Update from Rwanda
Dear TWB Family,
I hope you and your loved ones are healthy and safe. People matter most, and I care deeply about every member of the TWB Family.
As I shared with you in late March, The Women's Bakery (TWB) made the difficult decision to pause bakery operations in Rwanda due to COVID-19. As promised, this email serves as an update about TWB and ways you can engage with our team.
Since I last wrote, Rwanda's Government has put a lockdown into place, including strict restrictions on time outdoors and essential errands. In this video, Tessa Soni, the Program Manager for the bakeries in Gicumbi and Ruyenzi, provides insight into the Rwanda context.
Prior to lockdown, TWB provided emergency food provisions to feed our entire Rwanda-based staff and their families. As a company, we continue to prioritize women's full-time salaries, benefits and health insurance. Thanks to an initiative through our Whole Woman Programming, all women bakers now have bank accounts and can receive steady paychecks throughout the crisis. These women have worked hard to achieve positive life changes and we want to ensure that only progress lay ahead for them.
I would like to extend a sincere thank you. In a time when millions of people are losing their jobs and thereby their livelihoods, TWB has been able to provide a strong foundation of hope and support for all of our team members. This is an amazing feat and it has been possible because of your support.
What's more, many of you have asked how you can help during these uncertain times. While it is easy to find differences in our community responses to this pandemic, I am continually moved by how much we all have in common. I encourage you to take a moment to let our team know that we stand together during this challenging time.
Please consider:
Leaving a message of hope or encouragement to share with the team through this Google Form. We will share the same from our team with you!
Making a gift to support the livelihoods of our team, especially our strong women bakers.
I will continue to provide updates about TWB by email, but please know that you are always welcome to reach out to me or Madeleine directly with questions.
Together, we will rise above Coronavirus.
With compassion,
Markey Culver
CEO | The Women's Bakery
P.S. Your support is sincerely appreciated. Thank you for your dedication to furthering our mission.