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 communities 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. Sonia is a wonderful example of the young women in our program. 

Sonia was born into a family of four girls. Her father died when she was very young. She was raised by her mother, whom she still lives with. Her Mom really struggled to support her four daughters, since she was a single mother with a low-income job.This made Sonia all the more passionate about getting a good education so she can improve not only her own life, but the life of her family and her community as well.

Sonia is currently studying Computer Engineering at the University Of Rwanda. Her dream is to be among the very few women in her country to hold a PhD in Computer Science.  She also wants to use her education and skills to create e-learning platforms for young children so they can learn a variety of subjects and improve their educational success.

Sonia loves reading, photography, debate, singing, and dancing. She also loves volunteering to help high school students with their debate competitions. 

In a recent Leadership Development Workshop, we explored the question, “How can you make sure the pain of your past doesn’t determine your future?” Sonia said: “The thing that stood out for me was learning to use our circumstances and derive lessons from what we have gone through and use them in the future. Another thing is to be humble and to take life as it comes, going through everything with an open mind and a heart willing to learn.”

We are also excited to share that all of our students, including Sonia and the other young women in our University Leadership Program, are in the midst of implementing their Community Impact Projects for this current academic year. These Community Impact Projects are a key element of our success. These projects require our students to take what they are learning in their classrooms and what they are learning in our Leadership Development Workshops and then apply it to real-life needs within their communities. We ask all of our students to identify, plan, and then devote at least 50 hours each academic year completing a Community Impact Project that will make a transformational difference in their communities. Over the past 5 years – even with a two-year pause because of COVID, our students have impacted significantly the lives of almost 30,000 people!

Here are just five examples of last year’s projects: 1. Teaching female secondary students the importance of social justice through debates designed to encourage public speaking and critical thinking skills. 2. Teaching computer skills to young girls. 3. Teaching reproductive health to female secondary students to reduce the risk of early pregnancy and dropping out of school. 4. Working with vulnerable families to improve their nutrition through kitchen gardens. 5. Teaching female secondary students how to build an excellent career profile, including an effective CV, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile, as well as teaching effective interviewing skills.

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