Empower women in Africa through higher education!

These Numbers Have Faces believes strongly women are the secret weapon to fighting poverty. We work hard to make sure that at least half of the students in our University Leadership Program are women. Currently, 57% of our students are female. These young women are poised to lead their communites and countries to a new era of peace and prosperity. Through access to a university education, Leadership Development Workshops, and our women’s mentorship program, we empower Africa’s brightest young women to cultivate thriving communities. We also recognize that, if we are working to empower strong female leaders in a culture where gender roles remain very traditional, we must also work with the young men to learn how to work well with and alongside strong, empowered women. To be sure, the COVID pandemic presented significant challenges for our students. But our students proved to be patient, flexible, persistent, and incredibly resilient as we found creative ways to continue our programs. In the past six months, virtually all of the COVID restrictions have indeed been lifted. Indeed, in June, we were able to celebrate two classes of graduates and welcome 25 new students into These Numbers Have Faces. This was the first time we were able to host a large celebration since 2019! Needless to say it was quite a celebration. We celebated 29 2021 graduates and 19 2022 graduates. We are proud to report that 48% of our 2021 graduates and 63% of 2022 graduates were women!

COVID's impact on the academic year in Rwanda is still huge. As we shared in our last report, at best, some of the private universities are a semester behind, with the academic year beginning in March and ending in February. But for many of our students, their academic years have become even more fluid, beginning in perhaps April or May and ending perhaps in March or April. So graduation has shifted from the traditional June to sometime between February and May. So, currently, our students who are studying at private universities are just beginning their summer break and will start their second semester at the end of August. However, our students attending public university just started their first semester in May. Yet, in spite of the varying academic calendars, all of our students are progressing well. We are so proud of them!

Marie Gisele is a wonderful example of the young women in our program. She just graduated in March with a degree in medicine and will finish her clinicals at the end of July. Marie Gisele was born in a village in western Rwanda, the daughter of two teachers who lived a simple, peaceful life. When she turned 2, however, the Rwandan Genocide Against the Tutsi forced her family to flee to neighboring DR Congo, where, for many years, they lived in rain forests and refugee camps. At one point, Marie and her younger sister became separated from their family and were left to raise themselves. Even though they were living in a helpless situation, Marie Gisele still had hope of returning to Rwanda and going to school. Several years later, she did! She was even reunited with her mother and older sister. Highly motivarted, Marie Gisele poured herself into her studies and went on to receive on the top scores on her National High School Exam. Fueled by her past and the history of her country, her vision has been to become a doctor who brings healing and compassion to those who are suffering. She wants to be not just a good doctor, but an effective leader in her community. She wants to make sure future generations will never endure the trauma and challenges she has faced in her life. Throughout her medical education, Marie Gisele volunteered with a national program working to fight non-communicable diseases. Again, Marie Gisele is a great example of our work as These Numbers Have Faces to educate, equip, and empower women to be transformational leaders in their communities. She is just one of so many success stories among our These Numbers Have Faces students and alumni!

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These Numbers Have Faces believes strongly women are the secret weapon to fighting poverty. We work hard to make sure that at least half of the students in our University Leadership Program are women. Currently, 57% of our students are female. These young women are poised to lead their communites and countries to a new era of peace and prosperity. Through access to a university education, Leadership Development Workshops, entrepreneurship opportunities, and our women’s mentorship program, we empower Africa’s brightest young women to cultivate thriving communities. We also recognize that, if we are working to empower strong female leaders in a culture where gender roles remain very traditional, we must also work with the young men to learn how to work well with and alongside strong, empowered women.

To be sure, the COVID pandemic continued to create significant challenges for our students. We continued to emphasize those four key words that had come to mean so much: patience, persistence, flexibility, and resilience. Thankfully, in spite of the challenges, this past academic year, we were able to facilitate ten monthly Leadership Development Workshops, along with all four of our quarterly Women's Empowerment Workshops and our four quarterly workshops for the men in our program. Most of these workshops we were able to offer in person, but some of them we had to facilitate via Zoom because of on-going or renewed COVID restrictions. One of the biggest challenges this past year has been COVID's impact on the academic year. At best, some universities are a semester behind, with the academic year beginning in March and ending in February. But for many of our students, their academic years have become even more fluid, beginning in perhaps April or May and ending perhaps in March or April. So graduation has shifted from the traditional June to sometime between February and May. But thankfully, all of the young women in our program who were supposed to graduate this year are indeed graduating. And all of the other women in our program have completed or are completing their final exams successfully. Some have started their new academic year. Others will have to wait a bit longer to start. But all are doing well! We are so proud of them. No matter what the challenges have been, they have found ways to overcome them and keep moving forward toward their dreams!

Ange was one of our new students in 2021. She is studying medicine and is scheduled to graduate in 2023. Ange said:

"'You must have a vision' is a statement left unsaid in every one of our monthly leadership training sessions. This message, constantly vibrating in my ears, has shaped me into a better servant leader. Right now it is my privilege to serve as the Director of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace in MEDSAR (Medical Students' Association of Rwanda). It is my responsibility to communicate our vision well and to use that vision to create and implement meaningful projects that truly make a difference in our communities. This word -- "vision" -- not only helps me perform well as Director of this committee, but it has also impacted the decisions I make in my daily life. This past year, COVID-19 certainly blurred my sight to the future, but I learned from our These Numbers Have Faces monthly trainers that the path to success isn't always straight. So I decided to cling to my vision of becoming a medical doctor, despite all of the challenges. I am committed to making the best of every opportunity granted to me to reach my goal."

Ange is just one example of what's been happening in the lives of the young women in our Women's Empowerment Initiative. We are so thankful for their patience, flexibilty, resilience, and especially their passionate persistence! Thank you for helping all of these amazing young women make their dreams a reality!

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• We educate, equip, and empower bright young leaders in Africa