Providing health care to 1000s in Bujumbura slum

• My name is Chancel. I am 24 years old and I am a member of “TUZOBA ICO TWIGIZE SHG”. I grew up having a passion for being a trader. Indeed, my mother is a merchant. Every time I came home from school, I went to help my mother at all costs. As for her, she chased me away but I did not accept. I studied banking and insurance but I felt unsatisfied. I then set up my small business which is currently developing well. What I just discovered here in this workshop is that you can sacrifice off-duty hours to build a business. Also, there is the difference between a business and a company. It reassured me that I have to work hard to achieve my dreams, to build relationships to have coaches by my side, to work for others not for the salary only but to have experience. Thank you Fiona and Nadia as well as FWA for this opportunity of these two sessions on entrepreneurship. Thank you for sharing your testimonials. I just discovered now that by starting small, you can achieve great things.
• My name is Kentia. I am 20 years old, I am a member of NKOMEZI SHG.This training on entrepreneurship has just opened my eyes to my untapped talents. After the first session, I started to exploit my talents. I have just understood that being rich does not happen overnight, you have to work on your vision and it is not a title of society or social rank either; it's not my future husband's property as well, but it's my own life. And I just understood that capital is none other than the arms, the brain, and the practice of the theories that circulate in our heads and with courage and perseverance, we finally become rich.
• My name is Clarisse; I'm 24 years old; I am a member of TUGIRE URUKUNDO SHG. I had friends who talked a lot about business. However, we stood idly by. Every time my friends said that a girl cannot be independent in life, hence it is useless to have a lot of money. After the first session we did here, I rushed to my friends to repeat what I heard and here we are with this second session we have already defined our vision and our objectives. We have already laid the foundation of our company and with your testimonies, dear facilitators, I have just understood many things, among other things, that despite the challenges girls and women face, especially pregnancies, menstruation, dependency linked to culture and religion, and such, there are women and girls who have successfully set up businesses.

• FWA_NOVEMBER_2022_NARRATIVE_REPORT.doc (DOC)

My name is Desiderate; I got married at 17 in the village. After a few months my husband left me. I was pregnant and I gave birth to my baby when the husband had not yet returned home. My in-laws started mistreating me and pushed me to leave the house. I headed towards Bujumbura; I didn't know where I was going; I just took the bus. Arrived in Bujumbura I sat down at the edge of the road. At sunset a woman approached me and proposed me to go to her home. I spent months with her, and she proposed me to marry a man illegally and I accepted. I lived with this man; unfortunately he died after a few months. I decided to return to the village and my child fall seriously ill. That is how I learned that I and my child have HIV/AIDS because I continued to breastfeed my child. I understood that my second husband died because of HIV AIDS. I returned to Bujumbura. I had a husband. He has just left me with my three children. Now I am alone without any activity I suffer a lot. Thank you for inviting me to this workshop.

• FWA_December_2022_Narrative_Report_Website.doc (DOC)