Organizations JLS® Supports - The Women's Bakery

What do they do?

Together they Rise.

The Women’s Bakery employs women and brings nutritious breads to communities in East Africa. Recruiting some of East Africa’s most vulnerable, but motivated women to provide for themselves, their family, and their community. The Women’s Bakery is sponsoring these groups of women through training, bakery opening, and day-to-day operations. Which is giving them access to life changing opportunities.

The training Women’s Bakery provides is Rwanda Workforce Development Authority (WDA) certified. Offering over 200 hours of training, a certificate equivalent to a vocational degree in the United States once completion of training, and irreplaceable skills a woman can take with her anywhere possible. Because the bakery infrastructure is built during the women’s training, the graduates have the ability to start work immediately following graduation.

All of the bread products are sourced with locally available ingredients such as flour, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. All of those ingredients will improve the nutrition of every bread product as well as supporting the local economy, farmers, and the health of the community. Creating this access to affordable, quality made bread, is a key ingredient to a community’s step in reducing food insecurity.

Once identification and training of these strong women takes place, they are ready to open the bakery for business! Through this launch phase and bakery operations, support staff stays on site daily – helping these women define and adapt new workflows, establishing baking and sales consistency, and managing their daily expenses and sales.

Here are a few words from Markey Culver, the CEO of The Women’s Bakery commenting on a financial gift that JLS^® made to the organization.

“Rwanda has been in lockdown for nearly two months. As a result, accessing food has been difficult for most of our women bakers. Last month, we pulled together as a team to purchase and deliver 2,800lbs of dry food goods to all of our Rwanda-based team - 48 team members - and their families, totaling 211 people. Because of JLS's generous donation, we have been able to repeat these food provisions this month and add large blocks of soap and thermometers! We are earmarking JLS's gift to continue to provide these basic goods to our team for the next two months. Thank you JLS!!”

Here are a few photos from the most recent food, soap and thermometer provision delivery to The Women's Bakery team.