Village of Hope

What Better Looks Like fulfills our mission in many ways. In Nyarugunga, Kigali, Rwanda we are working to lift people out of extreme poverty.

How we made a remarkable connection with a village in the middle of Africa!

One of the founders of What Better Looks Like, Marie Ukeye, was in her third year of medical school in Rwanda when the genocide began on April 7, 1994, lasting 3 months and killing nearly 1 million people in a country of 7 million. She lost many loved ones and vowed to find a way to help survivors. We met when Marie moved to New York City. In 2010, Marie took a group of us with her to visit her family in Rwanda where we got to know the people in Nyarugunga Village. The residents had lived through the unspeakable 1994 genocide or the traumatic aftermath. Many suffer debilitating illness or injury, or were orphaned children under age 19 left to raise their younger siblings. Yet with all they continue to live through they proudly call their home the “Village of Hope.”

The people have been provided very modest housing from the government, without plumbing and with limited electricity. They collect water in cisterns. Hunger is prevalent. Work is hard to come by. These residents are considered the “poorest of the poor” and have very basic needs: food, clothing, education and a way to make a living. Our program focuses on education and vocational training for adults who are then afforded the ability to earn a living. All those in the Village of Hope are invited to ‘give something back’ to contribute to the creation of the Beloved Community.

IMPACT: Village of Hope & What Better Looks Like Connection

21 people have graduated from 4-year university.

30 people completed sewing/tailoring classes, earning them the right to use the official “made in Rwanda” tag on their products. Some work independently, some work in shops, and others formed the Allison Hickey Tailoring Workshop in the Village of Hope!

14 people earned trade school certificates in mechanics, driving, photography, graphic design, salon, or filmmaking.

300+ people from the Village of Hope and other local villages now have access to books and computers to improve literacy skills through the Village of Hope Isomero, or lending library, established in 2025.