The Blue Sweater
My favorite part in the second half of The Blue Sweater, was when Jacqueline Novogratz was in Rwanda. In Rwanda, Jacqueline worked by helping poor women start businesses. She helped Honorata, Liliane, Prudence, Agnes, and Annie start a bakery which they named Duterimbere. It was amazing to be able to see the impact that she was making on these women's lives. She made them realize that "for the first time in their lives - a real correlation between the effort they put into their work and the income they earned. They began to believe the organization could succeed and that they themselves would play a key part in that success." She was able to empower these women to believe in themselves which I believe is a great accomplishment.
Jacqueline leaves and then comes back to Rwanda after the genocide to find that her friends were victims. However, when visiting the bakery it was very sad to find out her friends were killed, but "for one brief moment, there had been a packet of joy here in a place where women dared to have aspirations, to make their own decisions on their own terms". It can be seen that Jacqueline was able to really make a difference and impact the lives of the women that owned the bakery as well as many other women in Rwanda that witnessed aspirations as being possible for women.
Great post as always Happy. Every chapter of Blue Sweater I read, I'm constantly impressed by Jacqueline's determination and impactfulness. Every life really does matter. The genocide was really sad to read about as well.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know anything about Rwanda. Starting a new business is hard in US, let alone in Africa. Very impressive.
ReplyDeleteThat's very inspiring to see that she was able to have such a significant impact in these people's lives
ReplyDelete