In the countries where AVSI works, many women face real, everyday challenges—finding a home, starting a business, learning a trade, and putting their skills to work.
This International Women’s Day 2026, we’re sharing some of their stories. Each journey is unique, but they all share one truth: when women gain access to opportunities and the tools to shape their lives, the benefits ripple across their entire community.
From Ecuador to Côte d’Ivoire and South Sudan: three stories of women who have worked to build stability for their future.
Luisa Rojas, who arrived in Ecuador from Venezuela, had to reorganize her life as a single mother. Through the project Mujeres Echando Raíces and the rental support provided by the Vivienda Digna program, which covered the cost of housing for a period of time, Luisa was able to focus on work, health and her daughters’ education.
In Côte d’Ivoire, N’Zi Janette runs a tailoring workshop. Through the MAISON project, AVSI provided her with business coaching and equipment, including sewing machines and materials. Today the workshop provides jobs for others, and Janette is planning new investments.
In South Sudan, in Boma Magwi (Eastern Equatoria), Aluk Stella, 36 and mother of five, is part of a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA). With small loans, she started selling clothes and trading goats, gradually expanding her business to livestock and farming activities. Aluk is supported by the RURALSS project, implemented by AVSI and funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
A safe home, a growing business, the possibility of saving: basic conditions that allow women to make choices about work, education and their future.
In Kenya, Racheal Kinywa, 50, runs a dairy farm in Meru with 15 cows producing up to 164 liters of milk per day. When she started, she had only one cow. Today her farm has become a model thanks to improved farming practices. Since 2016 she has been part of the leadership of the local cooperative, and in 2021 she was elected president. Under her leadership, daily milk deliveries grew from 1,200 to 3,750 liters, involving more than 400 farmers.
Through the project Economic Recovery to the Impact of Covid-19 on Agri-Food Value Chain in Kenya, funded by AICS and implemented with E4Impact, Racheal is strengthening her leadership and worked to secure a milk transport truck for the cooperative. Today she also mentors other farmers in the cooperative.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sarah, 18, fled from Shasha in 2024 and spent months in a displacement camp near Goma. In February 2025 she volunteered with the project Pamoja Tutaweza. After receiving training on gender equality and violence prevention, she is now a Gender Champion: she leads awareness sessions with families and encourages girls to stay in school.
In Sierra Leone, Madam Baby Kenneh, records officer of the VSLA in Ngoyeila, helped reorganize meetings and financial records within the group. Through the TEUSL project, AVSI trains members in leadership, financial literacy and investment. Today the group keeps accurate records, participation has increased and new economic activities are emerging.
From managing a cooperative to leading community meetings, responsibilities shared with women help strengthen entire communities.
In Uganda, Filomina Adiaka, 18, became a mother at 15 without any economic support. In 2024 she attended a six-month course through the Vocational Education and Skilling Programme (VESP), gaining certification in hairdressing along with technical training and English lessons. Within a year she was able to rent a house and open her own beauty salon.
In Ukraine, Iryna Nos travels nearly 40 minutes every morning to reach the educational center in Velyka Oleksandrivka (Kherson region). As a psychologist, she provides psychosocial support and learning activities in the space created by AVSI Ukraine with support from UHF, helping children rebuild routines and a sense of normalcy after years of war.
In Burundi, Rose Ndayisenga, 45, has supported her five children for years by selling small quantities of amaranth. In 2017 she joined a community savings and credit group and moved her business to the Kamenge market, where she now sells larger quantities of pineapples and bananas while organizing transportation. Today she works as a wholesaler, invests in livestock and is planning to buy land to build a stable home. At this stage, Rose is supported by the Distance Support Program (DSP) and the Mother, Children and Orphans Center (MEO).
Linah Siyangwire, 21, studied construction and chose to specialize in welding. Through the project Improved Green Culture and Climate Change Resilience within Rwandan Rural Communities, promoted by AVSI Rwanda, she joined a youth group producing improved cookstoves and briquettes. For the past two years, this work has provided her with a stable income that helps support her and her family.
In Mexico, in San Pablo Villa de Mitla (Oaxaca), Julia Hernández Santiago took part in training to build a rainwater harvesting system. As part of the project Strengthening Community Water and Sanitation Management in Mexico for Water Governance, 12 harvesting systems were installed. Today a 10,000-liter tank in her courtyard supplies water for the household and a small family garden.
A tailoring workshop that creates job opportunities, a cooperative that grows, a newly opened beauty salon, a garden irrigated with collected rainwater. In many countries where AVSI works, these are some of the ways women are building opportunities for themselves and their communities.