The goal of Seka Handbags today is to provide women in rural Rwanda with more opportunities for safe, dignified employment. Our vision is to create avenues for women to partner globally and locally, using their skills to create beautiful products, empower themselves and their loved ones, and reinvest in their communities.
Where We Began
Jeanne was born on an island in Lake Kivu. As is common among people from her island, Jeanne was not able to attend school as a child. A woman’s chance of working in a skill-based sector or making a cash income is very low. More than two thirds of women in Jeanne’s community spend their time performing unpaid agricultural and domestic labor. Jeanne’s parents passed away when she was little and she performed this kind of manual labor with the extended family looking after her. Still, she dreamed of one day learning to sew. If she could acquire this skill, she thought, she could open a shop where she would provide people with tailored clothes, school uniforms, bags, and other accessories.
When Jeanne was 13, her young nephew fell ill. He was also an orphan and being cared for by their extended family. The family tried to get medical help for the nephew for as long as they were able - however, financial matters made this difficult. After some time, the family made the difficult decision to resign themselves to the fact that the boy would not recover.
Jeanne could not accept this verdict. One night, she left secretly with the boy and rowed for hours towards the Rwandan shore, where she had heard a hospital lay. Though she had no money for medical fees, and wasn’t sure how to get there, she hoped that doctors there would admit him anyway. It was her last chance to save her nephew.
Jeanne did find the hospital and was able to admit her nephew. During their time here, she made many meaningful connections with both the hospital staff and other patients. After her nephew recovered, these friends helped Jeanne establish the sewing business she always dreamed of. Other seamstresses began to partner with Jeanne, and they eventually founded Seka Handbags.
Jeanne was born on an island in Lake Kivu. As is common among people from her island, Jeanne was not able to attend school as a child. A woman’s chance of working in a skill-based sector or making a cash income is very low. More than two thirds of women in Jeanne’s community spend their time performing unpaid agricultural and domestic labor. Jeanne’s parents passed away when she was little and she performed this kind of manual labor with the extended family looking after her. Still, she dreamed of one day learning to sew. If she could acquire this skill, she thought, she could open a shop where she would provide people with tailored clothes, school uniforms, bags, and other accessories.
When Jeanne was 13, her young nephew fell ill. He was also an orphan and being cared for by their extended family. The family tried to get medical help for the nephew for as long as they were able - however, financial matters made this difficult. After some time, the family made the difficult decision to resign themselves to the fact that the boy would not recover.
Jeanne could not accept this verdict. One night, she left secretly with the boy and rowed for hours towards the Rwandan shore, where she had heard a hospital lay. Though she had no money for medical fees, and wasn’t sure how to get there, she hoped that doctors there would admit him anyway. It was her last chance to save her nephew.
Jeanne did find the hospital and was able to admit her nephew. During their time here, she made many meaningful connections with both the hospital staff and other patients. After her nephew recovered, these friends helped Jeanne establish the sewing business she always dreamed of. Other seamstresses began to partner with Jeanne, and they eventually founded Seka Handbags.
Seka Today
The women of Seka are innovative and passionate about their craft. They commit themselves to honing their skills and creating new styles and combinations. They love to design new products as well as perfect the standard bags that they have been sewing from the beginning.
Today, Seka’s bags support a growing community of women like Jeanne and their families in rural Rwanda. For most of Seka’s seamstresses, selling these bags is the primary way they are able to provide food, clothing, shelter, education, and security to their children. In fact, more than 50 children currently benefit from this program. When you purchase our products, all proceeds go immediately to the women you see on our site, and to their families.
The women of Seka are innovative and passionate about their craft. They commit themselves to honing their skills and creating new styles and combinations. They love to design new products as well as perfect the standard bags that they have been sewing from the beginning.
Today, Seka’s bags support a growing community of women like Jeanne and their families in rural Rwanda. For most of Seka’s seamstresses, selling these bags is the primary way they are able to provide food, clothing, shelter, education, and security to their children. In fact, more than 50 children currently benefit from this program. When you purchase our products, all proceeds go immediately to the women you see on our site, and to their families.
The jobs and the products this shop creates have brought the joy of increased possibility to many people, which is why its name is Seka Handbags. “Seka” is a verb that means “laugh” or “smile” in kinyarwanda. Our artisans tell us that being part of an empowering community of women, the ability to provide financially for themselves and their loved ones, and the accomplishment of learning a meaningful trade give them happiness and a sense of security. We hope that buying their bags makes you smile, too!
It is our hope that the capital this business generates will empower many women to create bigger dreams for themselves and others, and that they will experience the freedom of being “clothed with strength and dignity,” able to “laugh at the days to come” (Pr 31:25). We thank you for being a part of this mission and helping the women of Seka pursue their dreams.
It is our hope that the capital this business generates will empower many women to create bigger dreams for themselves and others, and that they will experience the freedom of being “clothed with strength and dignity,” able to “laugh at the days to come” (Pr 31:25). We thank you for being a part of this mission and helping the women of Seka pursue their dreams.