Women's Opportunity Center

Yesterday we toured the Women's Opportunity Center in Kayonza. Before that, our morning consisted of a quick pit stop at Sweet Dreams, an ice cream shop that had heavenly coffee, honey, and vanilla flavors as well as cookie toppings and mixed coffee/ice cream drinks. After sitting in the bus cooped up for a few hours, we were all more than ready to leap off the buses. The Opportunity Center made for a very nice first impression with its eco-friendly personality, with solar panels, open-air tents and classrooms/offices, and even composting toilets! The center is aimed at helping women affected by the genocide. When our group arrived, all the women who utilize the Opportunity Center were situated in a large room with baskets - they were learning or teaching or perfecting weaving skills! The center also had a field down the hill that was free for women to use - no rent necessary - to learn how to grow their own food, cook it in the on-site kitchen, and sell it at the markets. The entire center had a very modern layout. The classrooms had roofs that looked like large leaves, where the solar panels were located, and out from underneath them various fruits and vegetables were growing! It was nice to be in a place that was solely about picking women up and giving them the tools to get back up on their feet for themselves and establish strength and independence.