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 A HAND UP, NOT A HANDOUT Far more than charity, the Rwanda Path to Peace project puts income directly into the hands of Rwandan women, empowering them to take control of their own lives. These earnings are used for food, clothing, school supplies, water purification, healthcare and personal savings. RECONCILIATION The Path to Peace project employs 2,500 weavers across Rwanda. The weavers belong to smaller weaving groups, organized locally in the many villages that dot the landscape. Amazingly, every group consists of both Hutu and Tutsi weavers, women from both sides of the 1994 conflict. These women sit with each other, talking and laughing, while their children play nearby. By weaving together, they are slowly but surely healing themselves and their society. STRENGTHENING FAMILIES For the weavers having an income means planning for the future, and many are eager to provide a better life for their children. In addition, the stability of a reliable income has helped alleviate much of the stress of everyday domestic life-stress that until recently was intensified by poverty. Today, husbands are helping out by tending to the children while their wives weave, harvesting raw materials and transporting finished baskets. By working together, these women and men are forging stronger families built on mutual respect and partnership. HIV/AIDS The Path to Peace project has greatly improved conditions for HIV-positive weavers by providing them with real, usable income. This increased income allows them to better meet their nutritional needs, increasing the effectiveness of their medications. No longer stigmatized by the community, they are instead respected for earning an income. They have their pride back, and with it hope for the future. CHANGING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN One of the most inspiring aspects of this innovative partnership is the direct, positive impact it has had on thousands of Rwandan children. Income from the baskets provides food, clothing, healthcare, school uniforms, shoes, school supplies and more. The weaver's children now have paper and pencils so they can learn to write, and they are very proud of their parent's ability to provide them with necessities that have become life-changing luxuries. PUBLIC HEALTH The income from the Path to Peace project helps the weavers maintain their good health. Entire communities have clean water because families can afford water purification tablets and/or bottled water. Cases of malaria, a deadly disease carried by mosquitoes, have been greatly reduced now that weavers can afford SuperNet mosquito netting that protects them from the infected insects. And perhaps most importantly medical insurance, once a luxury, is now readily available and affordable to protect the weavers and their families. |  |
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