The Starbucks motto is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit.”
So when Days for Girls learned that the Starbucks Foundation wanted to find ways to support local women coffee farmers, we were thrilled! With a generous grant provided to DfG East Africa, our team launched 3 new Enterprises in Rwanda to serve their local communities.
In partnership with the Starbucks Rwanda staff, DfG Africa selected and trained 30 women to become Ambassadors of Women’s Health (AWH) educators and sewists. The women have been crafting DfG Kits for several months now and were excited to have several Starbucks groups recently visit and take part in distributions of the kits made by local enterprise leaders.
A special visit included members from Starbucks senior management who attended an AWH and DfG Kit distribution at a local school in the Ruli district, just outside of Kigali, with 400 girls. The team had an opportunity to attend while local DfG Enterprise leaders took the lead, providing this life-changing information.
One Rwanda Enterprise leader proudly told the group: “Since I received my DfG Kit and also learned how to make one for my children, I have saved the money i would have used to buy Kotex and I have now bought a goat.”
After the visit, one Starbucks employee turned to our DfG staff and said, “I thought it (Days for Girls) was all about giving a pad to a girl and employment to the women. Attending a distribution and watching the ladies take the lead in delivering education, watching the girls smiling after she received a Kit, I now realize it was more than a pad. It’s giving the women self esteem and confidence, and it trickles down to the entire family.”
The human spirit is alive and well in Rwanda and our DfG Enterprise leaders are clearly leading the way. Thanks again, Starbucks Foundation!
