The Power of Bread Gives Back Life to Women
Indeed, the power of bread gives back life because it not only enables job and community nutrition, but the opportunities for improved livelihoods. That’s bread power.
The Women’s Bakery provides social and economic opportunities for women by training them to build, operate, manage and sustain businesses. This helps the Rwandese women to develop their living standards in all aspects.
As the Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator, it is my job to check in with our women and understand their experience so we can better inform how we do what we do.
Recently, I had the opportunity of visiting the women who are working with at TWB's Remera branch. A large portion of the day was spent receiving feedback and insights from the women.
As a group, they are loving their time at TWB and notably, have been seeing the advantage of working as a team. On an individual level, most of the women shared that they used to eat once per day and they did not have a job, however, now they have jobs and are able to feed themselves and their families. Their kids are now in school and they feed them nutritious food, too.
One of our long-time TWB bakers noted that working at TWB has enabled her to, “pay for my rent and have hope for the better future.” Upon reflection, another baker shared that “we have people who always think about us…this encourages us to work hard for a better future.”
Lastly, one of the more telling anecdotal points from a TWB baker was that, “I love TWB they took me from tough situation someone like me who doesn’t know how to read and write but still give the opportunity to work with them…that shows me how much they value us.”
Indeed, the power of bread gives back life because it not only enables job and community nutrition, but the opportunities for improved livelihoods. That’s bread power.
Real Impact on Women
Through working at a bakery, our hope is that women can build and invest in social networks to prevent future violence. We have installed my position of Bakery Operations Manager (BOM) to serve as much more to the women – a leader, a counselor, and a mentor – with the hope that women have a safe place to discuss challenges they face in society.
Though TWB explicitly works as an organization to educate women, our empowerment work is just as important. This extends into the realm of the lives of the women we work with – considering their safety, health, and family lives.
In Africa, one out of three women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime[1]. This is real statistic from the United Nations, illuminating the fact that women throughout the continent (and also the world) are in need of protection, education, and rights. Through working at a bakery, our hope is that women can build and invest in social networks to prevent future violence. We have installed my position of Bakery Operations Manager (BOM) to serve as much more to the women – a leader, a counselor, and a mentor – with the hope that women have a safe place to discuss challenges they face in society.
In addition to violence (whether physical, sexual, or otherwise) that women encounter, TWB also seeks to address the root causes of perpetual poverty that many of the women we work with face. Women make up the majority people how living in extreme poverty. As part of elevating their individual situations, it’s critical that women not only have a job, but a sustainable job, one where they can receive a livable, meaningful wage. Moreover, poverty includes political, social, and economic forces; at TWB, we hope that through employment and opportunities for health, the women at our bakeries will be able to overcome these barriers and change the landscape of their lives.
This part of our work is not easy. Empowering a woman takes resources, time, and investment. However, we remain committed to this cause, improving the health and well-being of women, one bakery at a time.
