From Scholar Sponsors to 2023 Vision Trip Attendees - Julie and Lily's Experience in Rwanda with Komera

This year we had 14 people join us on the 2023 Komera Vision Trip in Rwanda. Attendees included US Board members, family members, and new and long-time Komera supporters. Of which included Julie and Lily, a mother daughter duo who have been involved with Komera since 2012! This month, Julie and Lily are our guest authors on the Komera Blog. Check out what they had to say about all they experienced, learned, and what they have taken away from the trip to Rwanda and the Komera community!

I was introduced to Komera back in 2012 – empowering girls and educational equity are causes near to my heart and my family quickly became invested in the journey of our first scholar, Clenie.

Komera 2023 Vision Trip Visitors, Komera Alumnae, Rwandan Board of Directors Members, and Komera Team Members enjoying a group dinner in Kigali, Rwanda.

As the years passed, the annual sponsorship became part of our budget. Our lives got busier, our children and careers grew, and admittedly I stopped paying attention outside of that once a year check. I knew my scholars were doing well - graduating secondary school, attending university and starting careers, but I otherwise lost track of Komera’s growth until this past spring when Lauren reached out and asked if I would like to join the 2023 Vision Trip. My daughter Lily, 16, would be wrapping up her sophomore year of high school. Would she be able to join and meet her Komera scholar peers? Would I be able to meet any of our past scholars? The answer was “yes to both” and we were in.

We arrived late on a Friday night and were staying until the following Saturday evening. With just 8 days – 3 in Kigali and 5 in Rwinkwavu – we wanted to make the most of our time. We needn’t have worried as Lauren and Jacquelyn ensured every day was filled with both cultural excursions as well as opportunities to connect with the local Komera team and scholars. We started out with a visit to the genocide memorial, where we learned about ubumuntu, which means kindness, humanity, greatness of heart. The spirit of ubumuntu guided the rest of our journey and was felt both from the people we met and throughout the programs Komera has built with such care.

“A place where students feel welcome, safe and that they belong. Lily described it as representing the Komera team – welcoming and full of love.”

Once in Rwinkwavu we got to experience the Leadership Center in action. The teen mothers were hard at work making uniforms for local primary and secondary students, the staff gave us a tour including the beautiful and abundant parent co-op garden, and the neighboring children delighted in meeting Lily, who gamely let them touch her purple hair. The space blew us away – beautiful and cleverly designed to perfectly balance meetings, gatherings, work and celebration. A place where students feel welcome, safe and that they belong. Lily described it as representing the Komera team – welcoming and full of love.

Over the following days we had the good fortune to meet and speak with many young women who’ve benefited from Komera. Francine, a current participant in the teen mother program, graciously invited us into her home. She told us how, after the birth of her son, she’d stopped engaging with the world – it was gut wrenching to hear of the shame and hopelessness she felt, how she had wished to simply disappear. Then she was accepted to the Komera teen mothers program. Learning to sew was a challenge – many of the machines are manual and she struggled with coordinating the pedal and handwheel. The pride and accomplishment she felt not only mastering it, but going on to help lead and teach other teen mothers filled the room.

The following day we went to FAWE, the boarding school Komera secondary scholars attend. For Lily this was the highlight of the trip. The students shared their stories and what classes they most enjoyed and then had free time to meet with our visiting group. As the only teenager among us, they naturally gravitated to Lily (and she to them) like long lost friends. Esther, one of the student body leaders, swapped favorite songs and singers and told us about her love of science and dream of becoming a surgeon. These young women were unlike any I’d met – they glowed with inner strength and carried themselves with determination. Lily described her peers as “beautiful and full of joy – their smiles are contagious.” Their common backstory was hardship, but it was clear their future was going to be very different and filled with the opportunities an education was earning them.

Esther - Komera Secondary Scholar Student (left) and Lily (right) at FAWE Girls School Gahini

Our last visit was to one of our former scholars, Claudine. We started sponsoring Claudine in 2015, first at FAWE, then due to illness at a local day school, and ultimately at university. While I knew she had finished her schooling and started working, I wasn’t prepared to visit her home – newly built with money she’d earned as an accountant. Claudine’s mother and two sisters, who were previously unhoused, were now living with her and she was even building two additional structures that would be rentals earning additional income. This young woman had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and I was barely able to choke out how proud I was of her, how honored to be even a small part of her journey, how grateful for my daughter to meet such an inspiring role model.

“The ubumuntu we learned about our first day was in each carefully planned program and left us in awe of the team that brings it all to life. We know we will be back and hope to see some of you there next time.”

There was so much more to the trip than a blog post can convey – I’ve told my friends I wish this experience for them all. A few days after we returned home, Lily looked at me and said “we all need to learn from Rwanda, how they’ve grown, how they care for their community” and I feel the same. Komera is the embodiment of this – the programs have grown based on care for the community, from empowering local girls to giving teen mothers a path forward to fostering their scholars’ academic futures and personal growth and so much more. The ubumuntu we learned about our first day was in each carefully planned program and left us in awe of the team that brings it all to life. We know we will be back and hope to see some of you there next time.

Want to learn more about being a scholar sponsor or attending the 2024 vision trip? Check out our Sponsor a Scholar page and our Travel with Komera page