Women Leading Change: Strengthening Resilience in Coffee and Tea Communities

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Two Mothers Facing Uncertainty

For Assoumpta, daily survival felt uncertain. She had been orphaned young and became a mother as a teenager. For this young mother in Rwanda’s Karongi District, there was little reliable income, and her child’s well‑being suffered as resources ran thin. A small gift from a neighbor to help with groceries became a hard choice between buying food and investing in a different future.

Across the border in Burundi, Sandrine, a 31‑year‑old mother of five, cultivated beans and maize year after year but struggled to bring in enough harvest to cover basics like school fees and healthcare. The effort was relentless; the margin, razor‑thin.

And yet, the women forged forward — for themselves, for their children. On International Women’s Day, we pause to salute them.

Together, A Way Forward

Over the past few years, World Relief and The Starbucks Foundation had the opportunity to step into Assoumpta and Sandrine’s realities. Together with local churches and community organizations, we equip women and families in coffee‑ and tea‑growing regions with practical tools — support groups, savings and small‑business coaching and farmer field schools focused on sustainable practices. These help households like those of Assoumpta’s and Sandrine’s to stabilize and plan for tomorrow, even in places facing economic instability, limited services and protracted crises.

For Assoumpta, the turning point began when she made a crucial decision — invested that small gift instead of spending it, buying avocados to resell in the local market. Momentum grew when she joined Urubohokero, a young‑mothers support group formed through the Twagukane (“Let’s develop together”) project. Surrounded by peers with shared experiences, she rebuilt confidence and received practical guidance. A modest infusion of 70,000 Rwandan francs (about $55 USD) in start‑up capital allowed her to expand into a diversified vegetable business at the local market.

Today, Assoumpta manages a regular stock turnover of about 120,000 Rwandan francs (about $95 USD), nearly twice her initial seed capital each cycle, generating reliable income to support her household. She provides nutritious food for her child, has added a small livestock investment to widen her safety net and mentor other young mothers as she explores tailoring training to further diversify income.

For Sandrine, the pivot came through Duhagurutsanye (“Let us lift each other up”) Farmer Field School with World Relief Burundi. There, she learned hands‑on, environmentally friendly techniques — hot composting, mulching and staking beans — that restore soil health and improve productivity on the same land her family depends on

The transformation is evident in the harvest: beans average 25.20 kg/ha (up from 8.27 kg/ha) and maize 22.19 kg/ha (up from 6.43 kg/ha) — more than tripling earlier production. With steadier yields, her children are in school; meals are more nutritious and healthcare costs are manageable. She has also diversified income by purchasing three chickens and starting a small banana business — practical steps that build resilience when market prices or weather shifts.

Led By Women, Lifted By Community

On International Women’s Day, we honor the courage and creativity of women like Assoumpta and Sandrine, women whose daily decisions reshape the future of their families and communities.

A neighbor’s small gift became a seed of agency. New farming practices turned hard‑won experience into abundant harvests. Their stories remind us that when women are equipped, championed and surrounded by supportive networks, everyone benefits.

That’s why at World Relief we pair immediate support with long‑term resilience. In practice, that means removing barriers, strengthening local capacity and multiplying community support, so resilience outlives any single project.

• Savings groups help women build emergency cushions and invest in income‑generating activities, creating community safety nets that last beyond a single project cycle.
• Farmer field schools promote practical, sustainable techniques that regenerate soil, stabilize yields and reduce input costs, especially vital for small-scale farms in steep, erosion‑prone landscapes.
• Local leadership and church partnership ensure efforts are rooted in trust, cultural understanding and long-term presence — key ingredients for solutions that communities own and carry forward.

This is what flourishing in fragility looks like: women exercising agency, families gaining stability and communities growing more resilient together. We’re grateful for partners like The Starbucks Foundation, and for the local leaders who walk alongside women every day, as we remain present in high‑need, hard‑to‑reach places. 

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