My name is Clementine Uwimana, a Girl Guide from Association des Guides du Rwanda (AGR) based in Kicukiro District. My guiding journey began in 2016. I don't know how to describe my life before I became a Girl Guide compared to who I am now. Since joining Girl Guides, my life has changed and I have been given many opportunities that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

In 2020, AGR published on social media that they are seeking dynamic young women for the "Scaling SDG5 - Making Gender Equality a Reality" Project in partnership with Pfadfinderinnenschaft st. Georg (PSG). After reading all the requirements, I found myself qualified. Having only been in Guiding for 4 years, I was initially concerned. Nevertheless, I applied and was fortunate to be selected from the 12 girls who will be working on the project. Due to the fact that the project would be implemented using Voices against Violence Curriculums, we were trained on GBV, and Leadership and also explained to us reporting channels, steps to organize advocacy campaigns, how to resolve conflicts, and other related topics. This added to the knowledge we had about Gender-based Violence.

Additionally, in 2021, I was notified that the home place is searching for a cell executive secretary, as they always taught us to be confident. Due to the fact that I was the only young woman among the other applicants, it was not easy for me to apply. The following day, I received an email informing me that I had won the position. Despite the difficulties, it was also a good learning experience. During my daily work, a couple from my cell approached me because they had conflict in their family, and they had even begun the divorce process, asking me to sign their divorcing papers. I wouldn't have signed the paper until I understood their problem well. As a first step, I requested that we have a private conversation to discuss their deep concerns. They agreed, and I found they had a property dispute that was causing them to disagree. 

with all the knowledge I gained during the SDG5 Project about Gender equality, I managed to solve their issue, and to say that,this family is one of the happiest families I have in my cell would be an understatement. I would not end my story without deeply thanking AGR for empowering us and for giving us the opportunity we could not get elsewhere. It's not only that, AGR also trains us to be good leaders at a young age. This is a great experience I would like to share with others and I take this opportunity to invite other girls who are not Girl Guides to join our guiding family to experience this opportunity of a lifetime.

My Guiding, my pride!