is 63. We have three children between the ages of 6 and 14 who are all in school. Although my husband is a farmer, our plot of land is not large enough to support our family through farming and grazing cattle. I learned weaving from my neighbors after I finished primary school. The money I make from weaving helps me pay school fees for my children and also allows me to pay for medical insurance. If I can sell more baskets I hope to be able to purchase some more land so that my family could be better provided for. I would like to, some day, meet some of the people who have purchased my baskets to thank them for helping to improve our living conditions.

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Esperance

My name is Esperance Nyiraminani. I am 26 years old, and a single mother of a 2 -1/2 year old son. I live with my family which includes two orphans who live with us. One of my brothers was killed during the genocide. Although we farm our land we do not have enough land to support our family so I weave baskets to help provide for our needs. I learned to weave from my older sisters when I was a child. With the money I make from selling my baskets I am able to buy clothing for my son and the two orphans, as well as for myself. I am also able to purchase school supplies and pay school fees for the orphans. By selling more baskets I hope to be able to save money to pay for my son’s education. Thank you for buying my baskets!

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Febronia

My name is Febronia Uwimana. I am 45 years old and the single mother of two children – one of whom is in school. I live in Kamusenyi Village. In addition to weaving I farm a small plot, but this is not large enough to support my family. I learned to weave from some of my neighbors as a way to earn some money. In addition to being a way of earning money, weaving gives me an opportunity to visit with other women and to make friends and talk about issues that concern us. The money that I earn from selling my baskets helps me to take care of my family. It allows me to buy clothes for my family and myself as well as to pay for school fees and supplies for my children. In the future I would like to be able to save some of the money I receive so that I can purchase a cow to help take care of my family.

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Jeanne

My name is Jeanne Chantal Mukakalisa. I am 37 years old and the divorced mother of a 7 year old son. In addition to caring for my son, I also care for my sister’s child since my sister passed away. I live with my brother, my sister and both their families. Three of our brothers and our mother all died during the genocide. I learned to weave baskets from my older sister when I was still in school. The money I make from selling my baskets allows me to provide health insurance and clothing for myself and my son. It also allows me to pay the school fees for my son and to help out with some of the financial needs of the rest of my family. I hope to be able to continue to provide an education for my son. Thank you for helping me care for my family!

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Josephine

My name is Josephine Musabyemariya. I am 38 years old and married with seven children. Our youngest child is two years old. Four of our children are in school. Though my husband is a farmer, our plot of land is too small to support our family. I learned to weave from my mother when I was in primary school. The money I make from selling my baskets has allowed me to provide medical insurance and clothing for my family and school fees for my children. With the money I make from selling my baskets I hope to be able to repair my house and purchase a cow to help provide for my family.

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Manuelia

My name is Manuelia Nyiraminani. I am 31 years old and a single mother of two girls, ages 11 and 9 months. My oldest daughter is in school. I also care for my sister’s son whose father, along with two of my brothers, was killed during the genocide in 1994 and whose mother ran away. I live with my parents and one sister. I was taught to weave by my mother when I was a child. We have a small plot of land which we farm but it is not large enough to provide for our family’s needs. The money I make from selling my baskets pays for medical insurance, school fees and supplies for the children as well as helping with the other financial needs of the family.

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Marie

My name is Marie Chantal Uwayezu. I am 25 years old, single and live with my widowed mother. Four members of our family were killed during the genocide. My mother and I care for two orphans, one of whom is my two year old nephew. Although we farm a small plot of land and have three cows, this does not produce sufficient income to support our family. I was taught to weave by my mother right after I finished primary school. The money I receive for selling my baskets helps me provide for my family and has enabled me to purchase clothing and pay for school fees for the orphans. Selling more baskets will help me continue to pay for the orphans’ education and purchase a goat or cow for my family. Thank you for helping me care for my family by buying my baskets.

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Odille

My name Odille Nyiraneza. I am a 35 year old single mother of a son who is in school. I have also taken on the responsibility of raising another child who is an orphan and who lives with me. In addition to weaving I farm a small plot of land, but it is not large enough to support my family. I learned to weave from other women who are my neighbors. The money I make from selling my baskets allows me to pay for health insurance and to buy clothes for myself and my children. It also enables me to pay for school fees and supplies so that my children can attend school. Thank you for helping me to help my family by buying my baskets!

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Priscilla

My name is Priscilla Ntivuguruzwa. I am 31 years old and live in Kamusenyi village. I am married and my husband works as a tailor. We have two children, a girl, 7, and a boy, 6, both of whom are in school. I learned to weave from my mother who still weaves baskets. My father, a brother and a number of other relatives were killed during the genocide in 1994. The money that I receive from selling my baskets has helped me purchase a small plot of land for farming. It has also enabled me to buy a cow and to pay for medical insurance for my family. The money also helps to pay for school fees and supplies for my children. Thank you for buying my baskets.

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Rosalie

My name is Rosalie Nyiramanyenzi. I am a 62 year old widow. My husband and three of my sons were killed during the genocide in 1994. I have four surviving children (two of whom are married) and seven grandchildren. I also care for an orphan girl I found on the street. I learned to weave from my neighbors when I was young. Although I have land, I am not able to farm it myself and haven’t been able to afford to hire people to work the land for me. With the money I am now receiving from selling my baskets I am able to pay someone to farm my land as well as provide clothing and other basic needs for myself and the orphan girl I care for. I hope to be able to make enough money in the future to repair my house because the roof leaks when it rains and keeps me awake at night.

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