Canoeing with women from Gihaya Island

While visiting Gihaya Island, located in
Rusizi District, I participated in a canoeing expedition staged by members of a
local cooperative known as Noza Ubukorikori. All the members of this
cooperative are women. An encounter with women working hard to lift themselves
out of poverty was not new to me. Around the country, members of similar
cooperatives are actively engaged in different economic activities. The
atrocities of 1994 led to gender ratio imbalances. The Genocide against the
Tutsi and its ensuing exodus created a depleted nation in which women formed
about 70% of the population. Consequently, many women across the country
found themselves shouldering the responsibility of providing for their
families. Thrust into unfamiliar territory, many rural women didn’t fare well
in the competitive job market due to limited formal education or lack thereof.