The farmer promoting community dialogue

Drosca Uwiongabiye lives with her husband and two children in Kabambe, a village in Rwanda. In her spare time, she works to support other women in her community by informing them of their rights and helping them stand up for their own interests.

Drosca works the land. She grows beans, corn and onions to take care of her family. She is also actively involved in CARE’s Every Voice Counts programme. Drosca leads the Community Scorecard meetings in Kabambe and provides training. She also helps fellow villagers with problems ranging from family issues to sexual and domestic violence. The Community Score Card approach has shown to be successful in Rwanda: the meetings lead to concrete action plans and greater involvement of all parties.

“The women in my village are now empowered and well aware of the laws protecting them.”

Drosca Uwiongabiye

An important aspect of the approach is that it gets the entire community involved, including groups that are often excluded from the decision- making process, such as women and youth. “I inform the women in my community about their rights and show them that they can play a role in the decision-making process in our village,” Droscay says.

She continues: “The Community Score Card gives everyone the opportunity to express their views on the issues at stake. “It takes a lot of time, and it’s sometimes a challenge to do this in addition to my own work and caring for my family. But I am very proud of the result: the women in my village are now empowered and well aware of the laws protecting them.”