Meet Aimeè M Umujeni

Nyamirambo Women’s Center Rwanda

Our team met Aimeè while on assignment for Malaria No More in Rwanda, documenting Rwanda’s success in the fight against Malaria and the role that female leadership has played in achieving this success.

Malaria No More is an advocacy organisation, which is committed to eradicating malaria around the world within our generation. By working together with existing partners and working to forge new partnerships, Malaria No More helps to mobilise political commitment, funding, and innovation to help countries around the world in the fight against malaria.

Despite facing some of the greatest challenges in the fight against malaria, Rwanda emerged as a success story and in 2018, it was one of four countries to show immense progress in malaria eradication.

Eliminating malaria not only positively benefits individuals’ and the country’s health, it also creates opportunities for economic growth. In the past malaria often prevented people from working or children from going to school and required people to spend money on treatments, which places a great burden on a family’s budget and ultimately, the country’s economy. This is especially true for women who often are the ones to stay home and care for sick children and loved ones. Aimeè explained to us how this is not common anymore in some parts of Rwanda. For the last 2 years in particular, the country, working with global partners in strategic and effective planning, has made considerable progress in its fight to eliminate malaria.

In 2018, Rwanda also ranked among the top five countries for gender equality, and women like Aimeè are playing a key role in promoting and supporting female empowerment.

Aimeè is the General Manager of the Nyamirambo Women’s Center, a cooperative in Kigali.

The Centre was established in 2007 by 18 women from the local community to address gender-based violence, gender inequality and discrimination.

The Center has evolved over the last decade and now has 50 women working within the Center. Nyamirambo provides educational and vocational training, with a focus on sewing skills, to women who were not previously able to access it, allowing them to develop the skills they need to support themselves and their families.

A few years ago, the Center launched ‘Umutima’, which translates to “heart” in Kinyarwanda, a project through which the women are able to sell their sewing creations ranging from accessories, children’s clothing, and decor items. The funding generated through the Umutima project not only helps these women support themselves economically, but a percentage is also allocated towards the Center, which ensures that more women are able to receive life-changing support and vocational training.

Aimeè is the perfect embodiment of the concept of ‘empowered women, empower women’. As the General Manager of the Nyamirambo Women’s Center, Aimeè has been able to witness first-hand the transformational power that education and support can have on a women’s life, and how the women who have been empowered through the Center are choosing to share their knowledge and skills to help empower other women. We hope Aimeè’s story inspires and empowers you – you can read more about the Nyamirambo Women’s Center and how you can help support this initiative here.

All photos taken by Alizè Jireh.