In 2011, we learned about a tenacious group of women in Rwanda who wanted to earn an income for their families, but were struggling to find regular work. Many of the women were genocide survivors, and some had even taken in children who had been orphaned during the violence.

Noonday customers sponsored these women and helped them graduate from a 6-month sewing program and acquire new sewing machines to help them start their new chapter. The women decided to organize their business as a cooperative called Umucyo Design Co-op. As a co-op, every member is an equal owner in the business and important decisions are determined through consensus. Today, these strong women enjoy a reliable income, ongoing training and support, and the opportunity to own their own business. If you Noonday items come in an African dutch wax fabric bag, it was made by these women.

Rwanda is a tiny, beautiful country known as the "Land of 1,000 Hills." It has been praised for its pursuit of gender equality among Sub-Saharan African countries, boasting the world's first majority female parliament and equal literacy rates for boys and girls.The 1994 genocide in Rwanda had devastating effects on the country. But today, they are united in a commitment to societal improvement. Once a month, people across the country come together to participate in community development programs such as street cleaning, school improvement, and more.