Artisan Profile: Donatille Dusenge

Donatille Dusenge, 38, Cocoki.

Donatille Dusenge is 38 years old, married and has four young children. Donatille dreamt of becoming a nun but the genocide cut her dream short. After the genocide, Donatille returned to her home. “Both my parents had fled and only my great granddad was there so I couldn’t leave him alone.” Donatille moved to Kigali and sought a job with Cocoki upon moving to the unfamiliar city.

Today, Donatille explains how Cocoki’s partnership with Indego Africa “energizes,” her on a personal level. She finds “working with another women,” to be an overwhelmingly positive experience. In addition to emotional benefits, the partnership with Indego Africa has also had a tremendous financial impact on Donatille’s life:

“When Indego has an order…we get enough money to support our families. When we get money from the orders, we buy some things we normally can’t afford. I can’t buy clothes for my kids when I don’t have any orders. Normally I get a little money but when I get orders I get enough money at a time so I can buy things I can’t afford like paying rent.”

Indego Africa is proud to partner with Donatille and hopes to positively impact more artisan partners in the future!

Invest in Donatille and the women of Cocoki: www.indegoafrica.org/cocoki

Indego Africa and VisionSpring Extend Partnership

Indego Africa first partnered with VisionSpring, a social enterprise committed to global poverty reduction through the sale of affordable eyeglasses, in July 2011. Driven by the knowledge that poor eyesight causes significant problems for many artisans, the two organizations teamed up again last month to provide vision testing and eyeglasses for the women of Ejo Hazaza.

Epiphanie Murekatete, president of Ejo Hazaza, with her new glasses.

Ejo Hazaza is a beading cooperative located 10 km. outside of Kigali. Formed in 2005, the cooperative now includes 29 women, all of whom came from refugee camps and are HIV+.  "Ejo Hazaza" translates to "Beads of Tomorrow," and alludes to the artisan's hope for a better future.  Already, Ejo Hazaza artisans have expressed their desire to learn English in order to access international markets to sell their glass, paper, and textile beads.

Read more about the success Indego Africa and VisionSpring had providing eyeglasses for over 200 of Indego Africa's artisan partners.

Help Indego Africa continue providing these important initiatives:

www.indegoafrica.org/donate

Social Impact: Artisan Partners Making Enormous Strides

Indego Africa constantly hears from artisans who are happy not only because they are making more money since they became its partners, but because they are creating better futures for themselves and their families. Through publication of the annual Social Impact Report, Indego Africa’s corporate partners and supporters hear those stories too.

The women who participate in Indego Africa's business and English literacy training courses are not only earning higher wages--they are becoming powerful entrepreneurial role models for young Rwandans.

Indego Africa knows that regular assessments of its impact in Rwanda are critical to ensuring the long-term effectiveness of its programs. With this in mind, Indego Africa’s Rwanda team has conducted a comprehensive survey of its artisan partners every March since 2008. Instead of just asking how much money is changing hands and how high the headcounts are, Indego Africa meticulously surveys a wide range of quantitative and qualitative lifestyle indicators. Beyond understanding the women’s environment, the goal is to shed light on the organization’s most fundamental questions:  

• What is the nature of the change Indego Africa is promulgating?  
• Will the changes continue beyond its presence?   
• How many people does Indego Africa affect? 
• Is there a discernible shift in policy, for example, the number of women who own businesses rather than work for others?

The results in 2011 were overwhelming. At Covanya 75% of artisans reported being able to manage money, compared with 0% in 2009. The number of women in Cocoki who reported that they were “satisfied” to “very satisfied” with their quality of life has seen an 82% increase since 2008; and in those four short years the number of women who could speak English rose from 0% to 61% percent.

The bits of information artisans share about their daily lives are snapshots. Over time, the snapshots show trends reflecting sustainable economic growth. This is what real change looks like.

You can find the full 2011 Social Impact Report here. 

Please help us continue to make a difference in these women's lives in 2012 by making a contribution. 

Indego Africa Launches Breast Cancer Awareness Training

The artisans of Imirasire eagerly listen during a breast cancer awareness training in Mayange.

Indego Africa and the Breast Cancer Initiative East Africa (BCIEA) have partnered to provide breast cancer awareness trainings at each of Indego Africa's partner cooperatives.  BCIEA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of breast cancer surveillance and improved survival rates targeted in low-income communities in East Africa.  Indego Africa and BCIEA work together to provide breast cancer awareness trainings, which also focus on other health-related issues such as nutrition and exercise.

The first training at Imirasire was a huge success, filled with
engaging questions and an impromptu exercise session.

Help us continue these important initiatives by donating today!

www.indegoafrica.org/donate