Report from YoungLives Ministry

This report highlights the financial support provided to students learning tailoring and hairdressing under the YoungLives program - the initiative aimed to equip young individuals, particularly vulnerable students, with skills to help them become financially independent. Additionally, this report presents real-life testimonies that demonstrate the impact of this initiative.

The initiative has successfully transformed the lives of many students, allowing them to become self-sufficient. Below are highlights from the testimonies of some of the beneficiaries.

Recent Events

Activities

Four courses have already been run or are currently running:
- The first tailoring course in Musanze has now finished. This was a six-month course, and 10 students participated in this.
- They have now commenced tuition for new hairdressing students in Musanze. Again, this is a six-month course, and they have 11 students currently enrolled in this course.
- The first 3-month hairdressing course has finished in Kigali. 10 students started the course but only six managed to finish the whole three months.
- A new hairdressing course has started in Kigali with 10 students. 

Personal Stories

Angelique Mukashyaka
Angelique joined YoungLives in 2010. Her journey was not always easy, she had financial challenges, and her family often struggled to make ends meet. After she conceived her child things got even worse from society's criticism and others like it. She got a second chance and was offered the opportunity to study hairdressing by YoungLives ministry and they generously paid for her tuition.

With this new skill, she was able to not only provide for herself but also for her child. From the money that she gets she can now afford food, clothes and other essential needs and even have extra for renting a workspace for her hairdressing career.

Her journey from not being able to support herself and her child to being able to have a reliable skill and gaining financial freedom is a testament to the power of a second chance. In Angelique’s words “YoungLives has provided me with spiritual guidance and also practical tools to build a better life. For that I will forever be grateful.”

Lyvie Mutesi 
Lyvie is a child that grew up in a humble and financially struggling household. She initially went to school but had to drop out because of the financial burden that was on her family, that made it hard to pay for her school fees. In all of that she got pregnant and had a child and this was the hardest time of her life as society teased her, and she felt ashamed adding to the financial burden of her family now that she had a child.

After joining YoungLives ministry, they offered her an opportunity to take hairdressing lessons. She took her lessons seriously and after completing the lessons she now works for money and is able to support herself financially. As she put it “now I get money from my daily clients, and I am able to provide food for my child and buy her clothes and other essential needs.”  Her life has not been the same and now she works harder to get more financial stability. She is forever thankful for the support from YoungLives Rwanda ministries and won’t let the hard work go to waste.

Clementine is from a family of six children (two boys and four girls), she being the second. They lost both their parents when Clementine was 8 years of age. From then they struggled a lot because her young siblings where so little and she wasn’t of age to be able to provide for them and for herself as well. She started looking for money in some ways that were not healthy which led to her pregnancy at an early age. 

With YoungLives' help she was able to go to school where she gained tailoring skills that now she uses to repair clothes and also work on new ones that she sells and gets money which she uses to provide food, clothes and other needs for her children. She is also able to save in case they need school fees to go to school. She has opened a small tailoring shop, where she not only earns a stable income but also trains other young women in her community, ensuring financial security for her children’s future while giving back to others in need. Her life has immensely changed and now she looks forward to a better life through her faith as a Christian.

Anathalie Maniteze 
Anathalie was born in 1996 and grew up in a Christian family. She is the third among seven children, five girls and two boys. Due to the financial burden that comes with a large number of children in the family they were classified as a poor family because they would barely be able to get food and other needs. 

Upon getting the chance to be a member of YoungLives Ministries, she went back to school and chose to do tailoring. With her own passion she wanted to start creating things (clothes) afresh to put her creativity to best use and make clothes and be able to repair them which would earn her a living.

Now after her studies she works every day, and her income is able to support her and the wellbeing of her child. She is working on her savings to plan for a bigger project in the future. In addition to running her own tailoring business, she has started mentoring young women in her community, teaching them basic sewing skills to help them generate income.

Partnership Influence in the Community

The YoungLives members are excited to start this life changing journey and once in a lifetime opportunity that they have been provided to change their lives for the better and are very motivated to take their studies seriously to build a better future for themselves and their children as well. Through the gospel and the word of God that they get from the ministry and counselling this will give them more to work with to their success.                                                                                                         

Plans for the Future

The YoungLives initiative has significantly empowered students by providing them with life-changing skills. With continued support, more students will be able to break the cycle of poverty and become financially independent. Future plans include expanding the program to 12-month courses to accommodate more students and enhancing training resources. In the coming year they would like to empower 20 more teen parents by equipping them with vocational skills in sewing and hairdressing. By the end of the one-year training, these individuals will have the skills to start their own businesses or secure employment, improving their financial independence and overall well-being. The courses would run for five hours, five days a week for 12 months with 10 students in Sewing and 10 in Hairdressing.