Resilient Women
Today on Human Rights Day, the last day of our 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence campaign, we want to share the story of resilient women in our Komera family who have overcome unimaginable challenges to fight for their rights!
Marie is a 16 year old girl from a rural village in our community. She was selected as a new Komera scholar this year and is attending a top-notch boarding school to achieve her dreams of becoming a doctor.
When Marie was in primary school, she witnessed a terrible incident of domestic violence in her home where her mother was severely injured and nearly died. The lasting trauma from this event has greatly impacted Marie and her mother, and yet they have continued on to fight for their rights as strong, resilient women!
Marie (left) with her mother Selaphine (right)
Meet Marie, a quiet, intelligent and hardworking young woman. She comes from a vulnerable family of 4 people in Rwinkwavu Sector in Rwanda. Her mother Selaphine, is the head of the family now, as her husband has passed away.
Marie grew up with a lot of trauma that resulted from a horrible incident that happened when she was a young girl, just 10 years old. She witnessed her father, who was deeply troubled, brutally attack her mother in their home. Marie was traumatized by this incident, but managed to run from their house to a neighboring home to get help and call the police. Thanks to Marie’s bravery, her mother survived, and her father was taken to jail and sentenced to many years in prison. Several years into his sentence, her father passed away while serving his time for this incident.
Marie shared that even before her father was sentenced to jail for this domestic violence charge, she always saw her parents in conflicts at home but she did not know what to do at her age. She said she regrets that if she was older and had the resources and education about human rights and knew about reporting, she would have reported the domestic violence much earlier. She loved her parents deeply and she was hopeful she would have a happy childhood and bright future for herself and her siblings.
Marie when she was selected as a Komera scholar in 2021
Marie’s mother continues to experience lasting painful effects from her injuries and struggles with headaches and high blood pressure, among other symptoms. Selaphine is a farmer and works the land to grow food for her family as well as sell her produce at the market. Due to her poor health and injuries, she struggles to earn income to provide enough food, basic goods, as well as hygiene and school supplies for her family. With tears flowing from her face, Marie told us, “My parent’s conflicts are the sole cause of my suffering today.’’
Throughout her primary level of schooling, Marie barely managed to come up with the small school fees and required school materials. Sometimes she was lucky to get support from neighbors and other friends in the community to make sure she could stay in school.
When Marie reached in Form three, school fees increased and the people she has asked for help before could no longer support her. She reached out to her older sister who was married and lived far away, and pleaded for help, but her sister was also struggling and could not afford to support financially. Her sister was able to contribute half of the school fees, but it was not enough to cover both Marie and her brother for the year.
Marie remembers that this was when her brother decided to drop out of school. He felt hopeless about the future and not having the resources to pay the fees or get the school supplies required. But mighty Marie insisted to stay in school, and everyday she would explain her situation and struggles to the school administration and plead for them to let her continue her studies.
The day that stands out most to Marie is when she met the Komera staff who visited her school to distribute school uniforms to those in need. By good luck, she was among students who were selected to be given a school uniform! This was the motivation Marie needed to stay in school and continue to fight for her rights.
Marie always thought about her challenges, and asked herself; “Will I ever be able to complete my studies and reach my goal of becoming a doctor? Who will support me so I can focus without stress at school?” These questions kept Marie up at night and was a big burden for her to carry every day. She always set goals to work hard in school, and now that she knew of Komera she could apply for help after she heard that they sponsor vulnerable girls like her!
When Marie completed her Form three national exams, she ran to Komera offices and filled the application forms right away. She knew she would pass her exams with a high score; she was confident and ready!
Komera Social Worker Manage (right) visiting Marie’s home for a scholarship interview with Marie (center) and her mother (left)
Fortunately, Komera considered her application, visited her home to meet her family, and listed to their stories. Marie was finally among the girls who were given a Komera scholarship!
The day when they felt happy, is the day that Marie was selected to join Komera!
What a wonderful moment to hear that Komera would support their family and that she would join an excellent boarding school, Fawe Girls School, where she could focus on her studies and no longer be burdened with the stress of financial struggles.
Marie receiving school materials at Komera with her mother (in second row in the back the right, wearing a red scarf and hat)
Both Marie and her mother were overwhelmed by joy. They couldn’t believe Marie would receive all of her school materials including bags, books, suitcases, bedsheets, shoes and even transport to-and-from Fawe! Both Marie and her mother shared that it was the happiest moment that they will never forget.
Marie is now healthy and happy and attends a nice boarding school, and believes that her dreams of being a doctor are becoming true. She has always wanted to become a doctor to be able to heal her mother from all the ailments that resulted from her domestic violence injuries, and so she could support other women who faced similar issues, too.
Her advice to all parents is to, “Resolve family conflicts, because they deeply affect your children.’’ Marie is happy that through Komera leadership trainings, she will begin to be healed from all the trauma, fears, and worries of life that she held. Marie’s mother is also happy that she will meet other parents as part of the Komera Parent and Guardian Cooperative, and have a network of friends to connect with about challenges and support one another in business ventures, too.