Knowledge Gained & Life Long Connections
Without question, I have expanded my knowledge while with TWB, and even better, have formed lifelong connections. I have always had a team there to support me. It is a great pleasure to work with women by giving the opportunity for all of us to empower each other in our regional community and all over the world.
Sandrine Umubyeyi started interning with The Women’s Bakery in Rwanda after learning about TWB through her friend and TWB Operations Manager, Yvonne. As Bakery Operations Intern, Sandrine is working closely with the Ndera Bakery (Rwanda) to support our business oversight services. Since April, Sandrine has been working with our staff and providing great additions to our team.
The knowledge gained through my internship with The Women’s Bakery is actively complementing and enhancing my education at University. From an operations perspective, I have been exposed to various accounting activities within the bakery. This was an important skill-set to develop so I could analyze the numbers for improved processes within the business.
The Women’s Bakery has also provided the opportunity learn about working in a professional environment, with experienced professionals. These professionals are highly dedicated and passionate – this helps my experience as an intern so that I can receive a practical and educational experience. Observing other professionals has helped me maintain an open mind to what it means to run a business, and how one can best go about this.
Currently, I am working to complete my Bachelor’s degree and realizing new skills that I hold, which I didn’t realize I had before. In a small business setting like TWB, I have had to rely on customer service and communication. Without these, success in the small business sector becomes difficult. In the managerial role that I work within our Ndera Bakery, I am often challenged to delegate, advise, communicate, and manage. Balancing these aspects of leadership is not always easy, but my time with TWB has helped shape and improve these personal and professional skill-sets.
Without question, I have expanded my knowledge while with TWB, and even better, have formed lifelong connections. I have always had a team there to support me. It is a great pleasure to work with women by giving the opportunity for all of us to empower each other in our regional community and all over the world. That’s #bread power.
Kagina & AsOne Ministries
As an intern with TWB, experiencing the AsOne Bakery training was one of the most valuable experiences I had while in Rwanda.
Tucked into Rwanda’s rolling hills, Kagina is a small town that feels worlds away from the bustling city of Kigali. However, the city is only a forty-five minute drive away. Kagina is also home to The Women’s Bakery newest project, a partnership with AsOne, a ministry that now supports a bakery training in the small town center. The church organization has partnered with TWB to train five women to run and work in the local bakery, baking and selling bread for their local area.
It’s a diverse group of women; they range in age, and some can read, write and speak English, while others are illiterate. They have worked with the church in the past and are excited and committed to this new opportunity. Training is a family affair; two of the women bring their children, one a newborn and the other an active toddler, and another is expecting.
As an intern with TWB, experiencing the AsOne Bakery training was one of the most valuable experiences I had while in Rwanda. I was able to see the very beginnings of the project and training, and when I returned a week later, it was so exciting to see the progress! While seeing the newly installed sink was exciting, I was so impressed to see how engaged and more confident the women were with the lessons, taking turns drawing on the whiteboard what they believe is the most nutritious meal. They discussed food pyramids, portion sizes and balanced meals.
These five ladies will spend the next month with Aime and Denyse, our intrepid trainers, learning about nutrition, baking, and business before officially opening their doors. In a few weeks, they will begin to sell bread locally and deliver to customers and small businesses in nearby towns.
They join three other active TWB projects in Remera, Ndera and Bumba.
Although my internship with TWB is ending, I’m excited to come back and visit the AsOne Bakery in the future for some bread and tea.
#bakebreadtogether #breadpower
#bakebreadtogether #breadpower
TWB: A Life-Long School
For Yvonne, the opportunity to work and intern with TWB had given her the opportunity to continue to learn - and to share this knowledge with others,
“If you want to stop learning, stop living.”
Being a part of TWB is not only a family to me, but a life long school; a chance to understand how micro-business is the engine of development, and opportunity for me to contribute to a bright future for our women. I am living a dream with TWB.
TWB is enabling women entrepreneurship and awakening their ability to stay self-dependent in terms of finance and healthy nutrition. My dream has always been about contributing to the economy of my country by empowering society through a bottom-up approach.
In June, we traveled to Tanzania to visit the women of TWB in Tanzania. This was a chance for me to learn more about TWB’s work outside of Rwanda. The initial training in Tanzania involved women already working in a large soy cooperative. These women wanted to add more value to their soy products and TWB was the solution - soy bread!
They produce soy milk and then use the milk to make better breads and increase awareness in the community to attract clients. My take away was that, although TWB-Rwanda has launched a new bakery in Remera where our women works six days a week, it is not enough. Soon we will need to grow, and I know that we have a great example with good mentors in Tanzania.
In six months of my internship, I learnt a lot not just about bread and cake, but more about administration, teamwork, and finance, and I believe there is still more to learn, which will help me to make my contribution to bring TWB. I am very excited to be part of TWB-Rwanda and I am hoping to keep learning a lot about our great work.
