Empower women in Africa through higher education!

Women’s empowerment is at the core of our mission. We know that empowering women through education breaks cycles of poverty and impacts the whole community.

Young women in Rwanda still face many challenges that make attending high school difficult. Poor families often give sons priority in paying school fees. Add early marriage and pregnancy, sexual harassment, lack of separate hygiene facilities, and domestic chores. Sadly, 85% of girls in Rwanda do not attend high school, and less than 3% of African women attend university.

Yet the positive impact of a university education for women is astounding! African female university graduates earn 48% more income than women with only a high school education. These same female graduates invest 90% of their income into their families and communities.

Educating women is one of the most powerful tools for breaking the cycle of poverty, truly transforming families, communities and countries. Because of you, we see this transforming impact happening again and again in the lives of our female scholars and entrepreneurs. Their stories are amazing!

We made an awesome video about Samantha, a Rwandan entrepreneur, who participated in our Accelerate Academy and graduated from our University Leadership Program. Samantha makes sandals and employees jobless, vulnerable women. I hope you will click the link below and watch the video to hear more about Samantha from her!

This Holiday Season, join us in transforming the lives of the 52 young women in our University Leadership Program, their families, and their communities. Your generous gift will do so much!

All of us here at These Numbers Have Faces wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for your generosity and support!

Links:

• Watch Samantha's Video here

As Aline grew up, she struggled with her community’s treatment of women. She saw other young girls passing up education to start families and live traditional lives, but Aline knew she wanted more. As the fifth born of eight children, Aline fought to be a good example of leadership in her own household, both to her older sisters and younger brothers. Each day, she makes the choice to take risks and work hard rather than waiting for someone else to provide help.

Aline knows that a university education is not something everyone can obtain, so she wants to use this opportunity to give back to others. With a degree in Water and Environmental Engineering, her goal is to work towards using renewable energy sources that can serve her city and country. Aline’s eyes are open to the issues that surround her. With her degree, she will be equipped to overcome the problems she sees and lead those around her into a better future.

Last school year, Aline’s biggest challenge was Mathematics for Engineers. She said these classes were the most difficult, but she was able to work really hard, read a lot of books related to mathematics, find a tutor to help her and she was able to overcome the challenge and do well in her class!