Three Very Special Visitors

The Honorable Jeanette Bayisenge, Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, the Honorable Dancilla Nyirarugero, Governor of Rwanda’s Northern Province, and the Honorable Jeannine Nuwumuremyi, Mayor of Musanze, visited us at our center in Musanze on April 28. It was incredible for our entire Handspun Hope team in Rwanda to be personally visited by these government leaders - all three of them women!

A strong political commitment in Rwanda has resulted in advanced strides in the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment.

Rwanda's parliament also has the highest percentage of women in a single house parliament worldwide. Additionally, the government has reserved 24 out of the 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies for women. The Chamber of Deputies’ function is to propose, debate and approve laws that are in the interest of the country. The 24 seats allocated to women are divided up between each province and the city of Kigali, where they are elected by an assembly made up of various councils and committee members.

More women were granted seats due to the effects of the Rwandan Genocide on the population. After the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, the population was made up of more women than men, and this was reflected in the makeup of Parliament.

The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF) is the primary government institution that is mandated to ensure strategic coordination and implementation of national policies, strategies and programs regarding the promotion of the family and gender and children’s rights.

After touring our facility, all three leaders were able to address the women and encourage them. The Madam Minister said she was very happy to meet the women and learn more about Handspun Hope and how the organization had been instrumental in helping women improve their lives through sustainable development. After acknowledging the women’s difficult backgrounds, she also communicated that she was touched and encouraged by their talents.  

All of these leaders enjoyed hearing testimonies from some of the women as they voiced how grateful they were to the organization for helping them improve their lives and those of their children.

And then, of course, there was dancing…

…dancing and gratitude for these very special visitors!

The ladies were not ready to stop dancing and they danced their way out of the compound as the guests were departing.

It is not every day that we receive distinguished visitors such as these, but we were very encouraged by their visit. Undoubtedly, they witnessed the great things God is doing through Handspun Hope.