On March 18, 2025, a group of adolescent girls gathered in Rubona, each wearing bright hats and scarves they had made during their vocational training. They were not just there for a regular Social Empowerment session.
They were there to meet someone who had once been in their shoes—someone who had walked the path they were beginning.
Her name is Josephine Mukamuhoza.
At just 19, Josephine stood before the girls as a graduate of the Women for Women Rwanda adolescent girls' program. Her story began with a challenge: discovering she was eight months pregnant at the age of 15. She had gone to the clinic thinking something was wrong, only to find out she was pregnant with her daughter.
The baby’s father offered financial support, but only on the condition of "favors." Josephine refused; she told the girls to keep their dignity and “never do any favors for a man for money”.
With no support from the baby's father and little at first from her family, Josephine made the bold decision to join the program. She brought her baby to every session, despite her mother’s initial reluctance. But as her mother watched how committed Josephine was, she began to help.
Josephine's vocational classes taught her how to do hair. She saved every RWF she earned and even began charging people on the side for additional services. Telling the girls she “wouldn’t even tie hair free”. After graduation, she and her daughter moved to Kicukiro with a friend. For three months, she worked, saving enough to fund her first semester of school, buy uniforms and supplies, and pay for her daughter's daycare.
Her story doesn’t stop there. She approached her school’s headmaster, explained her situation, and asked for a payment plan. He agreed. Determined and undeterred, Josephine resumed her education despite her family's confusion. They did not understand why she would go back to school if she was already making money, but Josephine knew what she wanted, and knew a high school degree was a step closer to her goal. She urged every girl to go back to school, just like she did. She reminded them that “if they were determined enough, nothing could stop them from going back to school— not school fees”.
When she stood before the girls in Rubona, she spoke with humility and strength. “Be humble. Know your rights. Know what you want and fight for your future,” she told them.
She encouraged them to use their skills—sewing, hairdressing, whatever they were learning—to build the future they imagined. “Ask yourself,” she said, “‘Where am I going, and how am I going to get there?’”
She was asked if she ever considered pressing charges against the father of her child. Josephine nodded—yes, she knew what he did was illegal. But he was a family friend, and her family warned she’d be on her own if she did. So, she chose to focus on building her daughter’s future.
Today, Josephine dreams of joining the army and giving her daughter the support through education that she lacked. Her journey is not over, but the path she’s paved for herself and others is undeniable.
Through her story, the girls in Rubona saw what resilience looks like. They saw what belief in oneself can become.