Every year, FAET meets young women in Rwanda whose futures are being decided not by their talent, but by whether their family can find the next term’s fees.
Belinda has been sent home from class many times — her father struggles with addiction, and her mother supports the family through cleaning work. Still, she dreams of opening her own hotel in Rwanda, hiring staff and lifting up everyone who works for her.
Alliance, the eldest of four, has repeatedly missed class over unpaid fees. Her dream is to become a finance manager, and to use that success to support her siblings and other vulnerable children, just as she hopes to be supported now.
Samuella, raised by her mother since her father’s death, has watched her take on whatever work she can find just to cover rent and fees. She dreams of becoming a civil engineer — and of encouraging other girls to pursue subjects they’re told to fear.
Emerance, whose mother farms other people’s land to put food on the table, dreams of becoming a pilot
Each of these young women has faced the same obstacle: a family doing everything they can, and still coming up short. What they haven’t lost is ambition.
FAET exists to close that gap — so that talent, not poverty, decides what these girls become.