With her parents struggling with alcohol addiction and unable to provide for the family, Uwineza took responsibility for supporting her younger siblings. Desperate to earn money, she turned to selling illegal drugs.
For three years, she struggled to survive. Along the way, she lost the opportunity to continue her education and became a mother earlier than she had planned.
“The price I paid was dropping out of school. I could not continue my studies, and I ended up becoming a mother while still living at home,” she recalled.
Today, her life tells a different story.
In Gatunda Sector, Nyagatare District, Uwineza is earning a living through agriculture as a member of KODIGA Cooperative. Instead of selling drugs to survive, she now grows vegetables and uses her earnings to support her child.
She can now pay her child’s school fees, afford health insurance and meet essential household needs.
These are changes that once seemed beyond her reach.
From dependence to earning her own income
Uwineza’s turning point came when she joined KODIGA Cooperative, where she received practical agricultural training through New Faces New Voices Rwanda (NFNV).
She learned how to grow green beans, cabbages and mushrooms, acquiring skills that opened a new path towards financial independence.
“They taught us how to grow different vegetables, including green beans, cabbages and mushrooms,” she explained.
For Uwineza, the greatest achievement is not simply learning to farm. It is being able to provide for her child through her own work.
Her fellow cooperative member, Igirukwishaka Devotha, has also experienced a significant change.
Before joining KODIGA, Devotha spent much of her time without productive work. Whenever she needed money, she depended on her parents.
Through agricultural training, she acquired skills in vegetable farming and began participating in income-generating activities.
For Devotha, joining the cooperative has provided an opportunity to move away from inactivity and dependence towards productive work and greater self-reliance.
Small investments, new possibilities
Beyond individual stories, KODIGA’s progress is reflected in the businesses its members are developing.
The cooperative initially received a Rwf500,000 loan from New Faces New Voices Rwanda, which members invested in green bean farming.
The activity generated a reported profit of Rwf160,000.
Following that progress, the cooperative received an additional Rwf2 million to expand into mushroom cultivation, creating another agricultural activity for its members.
A separate group of young people within KODIGA also received Rwf500,000, invested it in green beans and earned Rwf150,000 in profit.
Rather than spending those earnings, they purchased chickens, taking their first steps into poultry farming.
These investments illustrate how members are using agricultural income to explore additional opportunities and build more diversified livelihoods.
An impact extending beyond Nyagatare
KODIGA is among the cooperatives supported by New Faces New Voices Rwanda, an organisation that works to expand women’s access to finance, entrepreneurship training and economic opportunities.
NFNV also works with the Mastercard Foundation through initiatives aimed at strengthening women’s entrepreneurship, financial inclusion and business development.
NFNV has more than 3,000 women in its network, while over 718 women have benefited from capacity-building support.
Its interventions have also contributed to the creation of more than 1,172 youth jobs, while 52 cooperatives operating in agribusiness and handicrafts have received small grants.
Additionally, 50 young women who completed technical and vocational training have received toolkits to help them establish businesses.
These achievements reflect the organisation’s broader efforts to help women and young people acquire the resources and skills needed to become economically independent.
For KODIGA members, however, the most meaningful results are visible in their everyday lives.
For Uwineza, it is the ability to educate her child and meet household expenses without returning to illegal activities. For Devotha, it is the opportunity to earn through her own efforts rather than relying entirely on her parents.
Their journeys reflect a transformation that extends beyond farming.
In Nyagatare, KODIGA Cooperative is helping young people move from uncertainty and dependence towards greater financial independence and a more promising future.
