Jaqueline Nyibantahontuye, 43, Village Leader

On Tuesday Marissa Lang and I spent a day at Kintobo health center in the Western Province, two hours north of Kigali, talking to women and their caregivers. Towards the end of the day, we walked to one of the nearby villages to meet the resident Health Care Worker, Jaqueline. While we chatted about her work supporting families with young children, she mentioned she also holds the position of village leader. When I mentioned that I am surprised to hear women can be village leaders she emphasized this would not have been possible in the old days but the current administration has changed those rules, encouraging women to take jobs that were traditionally reserved for men. Here, we see Marissa conducting and interview with Jaqueline, with translations by Philippe and Bonifas, two administrative staff members of the organization that supervises the health clinic.

-Jacobia Dahm