First Lady Jeannette Kagame with some of ‘Inkubito z’Icyeza’ awardees at the 20th Anniversary held in Kigali this May 24
Twenty years ago, former State Minister Engineer Patricie Uwase was a girl—one of the first girls awarded by the First Lady Jeannette Kagame’s Imbuto Foundation for excelling in their national examination.
This moment inspired her to perform better in school, pursue sciences, and earn a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the former Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (former KIST), and a Master of Science in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Engineer Patricie Uwase (middle)
Upon returning home, Uwase took up several civil service jobs, including serving as chairperson of the Board of RwandAir and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure, of which she later became its Minister of State.
Currently, Uwase is the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Cooperation, an agency aimed at promoting and sharing innovative development initiatives through South-South and Triangular Cooperation.
She has actively encouraged women to pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated sectors, emphasizing that women are capable and should take advantage of opportunities available to them.
One of her notable contributions was organizing the 100 Women Who Will Impact Rwanda (100WWW-IR) mentoring program, which connects generations of women leaders in Rwanda.
“Best performing girls become grounded mothers, honest public servants, and just bold citizens. Let’s be them. Let’s raise them,” Uwase reflected on her journey of life as a beneficiary of the Best Performing Girls (BPG) program.
Helping Girls Follow Their Dreams:
‘Inkubito z’Icyeza’ alumni wall
For Dr. Janet Kayesu, a village girl in Nyagatare district who only had a dream of becoming a doctor since age 9 and wrote a letter to her dad about her plans for the future—even when she did not know how it would come to pass.
She was among the best lower secondary students to receive education support from the foundation in 2012 and won another scholarship in 2015 after emerging as one of the best in upper secondary.
“This support set me free. I was free to dream and had no excuse for not being the best in school and attaining my childhood dream,” Kayesu said.
“All this is because of Imbuto Foundation. I am now a general practitioner, but there is no limit to what we can do, and I want to pursue further studies.”
Dr. Janet Kayesu
These are some of the over 7,600 dreams of young Rwandan girls that have come true over the years, just because of what the Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), Louise Mushikiwabo, referred to as having a heart and brains that care for the betterment of women and girls.
A Program That Changed Many Lives
First Lady Mrs. Jeannette Kagame (right) awards one of the 471 BPG girls from the class of 2023-2024
In 2005, Rwanda’s First Lady Mrs. Jeannette Kagame’s Imbuto Foundation started a program to honor and recognize young primary and secondary school girls who had excelled in their national examination.
The girls who come and later grow through the program and network to become leaders in various domains are called Inkubito z’Icyeza, which can literally be translated as Stars of Light or Bright Stars.
Most of them say that the fact that they are able to stand with the First Lady of Rwanda, shake hands, and celebrate with her their initial step of success in education sparks a desire to do more and emulate her example of leadership.
“Her recognition and appreciation gave me a deep affirmation that my efforts were truly worth it when she told us that we can achieve bigger dreams, keep pushing; these were very encouraging words,” says Dr. Bonifride Uwimbabazi, a medical doctor (Pediatric Resident at CHUK Hospital).
Sr. Marie Grace Mukashyaka, a Headmistress at GS Mater Dei Nyanza, said that her experience of seeing young girls awarded has created a desire among more young girls to work harder to be on the same podium with the First Lady.
As an orphan who excelled academically (in sciences), becoming one of the top student awardees in 2012, Françoise Niyigena, a Harvard-educated Rwandan girl who rose from rural Ngororero district to study in the U.S., says that being awarded by the First Lady becomes a talk of everyone in the village and paves the way for more opportunities in life.
Looking Ahead: Education, Equality, and National Growth.
Though Mushikiwabo comes from a different generation of Rwandan women—where a former government official denied her an opportunity to study—she said, “There is nothing so important in life than having a government that backs girl-education.”
Speaking at celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the “Promotion of Girls’ Education Campaign,” she said that what Mrs. Kagame has done is not only life-changing but also a reflection of who she is.
“This program started as a dream, but now we see the results of the foundation’s work in the country. The work of the First Lady has changed our history and especially that of girls and women,” Mushikiwabo said.
“Thank you (Mrs. Kagame) for using your heart and brain (cerebrum) to create something that is changing the lives of young girls in Rwanda,” Mushikiwabo said.
Mrs. Kagame narrated the origin of the program and said that it was an idea of encouraging young girls to get an equal education like boys.
“This started as a way of encouraging girls to have an equal education opportunity (gender equality) in education and to see that many girls can take up leadership roles without being afraid,” Mrs. Kagame said.
She encouraged the women who have benefited from the program to use these opportunities to provide follow-up support and mentorship through the existing Inkubito z’Icyeza network.
“This anniversary is a time to reflect on the future, and we are thinking of the need to support not only girls but also boys because this is aimed at raising a nation,” she said. Mrs. Kagame called for the need to increase the number of girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in Rwanda.
STEM education has been gaining momentum, with various initiatives aimed at promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among students.
The country has introduced a Competence-Based Curriculum to enhance STEM learning, and organizations like Futurite STEM Education Rwanda are working to provide hands-on STEM experiences.
However, challenges remain, such as the STEM learning gap between disadvantaged students and their peers. Efforts to close this gap include increasing the number of female teachers in STEM subjects and improving teacher-training programs.
Claudette Irere, the Minister of State for Education, showed that in the past 20 years, the gender parity index in education has improved to 1.46 with 60% girls in school, but there is more to be done to increase girl education with the support of the Imbuto Foundation.
Irere said that the small number of women with this education cannot get Rwanda to the Vision 2050; however, the government and stakeholders are putting efforts into science, and the number of STEM students has increased, which is a sign of change but also a result of the efforts that the foundation has contributed to the girl-child policy.
