As a young single mother, I was marginalized in my village. I felt alone and could barely make a living for myself and my child without a job in times where food is becoming more and more expensive. My church, The Anglican Church in Rwanda (EAR),  supported me. I was able to attend a training where I learned how to set up a business, bookkeeping, purchasing and stock keeping. In March, I opened my kiosk. It is doing well and people like to buy from me. Since I started earning my own money, my son and I are doing much better.

I live in a village near Lake Toba. After school, I wanted to become a nurse, but there are hardly any training places. Now I help my family on the coffee plantation. During the service, our pastor from the Simalungun Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia (GKPS) told us about a training program for unemployed young people. I was lucky and joined it. Now I am learning how to run a café and serve guests. More and more tourists are coming to Lake Toba. I dream of opening a café by the lake with a friend. We want to offer coffee specialties from Sumatra. For the start-up capital, I pay 1,000 rupees a month into my savings group. Soon I want to buy a coffee machine, tables and chairs.