Maytal in Rwanda!: Empowering Young Women

View of the Village from the School.

This Saturday I woke up bright and early to participate in the 6 AM Mucaka Mucaka (Village wide run). But this Mucaka was different than all other Mucakas….

Recently the Village has been struggling with figuring out how to address the issue of young women’s involvement and success in sports. Many of the female students in the Village are not motivated to participate in sports, aren’t winning sports matches and aren’t actively participating in Mucaka. The solution? Zumba! My response? Brilliant!

And indeed it was brilliant. As I woke up at 5:30 AM, I had no idea what to expect. I hiked up to the school (it’s really steep) and arrived to find two members of the Administration staff welcoming me with big smiles and open arms. Both were decked out in exercise gear! Slowly more students arrived. At first it was only students from Senior 6, but before I knew it, the school courtyard was filled with about 40 students and 10 Mamas from all different grades.

With music blasting (both Rwandan and American hits), we began our Zumba lesson with a trained Gym Tonic (that’s what they call Zumba) guide. All of the students and Mamas began actively participating in the aerobics. Everyone was smiling and happy. When I made eye contact with other participants, both the young women and I had giant smiles on our faces.

The workout lasted an hour. It was definitely a workout but I really enjoyed it. I’m thinking for my weekends off I’ll be attending Gym Tonic and then heading out. It was such an incredible way to bring young women together to create a safe space for exercise. The power, strength and confidence that I felt during the Gym Tonic class was incredible. The optimism and happiness permeated the school courtyard.

Despite the grass cuts that I got, I’m excited to head back for more. I mean who can go wrong with 6 AM Zumba lessons with inspirational young women and Mamas? Count me in!