Social Justice. Everywhere. For All.

Sitting in Kigali, Rwanda reading news article after news article about the political turmoil back home across the entire United States, I am struck repeatedly with this question – “What am I doing here?”

What am I doing in Rwanda, when in my own country, our own women, our black population, our poor, and every other kind of minority population is in dire need of justice?

Of course, justice has always been needed in the United States for these populations. The history of injustice in America runs deep and wide. I didn’t begin work in East Africa with a disillusion that somehow foreign places need programs and efforts more than we do in the US. Yet, this is where I am now, struck hard by the immediacy and enormity of need back at home. To understand for myself why I am here and not at home, I have reflected on the road that brought me to this porch in Kigali right now – January of 2017.

First, I studied abroad in Tanzania my junior year of college. A full semester’s worth of tuition money was allocated towards this international experience, which greatly shaped who I am today and ignited the interest I already had in international work. Then, I served in the United States Peace Corps for two years, living in rural Rwanda. Again, a massive amount of money was spent so that I could be living and learning (and ideally in some ways being of use) in a foreign country and culture. Even just the name of it-- United States Peace Corps—it’s incredible to think about the mission behind this decades long service agency. It’s incredible to think that our government instituted this opportunity 50 years ago, with the following 3 goals:

1.     To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. (Read: Capacity building, upon invitation)

2.     To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served. (Read: Give others a good/realistic impression of America)

3.     To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. (Read: Give Americans a good/realistic impression of other peoples)

It’s arguably one of our best forms of foreign diplomacy, and one that truly encourages Americans to also learn about and learn from others, not just to push a political agenda. As Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and current California Representative, John Garamendi explains,

The ongoing story of the Peace Corps is a story of human capital. It is a story of our nation investing in our citizens who wish to serve others and do great things. It is also a story of individuals around the world taking advantage of the Peace Corps’ investment to achieve great things that they might not have believed imaginable. Through the Peace Corps, we are orienting hearts and minds toward the best of American values… The Peace Corps remains effective because of the American investment in human capital and the timeless ideals upon which it was founded: friendship, mutual understanding, collaboration and hard work.[1]

 But what about extending those same values on our own soil?

After serving in the Peace Corps, I joined AmeriCorps for a year of service in the US. Some describe AmeriCorps as “Peace Corps light” because you have the familiarity of working in your own language, culture, can still eat your favorite foods etc., but I would not describe the experience I had as “light” anything.

The girls I worked with at Florence Crittenton High School in Denver, CO represent many of the minority populations that most need justice and services in the US today. My students were majority Hispanic or Latina (documented and undocumented) or black, young girls aged 14-21, pregnant/parenting moms who largely survived on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps), Medicaid and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). These young women were faced with the daily struggles of trying to provide for their babies, often without the help of the boy or man who impregnated them to begin with, and often without family support. They were trying to get a high school diploma, feed, clothe and provide health care for themselves and their children, and stand up against a society that discredited them for becoming teen moms. They suffered from depression, anxiety, and anger. Some were suicidal. Some were homeless. Some were abused. All of their lives were hard.

Florence Crittenton (“Flo Crit”) is one of their only realistic options for finishing school while they go through pregnancy and early motherhood. Flo Crit provides a holistic set of services including on-site day care, an Early Childhood Learning center, an on-site healthcare facility, high school courses for diploma, and mental health services including a social worker, psychologist, and counselors. Without these services, partially funded by the city of Denver tax payer dollars and partially by non-profit fundraising, continuing their education was next to impossible.

My AmeriCorps service highlighted to an even greater extent what I already knew—The United States of America needs “aid services” just as much as those in developing nations. Americans, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers living peacefully on US soil need all the same opportunities, freedom and access that we so often seek to provide to people beyond our borders. 

Following my year with AmeriCorps, I made a (ridiculously) hard decision to return to East Africa, developing and growing The Women’s Bakery with my dear friend Markey Culver. In large part, the decision was hard because I absolutely loved and believed in the work I was doing at Flo Crit. I had deeply experienced the needs that exist right at home, and was reluctant to disrupt those ties, the relationships I had built with students and families, only to uproot again and begin anew half way across the world.

