TWINAGURE - Testimony
It's never too late !!!
My name is Francine Nibigira, and I have undergone training in agro-food processing techniques organized by SOPATRAM. Today, I master the entire procedure for making passion fruit, pineapple, hibiscus, etc., juices. I also know the blending ratios for making mixed juices. Since I learned, through these training sessions, how to produce fortified porridge flour, I feel ready to engage in the fight against malnutrition that is rampant in our neighborhoods...
Since 2020, when SOPATRAM started gathering young girls interested in learning small trades, I quickly joined them at the Kigobe training center where we learned various transformation techniques to enable us to initiate small businesses ourselves. A year later, when SOPATRAM, in collaboration with the COPAD cooperative and the TWINAGURE association, established a training center in Gihosha, I learned how to make porridge suitable for all ages – whether for small children, youth, adults, or the elderly. Today, I am ready to engage in the fight against malnutrition, especially for children under 5 years old and breastfeeding mothers. When I see children suffering from kwashiorkor or chronic malnutrition, or when I encounter mothers almost dying of hunger, tears well up in my eyes, and I wonder what I can do to help them.
«I know very well that for us young people, especially young girls, it is very difficult to gather sufficient capital to start a business. I will never just sit idly by...»
I started working alongside the production teams in the processing unit set up by SOPATRAM. I contribute what I can and earn a modest income, which I save to later begin producing porridge flour and fulfill my deepest dream. In addition to serving in juice production, I run a shop in Mutanga Nord initiated as part of the SOPAD consortium to strengthen the capacities of women involved in street vending. This shop provides me with opportunities to meet and exchange with young women engaged in small trades, further sharpening my determination to help others.
To occupy my free time, I make doughnuts that I sell in the local shops, thus earning money to meet my needs. With the support of SOPAD through the small trades support program, I participate in training sessions organized for young women, single mothers, and unmarried mothers, teaching them how, with a small capital, one can make a living.
With SOPAD, I have come to understand that starting a business or creating employment does not require as much capital as I thought before. It simply requires knowledge and the courage to take the plunge. Furthermore, regardless of one's age, it is never too late to start...
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