Meet Aline Uwingeneye, Championing For Opportunity
“Life was not easy for me, it was just struggles, I was losing hope, living with stress and being shamed by my family. Through the ‘Girl Champions Project’ I discovered that, despite my difficult starting point, I have the power to change my life.”
— Aline Uwingeneye, 23 years old
Meet 23 year old Aline Uwingeneye, growing up, she and her 4 siblings experienced domestic violence, only sheltered by their mother. During her senior year in high school, she became pregnant and dropped out of school, feeling desperate and ashamed she lost hope for her future.
Thankfully, Aline accepted an invitation to join the ‘Girl Champions Project’ held by Rwanda Women’s Network Women Safe Space Facilitators. During this 5 day program, she and a community of girls in a similar situation got the opportunity to develop life skills.
They unpacked topics like: Gender, Gender Based Violence, getting Sexual Reproductive Help. Aline and the girl started to gain confidence and understand that they too can have opportunities.
Through the project, the girls also went through financial training, they got to set up their own financial goals and start a ‘girls savings group’ via the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA). “Starting to save in the group wasn’t easy for me, I didn’t think I had any skills. But through encouragement, I found that I could weave and sell mats in the community. I set a goal to save enough money so I could buy livestock. I now have a goat I bought with the money I got from the share-out of the group.” Says Aline proudly. “And I intend to buy a pig, own a cow and learn the craft of tailoring,” she added, nodding to the big dreams she now has for her future and is confident she can achieve.
Aline is now mentoring other girls. She was selected by her peers to become the community’s Girl Champion, facilitating sessions and helping others break the cycle of domestic violence and create a future for themselves.
“I would like to thank Rwanda Women’s Network and Kvinna Till Kvinna for bringing this important program to us, it has empowered us girls in the way that we weren’t expecting. We now believe in a better future and work towards achieving our goals.”
About The Girl Champions Project
The ‘Girl Champions Project’ was developed in collaboration with Kvinna Till Kvinna to educate girls about Gender Based Violence, getting reproductive help and financial literacy.
Through this 5 day program we are empowering girls to break gender norms, join the workforce and create opportunities for their future. The workshops are held in groups to create a network of support and collaboration. So far, over 200 girls in 11 districts across Rwanda participated in this program.
