Strength in Numbers for Rwandan Women

You joined Friends of Heifer® to make a bigger impact on the lives of families in need. After all, you know the collective power of your gift — and how it builds stronger, more resilient communities. When we know we can count on you, we’re able to plan for and provide where they’re needed most.  

This story is all about collective power. As individuals, we can achieve a lot, but joining forces allows people to create substantial and lasting change together. We know there is strength in numbers.

In Rwanda, more than 70% of the country’s women are involved in farming, with a third of these women supporting their families through farming. Unfortunately, women’s overwhelming impact in the agriculture industry does not make it easier for them to succeed.

In fact, women still face more barriers than men — lacking proper access to training, financing, and markets to sell their goods.

The Abihuje Women’s Self-Help group formed in 2018 with 30 members ready to do something about the inequality in agriculture. Their goal was to create a savings fund to ensure the women have access to the resources needed to run their farms.

All 30 members committed to making weekly deposits to the savings fund. This provides a safety net for the women in case of emergency. Thanks to your support, the women also receive training, livestock and other practical tools from Heifer.

The self-help group is so much more than a resource for funding. It’s a place where women can come together to share their struggles and experiences, gain confidence in their ability to support their families, and become leaders in their communities.

One of the women changed by the self-help group is Vestine Icyimanizanye. Before joining the group, she did not have enough money to pay for school fees or supplies for her four children – let alone invest in her farm. Surviving was the only thing on her mind.

 “I barely had the capacity to meet the family needs,” she remembers.

Your support changed so much for Vestine since that day. She’s taken out — and paid back — three loans from the group to invest in her farm. She grows Irish potatoes and pyrethrum and hopes to buy an additional cow for her farm.

Your impact doesn’t stop there. Beatrice Nyirahabimana, like Vestine, lived a difficult life before joining the group. Income was sparse, and even worse, she could afford just one meal a day for her six children.

After joining the group, Beatrice received training and technical support from Heifer and a loan to buy more land. She bought a second dairy cow and sells five liters of milk a day to a local dairy facility.

Your gift made a night-and-day difference in Beatrice’s life. She can afford school fees and clothes, and her family now eats three balanced and nutritious meals a day. “It makes me proud,” she says, adding, “There is no reason why you wouldn’t be happy.”

This is just one group in one village in Rwanda. The impact of your support has a ripple effect for thousands of groups like this across the world. You see, when you give to Heifer, you lift the fortunes of millions of farmers and families who find mutual aid, support and friendship through cooperation.

Thank You

Thank you for investing in the success of the Abihuje Women’s Self-Help Group and other families around the world.