New targets for breast cancer prevention project in Rwanda

As we have already told you in other publications, we continue to advance in our project for the prevention of breast cancer in Rwanda together with our partner Baho Coffee and thanks to the customers who collaborate by buying coffees such as Ikivuguto, Muka Kivu, Caph, Fulu or Schedar.

We started the project at the beginning of the year, although we had been working on the development, actions and objectives for months.

In May, our R&S team traveled to RWANDA to carry outthe first Educational Day, led by health experts in the country, with the purpose of raising awareness about Early Detection of breast cancer through breast self-examination.

Emmanuel Rutsatira is the founder of Baho Coffee, and his wife assists him with the company’s management and sustainability projects.

Baho Coffee has about 72 permanent employees and employs more than 2,000 day laborers during harvest peaks at the Washed stations and 300 at the dry mill during 4-month periods.

Of all these Baho Cofffe employees, 82% are women.

They have been operating in Rwanda since 2015 and have 11 Washed Stations in the most potential coffee regions of the country. They receive cherries from small farmers and cooperatives, they process them into Green coffee ready for export.

Its objective is to be the voice of small Rwandan farmers – in RWANDA a farmer has an average of 250-300 coffee trees – and to put them in contact with markets that appreciate their work and effort.

Most of Baho Coffee’s farmers are women, which is why Baho’s coffees have a strong relationship with women.

For the past three years, they have been processing coffee from ‘the women of Icyizere’, supplied by a group of single mothers, intentionally created by Baho Coffee as women with this condition in many countries face many stigmas and it poses an obstacle to their socio-economic development.
We tasted this Coffee and decided to start our own project together with Emmanuel and his team, since we were both aligned in to have responsible business relationships and to cooperate in social responsibility raising awareness in the communities about such an alarming health problem, looking for ways to prevent and have tools.

The first action of the project was carried out in May at Fugi’s Washed station, the speakers invited to this event were:

– Dr. Naasson Nduwamungu – Community Outreach Coordinator | International Cancer Institute of RWANDA NCDs Alliance.

– Ms. Masafi Munguyiko, 37 years old, who explained her experience and how she has battled for half a decade to this disease, she shared her testimony to help against the stigma of those battling cancer and to advise the community on how early detection contributes significantly.

In addition to our colleagues and part of the Baho Coffee team, 223 women and men attended this awareness-raising event where the following topics were discussed:

• What is breast cancer?

• Causes of breast cancer

• Risk factors for breast cancer

• How to deal with myths about breast cancer and receive the right information?

• Self-scanning in 5 steps

Our next objective will be to extend these training sessions to Baho Coffee’s Bugoyi, Ngoma and Humure Washed stations located in Rutsiro, Nyamasheke and Gatisbo.
From Mare Terras Coffee we will destine 0,10 cts per kilo of each RWANDA Coffee from Baho Coffee that our clients buy. With the proceeds we will organize more talks and trainings for women Coffee Producers who will share their experiences with their families, thus achieving a dissemination of knowledge.

So if you want to collaborate with this project, don’t hesitate, add to your Coffee list the origin RWANDA!