One of the things that did compel me though (aside from the obvious chance to co-found a social enterprise and ideally build a business that will positively impact thousands or hey, millions) was that the goal was the same. I was still going to be working to provide people, women especially, with opportunities for education, access, and freedom. Basic human rights. And this is where I see the huge need for all of us, across the globe, to remember that we are all essentially the same. Whether I am working with Americans or Rwandans, at home or abroad, I am truly just working on behalf of humans. Sometimes our ties to nationality, race, religion, etc. drag us down because they cause us to be less inclusive, less accepting, and less tolerant of what is outside of those defined categories.

As I sit here thousands of miles away from a heightened need in the US, I remind myself that even though I am not there fighting the current battle on the ground, it does not diminish the overall battle I, and so many others, are fighting for social justice across the entire world.

What it comes down to is this: no one should be denied the opportunity to pursue a safe and healthy life, the opportunity to be educated, the opportunity to pursue their dreams, the freedom to voice their opinions, or the chance to seek safety based on their skin color, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, place of birth, or nationality.

We are all humans, and we should all be treated and treat each other as such.

If we cannot at least agree on that, then we are not human ourselves.

[1] http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/311157-the-peace-corps-americas-best-foreign-policy-too

Piloting TWB in the Refugee Community

Since I was young, I have been both passionate and curious about the process of adapting cultural experiences into new environments. This doesn’t always necessitate transcontinental travel – sometimes our most profound cross-cultural experiences happen in the migration between neighborhoods, schools, churches and from varying social, familial, food, educational, and work experiences.

TWB’s organization in Rwanda incorporates cross-cultural engagement daily as our team partners with Rwandans to ensure sound production, sales, and growth.

Since October, TWB has worked closely with the African Community Center in Denver as we have begun to expand our programming to the U.S. We are currently piloting a training program with seven refugee women to better understand how our work is both relevant and needed in the context of the U.S.

Per a state-issued report on foreign born residents, 2,199 refugees were resettled in Colorado in 2013, mostly from East Asian countries.[1] Currently, Over 1/6 of Denver’s population is considered either refugee or immigrant. In response to a growing need, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) launched operations in Denver to help provide resettlement and integration services for new individuals to the United States – especially those coming from crisis.

Currently, with ACC, our training has been tailored for refugee-specific participants. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a refugee is a person, “who has left her country of origin and is unable to or unwilling to return” for a fear of persecution. ACC has focused on this population as international conflict has grown across the world in the past decade and as more refugees have fled to safety in the U.S.

While ACC can aid in the services necessary for community establishment (housing, cultural orientation, school enrollment, etc.), the resettlement agency also looks to partner with other non-governmental organizations to assist with additional employment, education, and resource-based support for new community members.

TWB is enthusiastic and ready to fill this demand for partnership; our hope is that new TWB programming can help in this process, providing additional educational, training and work-readiness opportunities for refugees in Colorado, especially women.

In our pilot program, TWB trains a small women’s group for two hours each week. Recipe reading, budgeting, practical baking skills, nutrition education, and tips for grocery shopping in the U.S. are some topics we included in this pilot program. One of our participants recently noted that her class with TWB has been her “favorite” since taking part in ACC programming. Additionally, we have had the opportunity to introduce participants to our dry bread mix products as a potential future market opportunity for income generation.

Our class has included women from Burma, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Our pilot will end this month, but TWB & ACC will be continuing discussions about an on-going partnership with a larger, broader, and bolder vision of empowering women from an array of cultural backgrounds. If you are interested in learning more about our work in Denver, follow our social media networks. You can contribute to our work by visiting our donation page at www.womensbakery.com/donate.

[1]https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/643/documents/CommunitySupport/ImmRef_Assessment.pdf

Abahuje

Back in Denver, where I grew up, fall is a time of breezy temperatures, changing leaf colors, and pumpkins. Since joining the team at The Women’s Bakery, I’m delighted to say that my fall has instead been full of a bit more rain and a lot more bread. Pumpkin bread, of course.

Also with the onset of fall, our East Africa team has officially launched training with 15 women from Kigali! The start of our two-phased program is taking place at a church compound (inclusive of a training center and school) not far from Rwanda’s national stadium known as Amahoro. These women come from different parts of Kigali (many originally from outside the city) with the hope of gaining access to education, skills, and opportunity.

