From Barbara Bylenga, meeting above with the salon associates and the Bpeacer who leads the dream:
"After weeks at home and an intense week in Rwanda exploring the idea of a beauty school, it was obvious to all that our associates's dream was a perfect fit with the goals of Bpeace, the aspirations of the orphan students, the business needs of the salon owners and hopefully the resources of a corporate sponsor like Regis (the training which they completed was such a GREAT example of education's power to change a person and a business) . . .even the government officials we met leaned in a bit closer and listened hard.
Why am I passionate about this project? As the Rwandan middle-class continues to grow (yes it is emerging!) this is one of the small business service sectors which will grow too. A beauty school offers untrained and otherwise unemployable Rwandans an opportunity to attain a skill that enables the growth of small businesses (four of them belonging to Bpeace associates) in which the Rwandan people are the main benefactors. It will create livelihoods and in the doing, hope! Peter Lien and I were incredibly moved by interviews we videotaped with young people orphaned by the genocide about their interest in attending the school and having a career in the beauty industry. For the most part, these orphans live in a compound supporting many other family members, with no visible means of income except gifts of charity. They so want to support themselves and change the course of their lives! The tears we all shed while they were expressing themselves are a testament to the strength and potential power the school will have in changing their lives.
There is so much work ahead! I hope everyone will get a chance to help this project along either through donating, fundraising, strategic thinking or hard work, because the high that comes with making a difference is an awesome feeling."
"After weeks at home and an intense week in Rwanda exploring the idea of a beauty school, it was obvious to all that our associates's dream was a perfect fit with the goals of Bpeace, the aspirations of the orphan students, the business needs of the salon owners and hopefully the resources of a corporate sponsor like Regis (the training which they completed was such a GREAT example of education's power to change a person and a business) . . .even the government officials we met leaned in a bit closer and listened hard.
Why am I passionate about this project? As the Rwandan middle-class continues to grow (yes it is emerging!) this is one of the small business service sectors which will grow too. A beauty school offers untrained and otherwise unemployable Rwandans an opportunity to attain a skill that enables the growth of small businesses (four of them belonging to Bpeace associates) in which the Rwandan people are the main benefactors. It will create livelihoods and in the doing, hope! Peter Lien and I were incredibly moved by interviews we videotaped with young people orphaned by the genocide about their interest in attending the school and having a career in the beauty industry. For the most part, these orphans live in a compound supporting many other family members, with no visible means of income except gifts of charity. They so want to support themselves and change the course of their lives! The tears we all shed while they were expressing themselves are a testament to the strength and potential power the school will have in changing their lives.
There is so much work ahead! I hope everyone will get a chance to help this project along either through donating, fundraising, strategic thinking or hard work, because the high that comes with making a difference is an awesome feeling."
1 comment:
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