Behind every basket is a woman whose life has been transformed. These are some of the remarkable women whose skill, resilience, and determination drive Gahaya Links forward.
Mukamuhoza Mamerita is the president of a weaving cooperative in Kiyombe, Rwanda's eastern province, with 130 women weavers. Previously a subsistence farmer with no income source, she has led her cooperative to extraordinary achievements since joining Gahaya Links in 2003.
At just 30 years old, Theresa was elected President of the Kopabanya cooperative. She dropped out of school and married early at 19. Her first basket sales bought her a piece of Kitenge for her very first dress. She earned more than other cooperative members, became a Master Weaver trained by Gahaya Links, and has since purchased a cow, owns a savings account, and pays health insurance. Her husband moved home to support her weaving business.
Eliane is 37 years old, married with four children. Her husband and one child are HIV/AIDS positive. After a two-week basket training class, she ranked among the best weavers. With her weekly earnings since 2006, her family resumed ARV treatment with improved nutrition. She trained her husband to weave at home, purchased a decent home, and her children now attend school.
Fatina is married with three children and is a member of the ABAKUNDUMURIMO Cooperative. She dropped out before secondary school despite passing exams, due to her blind mother and jobless father. She now weaves baskets while her husband tends their children and raises rabbits, goats, and chickens. They maintain a kitchen garden for their family.
Ephigenia is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide who lost 65 family members. She became a Master Weaver and was elected president of her cooperative—a cooperative that remarkably includes relatives of her family's killers. Her story of reconciliation through craft has been featured in a CNN interview (2008) and in the films 'Rwanda Rising' and 'Rwanda Renaissance'.
"Weaving baskets gave me confidence because I'm not a beggar anymore."