From Charity to Justice

As I ran down the long dusty road, both the young and old would shout, “Komera!”. I soon learned that it was actually a word of encouragement; a word to inspire someone to keep going and to have courage. I held onto it as a mantra, a word that I wanted to share with anyone who needed it. Little did I know that it would become a transformational part of my life.

When Komera first started, it would have been very easy to set up a straight scholarship program; an easy silver bullet solution to solve gender inequality. We could have counted thousands of girls going to school and received accolades for our BIG numbers.  Instead, we made the choice to truly understand why girls were being left behind. We recognized that young women deserved more care, more education, more healthcare, more compassion and more love because systems are set up to hold them down. Komera from the outset invested deeply in young women, in our staff in Rwanda, and in walking in solidarity with those we serve.

Komera is what it is today is because we listened to Rwandan girls.

In 2010 Janvier, a young girl in primary school, told us that we were wasting our money with school fees. She needed more. She needed boarding school, she needed clothing, she needed a family that could care for her. We moved quickly to ensure that she received what she needed to thrive and succeed. We trusted her experience and her knowledge. Today, she attends University and continues to advocate for women and girls and advise Komera. 

Komera has grown to serve thousands of young women and their families. Our work is challenging to describe because it is a web of care that is intersectional and deeply personal. We have 65 young women in University, we have 84 young women in secondary school, we serve 150 teen mothers and their families in communities across Kayonza, we work with thousands of primary school students on gender equality and health, we provide healthcare to those in need. We respond and we listen to those we serve. The beauty in this work is the fact that it is multi-layered and nuanced in responding to the needs of young women and their community. The onslaught of COVID-19 has forced us to dig deeper into our work, to pivot and to invest in the courage of our staff and the resilience of young women and their families. Change is inevitable, especially right now. Instead of being scared of change, we choose to step into it and embrace it knowing that with change comes growth and beautiful possibility.

Our new strategic plan is moving us from charity to justice.

When I think of charity, I see a small group of people inside a circle, giving to people who exist outside of that circle. It’s a lovely concept and one that creates happy feelings for those who reside within the circle. But charity doesn’t change the circle at all, it keeps things very separate. We need to make the circle bigger, and work towards eliminating the circle. Justice is when there is no longer any circle and everyone has what they need to thrive. We should all be working towards justice.

Today still fewer than 2% of global development dollars get to African-led organizations.

My role as a white founder has benefited Komera financially and we have built an organization over the past decade that is powerful and ready to grow. Komera is what it is today because of my privilege. But now it is time for me to shift power to my incredible colleagues in Rwanda. We must “walk the talk” about our anti-racist work in global development. Komera is ready for a new phase of leadership. We have always had local leadership in Rwanda, we have never been reliant on any one person, and we know that knowledge and power lies in the women and communities we serve. Dativah Bideri Mukamusonera will be our new Executive Director based in Rwanda, leading a team of incredible women. Dativah has built Komera Rwanda from the ground up, she is an inspirational leader and activist and will lead this team into a powerful new phase. She will work in partnership with Lauren Mason who will be our Managing Director of our US office.  

I now have an exciting opportunity to continue my work with an organization that I co-founded with 18 other incredible leaders from across Eastern Africa. AMPLIFY is a collective partnership of diverse community-driven organizations. Our goal is to elevate the role of these organizations in global development practice by shifting decision making power, resources and awareness to local leaders and their work. In essence, I’ll be working in partnership with 18 organizations like Komera to fundamentally shift the way global development work is done.

There’s a new future for global development, one that is grounded in collaboration, trust and shared power. One where power resides in the communities and the organizations that serve them.

While my day-to-day role with Komera is ending, I will still circulate in the same ecosystem and remain as an ally and advocate. I am so proud of what the team has accomplished at Komera, I’m proud of the journey we have all taken together. I’m proud of young women like Janvier who have overcome apparently insurmountable obstacles to thrive. My life has been forever changed because of this journey and work we have done together. I am so very grateful and honored to have had this chapter and time with all of you.

In solidarity,

Margaret