Komera

Komera develops self-confident young women through community, education and health. All too often, international development organizations seek a silver bullet solution to end world poverty. Organizations are so focused on their issue area that they end up inadvertently impacting other systems; sometimes for the better and sometimes with devastating impact. At Komera, we believe that education is paramount and we also take into account surrounding issues that feed into the barriers preventing achievement. We focus on young women in Rwanda and their struggle to succeed in secondary and post-secondary education. We work with the most vulnerable young women who show academic and leadership promise. We understand that they come with financial obstacles, health issues, and lack self-confidence in their futures. We use education as our framework to invest in their future, but also support them with leadership workshops, social entrepreneurship development, health education, small business development, and transition programs to post-secondary opportunities. We also invest in their families, helping through small business development. This isn’t just about the girl, it’s about her family and her community. Our work is set up to ensure lasting impact and share best practices throughout Rwanda. Komera hosts an annual fun run to continue to promote girls’ empowerment and education through sport. It is a girls-only event that not only empowers the girls but also encourages the local boys to encourage and support the girls as they complete the run. In addition, the runs provide a platform for the community to gather and celebrate the women and girls of Rwinkwavu.