Travel Turtle

I just read on craft magazine about burda style’s post about the Stichting Toekomst Rwanda. This charity is working towards teaching mothers and children in Rwanda about sewing. One thing they need is fabric. If you have some extra fabric laying around, which you probably do if you sew, please consider sending it to this organization. The address: Stichting Toekomst Rwanda, Weipoortseweg 89, 2381 NJ Zoeterwoude, The Netherlands.

After reading about the above, I did a quick google search about women in Rwanda. To see what their situation is like now. I found this article from the Washington Post which explains the pivotal role women are playing in Rwanda today, “this country has become perhaps the world’s leading example of how empowering women can fundamentally transform post-conflict economies and fight the cycle of poverty.” Another article from the Wall Street Journal, gave Cindy McCain’s perspective. Ms. McCain originally went to Rwanda in 1994 and returned earlier this year. She explains, “a new constitution ratified in 2003 required that women occupy at least 30% of the seats in parliament. (In our House and Senate only about 17% of the seats are filled by women.) Some wondered at the time whether it was feasible to meet this target. Now, nearly half of parliament and a third of the president’s cabinet posts are held by women. Rwanda today has the world’s highest percentage of female legislators.”

While both articles admit that Rwanda has a long way to go, it’s nice to know that these changes are happening. Show your support and send some fabric over to the Netherlands so that it can make its way to Rwanda. Who knows, maybe we’ll see a strong Rwanda contingent on etsy in a few short months!