Finding a family through DREAMS Safe Spaces in Rwanda

For some young people, sitting in a classroom on an early Saturday morning, week after week, may seem burdensome. For Esther Musengimana, it’s something to look forward to, and has been life changing. 

Esther was an adolescent when she was forced to drop out of secondary school in her home country of Rwanda. At the time, she was living with and caring for two siblings with no parental support. “My life was not easy,” she said. 

Today at 25 years old, Esther has returned to the classroom, but not as a student. Every Saturday, Esther makes her way to Groupe Scolaire Sainte Famille, a basic education school in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to attend a ‘safe space’ session as a participant in the PEPFAR/USAID-supported DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe) program.

To change the reality for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), ACHIEVE supports four local USAID partners to implement the DREAMS program in four districts across Rwanda. The goal of the program is to achieve HIV epidemic control among at-risk AGYW by addressing the structural drivers that make them vulnerable to HIV. This includes building the capacity of DREAMS field officers and mentors to deliver the DREAMS curriculum focused on HIV prevention education, HIV testing, peer support, clinical services, violence prevention and economic strengthening. 

The curriculum is often delivered by a trained mentor in informal safe spaces such as churches or schools, where AGYW feel emotionally and physically comfortable to talk about their lives among a group of female peers who are of similar age. With every session, they gain knowledge and life skills to make more informed decisions about their sexual reproductive health and economic situations so that they can work towards improving their health and wellbeing. 

“This is where my journey began, and why I’m here,” Esther said while sitting in a classroom at St. Famille. “Now I come every Saturday.”

At the safe space, Esther has found a community of peers joined together by shared life experiences. By engaging with women her own age, Esther has gained a level of trust and moral support that has given her courage and confidence to openly speak her mind about the challenges she faces as a young Rwandan woman. 

“DREAMS is like a family to me, where I met sisters, where I learned about my own life and about others’ lives,” Esther said. “It’s many things.” 

Leading the safe space sessions are trusted mentors like Yvette Akimpaye, who play a pivotal role in supporting AGYW. Every week, Yvette, 29, facilitates a two-hour safe space session for around 30 AGYW between the ages of 20-29 on behalf of DUHAMIC-ADRI, a Rwandan community-based organization, and its project – IGIRE Jyambere. Since 2020, ACHIEVE has supported DUHAMIC-ADRI in providing community-based DREAMS services in Nyarugenge, one of the three districts of Kigali. 

Among the AGYW who Yvette mentors each week is Esther. Through Yvette, Esther has learned how to protect herself from abusive situations and how to gain access to clinical and community-based health and social services so that she can stay healthy. 

“In Rwanda, there are many girls that have bad conditions because of a lack of skills and information,” Yvette said. “We teach them how to save with the little money they have, how to make a profit and how to survive.” 

Yvette has aimed to build a collaborative environment for her mentees where they feel encouraged to share their personal experiences and perspectives that help them overcome challenges. This approach, Yvette said, increases their determination to remain active in safe spaces.  

As a young woman who has faced similar challenges to the AGYW in the DREAMS program, Yvette can personally relate to her mentees, which has allowed her to connect with them on a deeper, more intimate level. For Yvette, being a mentor is not only about being present, but also about creating relationships and serving as a role model, particularly for the young women who do not have parents in their lives.

“To help the girls or teen moms, is like helping a child,” Yvette said. “I do for them, as I do for my daughter.” 

Esther credits her mentor for changing her outlook on life. “It is like I have a new family,” she said. “My mentor is like a big sister to me. I tell her everything I want to tell her without any doubts.”   

When Esther is struggling, she can rely on her mentor to be there for her every step of the way. “With my mentor, when I’m having a problem, I can call her and tell her I’m feeling like this,” Esther said. “They can take me to the hospital whenever I want. They teach me everything about girls and boys and about life; how I can defend myself; what I can do when I’m in danger; or who I can talk to when I need to talk to someone.”

Each week, Esther has seen herself and her peers grow more confident and become more assertive about making healthy life choices. “When I’m with the other girls who have children and are the same age as me, I feel like they have not yet become mothers, but they are mothers.” Because of DREAMS, she said, they no longer feel useless. “They can stand up for themselves. They can fight for whatever comes using this project.”

To ensure its continuum of care for AGYW, ACHIEVE prioritizes its support to local partners to engage DREAMS mentors and create an enabling environment for attaining health and wellbeing outcomes. For Yvette this means continuing to guide mentees like Esther to take control of their lives so they can reach their fullest potential and remain HIV free. 

“When girls are together, they teach one another some experiences in life,” Yvette said. “They try to change a life. When they tell you ‘Thank you so much for your advice, thank you so much for your support,’ I am prepared to continue to give more and more.”