Markey's Trip to Rwanda-November 2025
When I traveled to Rwanda back in November to mark ten years of The Women’s Bakery, I was able to witness a remarkable convergence of milestones. I got to honor the retirement of seven women who began their careers with TWB a decade ago, celebrate eighteen bakery trainees graduating into full-time employment, and recognize the opening of a new bakery in Musanze.
Celebrating Retirees at Kigali Bakery
With our Kigali team, we celebrated the retirement of seven women, each of whom took a leap of faith in TWB ten years ago. They stood proudly before their colleagues to receive their work certificates and reward plaque. Each woman reflected candidly on her journey, sharing the challenges and the triumphs of her years at TWB. They also offered thoughtful advice to the next generation of bakers about how to succeed at TWB.
The women spoke about what makes TWB different: it consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that each baker and her family can thrive. Their reflections were followed by powerful testimonies from family members. Some of these family members are now TWB employees themselves (like Benny, whose story we shared last month). These proud family members spoke of their mothers’ and aunts’ careers at TWB as the inspiration that led them to pursue work here themselves, clear evidence of TWB’s generational impact.
Meeting New Women at Musanze Bakery
I also spent time at our newly opened Musanze bakery that week, meeting the new team and learning how each woman came to TWB. Their stories were humbling and affirming. One woman shared that she lives in a village 40 minutes from Musanze’s city center. After hearing that a new bakery was training and hiring women, she walked to the city. She told us that she’d never been to the city before—she had never seen a car before, and didn’t know how to cross the busy road. Still, she came, asked questions, applied, and was quickly admitted.
Another woman said she came to the bakery after learning that TWB provides free onsite childcare through our Baby House. She shared that she had been turned away from multiple jobs because she had a baby. As she spoke, three other women nodded in agreement, recognizing the same experience—it was so special to get to meet the babies being safely cared for in the Baby House.
And when we asked the bakery's cleaner how it was to work in a women-centered organization, he shared that the job allows him to support his wife and their child—an important reminder that investing in women strengthens entire households.
In the bakery’s first week of operations, the team was already producing bread for 7,000 schoolchildren each day in the surrounding area. For me, this was a powerful demonstration of our model’s strength and replicability.
This trip reminded me why TWB exists: to empower women with the opportunity, stability, and support they need to lead their families and their communities forward.