Jeannette Muhawenimana from Rwinkwavu Sector of Kayonza District is a high school graduate, who after finishing school, had no hope for the future because her parents were not able to either afford her university studies or help her start a business.
When Huguka Dukore, a 5-year USAID funded activity went to their area, she registered for the training, which would eventually equip her with technical skills that would help restore her hope and give her a reason to live. She started to discover her full potential and confidence after receiving the technical skills, she can now bake cakes among other pastries, a skill that earns her an income and will help her to employ others.
Jeannette lauded the training saying that they were not only limited to learning about Pastry & Bakery but also on how to produce quality products among other work-based learning skills on self-employment, entrepreneurship, and access to financing and planning.
Although access to start-up capital is still a challenge, she hopes to combine efforts with others colleagues to use their abilities, to pass on the skills to other vulnerable youth, who they can work with to create a group that would venture heavily in pastry and bakery. “We will use our acquired skills to start small and determine which small priority to focus on for our overall business goals and then later on work with others to grow our business.”
Successful startups are often hailed as heroic, but the reality is that they often start by overcoming such adversities like limited or no capital, lack of labor or resources and no working space. Their inspiring story is often fueled by the promise of wild riches.
Such stories like Jeannette’s reminds us that even though many people still think you need a degree, financial clout, or a string of qualifications, what is really needed is the will and commitment to take that first leap of faith to start.
Huguka Dukore is a 5-year (2016-2021) USAID program, which implements activities that will be supporting 40,000 vulnerable youth, across 19 out of 30 districts countrywide. NAR is one of the Implementing Partners funded by Education Development Center during its implementation. It is through stories like these that this project is able to realize its overall objective.