Meet Amina: Award-Winning Innovator, Social Enterprise Leader, Compassion Graduate

At Compassion, we believe lasting change goes far beyond meeting a child’s immediate needs. Through partnership with local churches, we invest in the whole child, nurturing their confidence, character, skills and faith, and helping them discover that they’re known, gifted and loved by God.

Amina’s story shows what can happen when a child is supported not only to survive today, but to dream boldly about tomorrow and to work hard to make those dreams real.

Amina at Kimsagara Kigali

Most of the time, I was sick when I was a child. We were living in poverty in a community in Rwanda. I was very tiny, and other children would bully me because of how I looked.

At social gatherings, people would criticise my mother. They told her she wasn’t feeding me properly and offered advice about what to give me. One woman told her to mix potatoes with porridge. When we got home and I couldn’t eat it, my mother was very upset.

She told me that I embarrassed her. Those words affected me deeply. I wished I could be like other children. I wished I could look healthy, so that my mother wouldn’t feel ashamed.

I remember when she first took me to the Compassion project at our local church. I was still very small, and people didn't believe my age matched how I looked. Other mothers pushed us out of the queue and said I was too young to register.

But my mother insisted, and that moment changed my life.

Where my life began to change

At the Compassion project, my life started to change. I received food and clothes, and over time I began to look healthy. But that’s not all; my confidence grew too.

The neighbours who used to laugh at us started asking my mother how they could register their own children at the project.

Many of the children I grew up with didn’t continue in education after primary school.

My sponsor gave me strength and encouragement to keep going. She was key to my growth, because she always said, 'I pray for you.’ And she introduced me to something called ‘birthday celebrations’!

Amina with photo of her younger self

When dreams about tomorrow are empowered by God

One of the most important moments for me was being given a book called My Plan for Tomorrow.

We were told this was a place where we could dream. Even though we couldn't see the future yet, we were encouraged to write it down. We were taught that our lives mattered, and that God had created each of us with purpose.

In my book, I wrote that I wanted to become a business person.

Today, I’m the CEO of a social enterprise company. I was motivated because many girls in my school were forced to drop out due to teenage pregnancy.

I saw that many girls were getting pregnant at an early age. Growing up, that was a burden to me and I wanted to change what happened to my classmates.

I founded SAYE, a social enterprise, eight years ago, with an aim of teaching women income-generating skills and advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights for adolescents.

So far, we have impacted more than 10,000 girls and women. Our goal is to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy in the community and create a world where no woman suffers menstruation stigma.

Empowering women and girls with skills, dignity and hope

In a small, sunlit workshop, I mentor teenage mothers, many of whom are barely out of childhood. The sound of sewing machines is punctuated by laughter. I take the girls through cutting patterns, pressing seams and mastering the art of the needle. Beyond the technical skills, I impart lessons about resilience, self‑worth and the power of financial independence.

Our mission includes employing teen mothers and youth to create environmentally friendly home decoration items.

We’ve also partnered with My Period Is Awesome to establish the Kigali Menstruation Station, a stigma‑free space where adolescents can access essential sexual and reproductive health education.

Amina with her mum

Beyond my role at SAYE, my work has been recognised through international leadership roles and awards, including being named one of Africa’s top 30 education innovators and receiving the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders.

But I’m not motivated by awards or external recognition. Everything I do is driven by a desire to change young women’s lives.

Overcoming stigma around menstruation

Teenage pregnancy and menstruation stigma are major public health concerns that have long‑lasting consequences for women and girls.

In Rwanda:

• Adolescent pregnancy is higher than the global average

• Teen mothers are at a higher risk of experiencing health complications

• Menstruation stigma can limit access to menstrual products and facilities, which negatively impacts educational and economic opportunities

To address these challenges, we use creative sexual and reproductive health tools like games and comic books to provide accurate information to teenagers so they can make informed decisions. We also distribute menstrual products through outreach campaigns. Our work reduces school absenteeism and empowers women and girls by improving their mental well-being.

Passing on the hope I received

I believe that the support from Compassion kept me in school. I’m grateful to my sponsor and the Compassion centre staff because they have shaped my life.

The hope I received is now being passed along to vulnerable teenage mothers in Rwanda.