In a Forgotten corner of Kayonza, a foundation chose to show up — and everything changed

By The Inspirer.

On June 26, 2026, something remarkable will happen in Nyamiyaga village, Kahi Cell, Gahini Sector, Kayonza District. A group of young mothers — teenagers who, not long ago, had stopped believing the future held anything for them — will graduate from a six-month tailoring programme, receive community health insurance, and formally launch a cooperative that will allow them to earn from the skills they have been quietly perfecting.

A new vocational training section will also be inaugurated. A remote community long on the margins of Rwanda’s development story will take another step toward its centre.

But to understand June 26, you have to understand what came before it — and the people who refused to walk away.

The place development forgot

Nyamiyaga village sits far from Rwanda’s urban development hubs. It is a place where progress is often observed from a distance rather than experienced directly.

Teen mothers here know this reality well. Becoming a mother early in such a context is not just a personal circumstance — it often marks the quiet end of education, shrinking opportunities further in already limited circumstances. Many are absorbed into cycles of dependency that persist across generations.

This is the community that Callixte Kajuga and the Inspired Vision Foundation chose.

“The places development reaches late are not forgotten because they are unimportant,” Kajuga says. “They are unreached because they are inconvenient. We decided that inconvenience was not a good enough reason to stay away.”

Choosing the road less traveled

The Inspired Vision Foundation (IVF), a legally registered Rwandan organisation, works to promote empowerment, resilience, and sustainable development for vulnerable communities.

Its decision to establish a TVET school in Nyamiyaga was intentional. It required going beyond obvious development hubs and listening to what the community actually needed.

“We did not come here to do something for Nyamiyaga,” Kajuga explains. “We came here to build something with Nyamiyaga. That distinction matters. When you do something for people, you create dependency. When you build with them, you create ownership.”

Six months of quiet transformation

The inaugural cohort of young mothers enrolled in the tailoring programme months ago. Most had interrupted schooling and limited prospects.

What followed was six months of practical training in tailoring — learning to cut, sew, and construct garments that hold value in the market.

But the deeper transformation was not technical.

For many, simply being treated as capable of learning again was life-changing. The sewing machine became more than a tool — it became proof that they could create, earn, and rebuild.

One of the graduates, Mushimiyimana, describes how she had learned to suppress hope.

“When you are a young mother with nothing, you learn not to dream too much,” she says. “It protects you from disappointment.”

But training slowly changed that.

“I learned that my hands can earn, that what I make has value. That I have value.”

Then she adds quietly:

“One day I want to tailor a beautiful dress for the First Lady of Rwanda.”

It is not a fantasy, she insists. It is direction. “I am learning. I will keep improving.”

Building a cooperative, not just graduates

Unlike many training programmes, IVF is not sending graduates away. Instead, it is supporting them to form a cooperative that will continue operating from the school.

The model allows graduates to remain together, producing garments, earning income, and continuing to learn.

“This is what most training centres miss,” Kajuga says. “Graduates need a structure after training. Without that, skills don’t translate into stability.”

The cooperative is built on shared equipment, shared knowledge, and shared risk.

“When one of us grows, we all grow,” says Scovia, the school coordinator.

Health as a foundation

Each graduate will also receive community health insurance (mutuelle de santé).

For young mothers with limited income, illness can undo weeks of progress. IVF views health coverage not as an add-on but as essential infrastructure.

“You cannot ask someone to focus on their future when they are afraid of sickness at home,” Kajuga says. “This is part of empowerment.”

A center designed for the future

The June 26 event will also launch a new training section and expand the school’s long-term vision.

Kajuga describes a future where the centre becomes a “one-stop hub” — training, production, and market access integrated into one system.

“We are creating a workforce rooted here, serving here, but reaching beyond Kayonza,” he says. “Sustainability comes from connection to real markets.”

What will be celebrated

The graduation will not simply mark the end of training.

It will mark the beginning of something more structural — a shift from vulnerability to collective economic agency.

It will celebrate Mushimiyimana, who stopped dreaming and learned to dream again. It will celebrate young mothers who now see themselves as producers, not dependents.

Most of all, it will celebrate what happens when development does not pass by a place — but chooses to stay, build, and grow with it.

The graduation ceremony of the IVF TVET School’s inaugural tailoring cohort takes place on June 26, 2026, in Nyamiyaga village, Kahi Cell, Gahini Sector, Kayonza District, Eastern Province, Rwanda. The event will include the graduation and certification of the inaugural tailoring cohort, the provision of mutuelle de santé to graduating students, the launch of a new vocational training section, and the formal establishment of the graduates’ cooperative.

The Inspired Vision Foundation (IVF) works across Rwanda to promote social and economic empowerment, community resilience, and sustainable development for vulnerable populations.

Contact IVF: 📍 Kigali Headquarters, Kicukiro District, Nyarugunga Sector, Kigali, Rwanda

📞 +250 788 695 542 ✉️ info@inspiredvision.rw

“Empowerment. Unity. Sustainability.”