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Janet Nkubana Quotes
Rwanda
Janet Nkubana is a Rwandan social entrepreneur, business executive, and basket weaver best known for co-founding Gahaya Links, a handicraft cooperative that coordinates the work of thousands of Rwandan women weaving baskets for sale internationally, including in the United States. She grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda after fleeing the Rwandan genocide, where she was first exposed to basket weaving by watching her mother and other women in the camp.
Random Janet Nkubana quote
12 quotes
They should know what they are best at rather than seeing what others are doing. They need to know who their competitors and clients are, and give their customers good value for their money.
"Artisan work is a tool for transformation. When women earn money, they invest in their children's education, health, and their community's future."
Once you earn an income you are economically empowered. You are given a voice, you can argue your values, you can argue your point, you can argue your rights.
"We were not just selling baskets; we were selling hope, dignity, and the story of Rwanda's resilience to the world."
“People never used to think that women were able businesswomen or able business managers.”
"When you give a woman economic independence, you give her a voice. Weaving brought women together from both sides of the conflict to create something beautiful, earn a living, and heal our country."
The biggest impact is in unity and reconciliation of Rwandans. Also we helped restore the dignity of Rwandan women and their values.
“Implement any idea you have – talk about it. Be free and say what you think, share what you want to achieve. Use the partnerships and nurture them.”
We are very proactive. We are strong women. We are great managers. We are great policy makers. We can be a great force for Africa.
We take pride in the fact that we are a socially responsible firm and believe that giving back to our community and sharing our wealth of knowledge and experience is the only way of building a healthy and economically sound future.
In our weaving groups we have women who survived genocide, we have women who have husbands in prison, we have girls who lost everyone who are heading households. Through weaving we manage to have everyone under one roof sharing and working together.
“If you go to Rwanda today, there are so many young boys and young girls who are not job seekers, but job creators. All of these initiatives – they are creating jobs. When you teach me a skill I will utilize it to make an income and maybe employ another person.”
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