Uniquely so, our first Kigali-based training unites two groups of women together. 10 women are a women’s group associated with the host church, while the others were connected to us through a long-time friend of The Women’s Bakery and have been supported by a group of parents and students from The Westover School. With high spirits, the women have taken to each other quickly and openly! The first day, they sat together as one group as they learned about the curriculum and program that The Women’s Bakery brings.

A spirit of curiosity and engagement was obvious; women asked questions about how to stay on top of the concepts studied and how to apply them to their lives. On day two, our facilitators entered into our first batch of lessons: Values, Thinking & Learning Styles, and Nutrition.  

A heavy day of worksheets, explanation, and self-reflection, the women remained undeterred and enthused.

At the close of the week, two incredible evidences of purpose revealed themselves.

For one, when discussing a potential group name and the values they would adopt as a team, they chose the name Abahuje; meaning unity. This was of course followed by a 10-minute dance session to sing their name, Abahuje, loud and proud!

And two, as the night was winding down from day one, I received a text message from a friend of a training participant. It read, in reference to the woman’s involvement in the training –

She is so excited to be involved. She says it is so nice to be a part of something meaningful. She has never been to school before.

It’s certainly a new season for The Women’s Bakery and it’s encouragement like this that drives, propels, and motivates us further to work alongside these women for change.

Woman of the Week - Flavia

““Life is hard,” she remarks, “and so I seek to help them to build their livelihoods. Even if it’s a small difference.” ”

— Flavia

This past week, The Women's Bakery East Africa Team found ourselves in Kayonza - banana land, two hours East of Kigali (the capital).  We were in a red, stuffy room at a children’s educational development center that women's co-op leader, Flavia, had helped initiate and get off the ground. This, in addition, to the other roles she has played as a leader in the Kayonza community; the more I learned about Flavia, the more dynamic she appeared to be.

We started the conversation and my, how we talked. 

But don’t be fooled, we danced too. Of course. Always, always dancing in Rwanda.

The traditional Rwandan dancing came after our arrival and being introduced with the group of women Flavia helped to organize. Each women shared their name and their home village. Some came in beautiful fabrics found only in these corners of the world, and as each woman presented themselves, I remembered how each one has a story. Each one has a vision. How humbling and grateful I am to work for an organization that blends these stories together for change. .

We told them of what we do, of the training we have completed in other parts of Rwanda and Tanzania, and our vision for women, bread, and business. The women – attentive, excited, and numerous – listened and asked questions. We spoke of the materials for training needed, the kinds of lessons we teach, and the process of what happens after the training is completed. We explained that because of the informational nature of this meeting, our team wanted to better understand if the Kayonza cooperative was ready, compatible, and able to consider seriously entering the process for TWB training.

This is the general process we have as an organization currently– to begin a training, it is important to meet, discuss, share, and negotiate how it would work for each group. Every women’s group that we meet and partner with is different, and the question of commitment and feasibility is always on our minds.

As our team meets with different potential partners, groups, and women, we realize and recognize that the discussions and process are truly a building process. Empowerment, education, and transformational change don’t just happen overnight. It’s a relationship, it’s a discussion, and we are excited to begin those conversations with this specific group in Kayonza.

Moving forward will be dependent on numerous variables, largely funding, timing, and logistics, and yet, the opportunity persists; the need remains. It’s a gap in the world that we are driven by – women’s empowerment – and this group in Kayonza (along with Flavia) was a reminder that because the need remains, we are able to offer opportunity and choice as market-based solutions. That, we believe, is bread power.

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Our woman of the week is Flavia.

Flavia, a leader who is seeking, eyes opened wide, for access and opportunity for her women’s group. Demonstrating what strong advocacy looks like, the conversation for a potential group match would never have begun if she had not initiated the initially small, light-hearted discussion a few weeks back on a sun-soaked bus ride into Kigali.

As an organization, we appreciate women like Flavia, as these are the women who are changing, renewing, and innovating their communities – more and more, we hope with bread.

For the entirety of the story on Flavia, please visit Heather Newell's personal blog 'Ikundayou' at: https://ikundayou.wordpress.com/

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Flavia, pictured right in red & black dress, poses with her co-operative women, with Meg & Heather in Kayonza.