An Interview With Handspun Hope's Production Manager - Cedric Shema

We’re hoping to do a series of blog posts about our awesome staff at the Handspun Hope center in Muzanze, Rwanda. The first teammate that we’d like to introduce to you is our Production Manager - Cedric Shema! I had a great chat with him about a week ago - talking about his job, his education, his childhood - even his favorite things! We hope you enjoy getting to know him as much as we enjoy knowing him!

A few of the Handspun Hope women - hard at work!

Handspun Hope’s Production Manager - Cedric Shema!

Cedric at his morning meeting with the managers!

Hi Cedric! Thanks so much for taking time to chat with me! So, how long have you been working at Handspun Hope, and how did you get connected with Handspun Hope in the first place?

So it's been two and a half years working here at Handspan Hope, and my journey here is actually amazing because I came here as an intern. That's how I was first connected to Handspan Hope. I was an intern for around six to seven months if I recall it well. Coming here was a wonderful thing for me. I enjoyed it so much. It was my first time in Musanze actually. I heard about Handspun Hope when I was in Kigali. I applied for the internship  like everyone else, and while I was applying I read about Handspun Hope. I went to its website where I viewed all the details - the mission, the Vision - and that’s what attracted me to be part of it. To see how the organization is actually supporting the vulnerable women in the community here in Musanze. So it was that thing that mostly attracted me to come all the way from Kigali up to Musanze just to become an intern here.

What is your official position at Handspun Hope, and what does a regular work day look like for you?

I’m the Production Manager. So I manage the production chain - from the farm and the first point when we shear the sheep, all the way up until the end product. From the first point up to the ending point. I also receive a lot of orders from lodges out here and coordinate the women to make those orders. On a normal day, I reach Handspun Hope around eight and we start with a morning Devotion. It takes about an hour. Then, the first thing is for me to meet with the supervisors of the women so that we can see how we're going to operate or how our day is going to be, and to arrange all the work that we have to do during the day. That meeting actually takes around 30 to 40 minutes. They tell me their issues and we exchange ideas and brainstorm. Then after that, I come into the office for a few minutes and check any email from the clients to see if there are any orders, or bookings for a tour. I respond to the emails and after that I go and check where we’ve reached with our orders - to see if the work being done matches up with our orders. That’s around 11. And that's where most of the rest of my time is spent. That's where I live! I end up sitting with the ladies and checking every detail. That could take me an hour up to 12:30 which is when the ladies go and take lunch. At 1:30 they come back, and I spend the rest of my time with them - looking at their work until around 3:00. And then at 3:00, I check the work and see where we have reached in terms of our goals. For example, are we at 50% of our felting order?

Oh - I forgot. In between those hours I actually even meet with tour groups. I give them a tour, and most of the time the tour takes around an hour, an hour and a half.

More skills acquired & more bright smiles!

Leading a tour group around the Handspun Hope center.

What is one of your favorite parts of working at Handspun Hope?

I came to Handspun Hope as an intern (as I told you earlier) and during that time, it was hard because I was receiving a lot of orders, but the ladies here only knew how to make one or two products - not many. So we had a lot of labour, but things were limited because the ladies weren’t used to making all the products. So, what I enjoy the most now is that they are all able to make around 80% of the products! Now, when I receive an order, we can make it quickly because I can distribute the work among all the ladies. That’s what makes me happy!

Outside production, what I enjoy most is seeing how the women’s lives are changing. That's the happiest thing that you can see. Because there are women that didn't even talk to each other, didn't smile, didn't communicate, sitting all alone. Yes - they were doing the work and giving me the work that  I’d assigned to them. But seeing them lonely, quiet, without talking to anyone - you can ask yourself what's wrong with that woman? But due to the work of the counsellors, gradually seeing how on Monday she came and talked to the other person next to her, and then the next Monday, seeing now she's starting to dance - that actually makes you feel like you are happy here. The other thing that keeps my heart very happy is, at lunchtime, seeing the women and their children playing all around the compound. Yeah - that feels like you are home. That makes me want to have children one day!

What is one challenging thing about your work?

The challenge that we face most of the time is balancing my work with the production processes with that of the counselling team. The counsellors need to see a group of women to counsel, and at the same time I have a bunch of orders to proceed with. But at the end of the day, we figure things out. There's also something else. At the moment, the cost of health insurance has gone up. The insurance policies of the ladies are changing, and most of them are now having a hard time affording that. So, sometimes during the week, they have to go to their village leaders to try and correct those certain issues. So that affects production when they have to leave. Again, sometimes I receive two or three groups of guests that I have to give a tour to. So, then I have to leave the work that I was monitoring. That tour might take an hour and a half. After that, I'm usually a little bit tired. I come inside and rest for 10 minutes, and then I go back up to production. When I get there, I sometimes find that they have not exactly done what we talked about, and then we have to start things over or correct things.

I hear you’re getting your master’s degree in Project Management? Awesome! Could you tell me a bit about your educational journey leading up to this program? What’s the class that interests you the most? 

So, when I started working at Handspun Hope, it was a place that anyone would feel happy to be. One day I was in my office, working. It was a Saturday afternoon. And I remember sitting in my office and challenging myself. I asked myself, ‘Yes, you work here, but what are the skills or knowledge that I should develop more so that I can use them in the work that I’m doing today. Yeah - that's where the idea of further education came from. I’m studying at the University of Kigali. I’m actually defending my thesis this month!

One class that I found enjoyable was called ‘Project Resourcing’. I liked it because I felt I could use a lot of what I learned to improve the work that I was doing here. It covered many things like coordinating, budgeting, distributing your resources over many things instead of just putting all of your resources into one particular thing, etc. The second class I liked was ‘Project Leadership And Governance’ which was about managing and leading the people in your team. 

How do you think this program might practically connect with your work at Handspun Hope?

Those two classes link a lot with what I do day-to-day here at Handspun Hope. In particular, I use what I learned in ‘Public Resourcing’ - i.e. how to distribute resources properly, across the organization, where they are most needed. So it helped me a lot to be able to arrange those things well, and also in developing my leadership.

So we’ve talked a lot about the present! Would you mind telling me a little bit about Cedric the young boy? What’s one of your favorite memories from your childhood? 

So, there are a bunch of memories! One that I can't forget was at Christmas, actually. There was a family gathering with a lot of children and our mothers. The reason why I can't forget that Christmas is - during my childhood, I had a dream of becoming a soldier - and that Christmas, my mom bought me a toy gun. And that toy gun still sticks in my head. Yeah. It was kind of like that dream of becoming a soldier coming true. However, that dream (obviously) changed as you can see what I’m doing now instead!

What was your favorite thing to eat then? Was there a favorite game that you played? 

I loved meat so much. Rice with meat. Beef actually. It’s still my favorite meal even today!

At home, we used to play outside a lot with other children, but most of the time we were playing video games.

Would you mind telling me a bit about your spiritual journey?

That's a good question! I'm a Christian. You asking me that takes me back to 2013 when I got baptized. And that's also when my journey with Christ kept on increasing. There's nothing that I can do without praying. Because you can have everything - you can be whatever you want to be - but without the foundation of Christ first, it could be a mess. So, the one thing that I put first in my heart is knowing that Christ should be the foundation of everything. So after Christ - after having Christ as my foundation - everything is built on that. And that's even why I love Handspun Hope a lot. Because the first thing that we do everyday is to lay the foundation. To lay the prayers. To give Christ everything. That's the first activity that we do here, and other things are built on that. Yeah. Without Christ, I think we cannot even be here. So, having Him as the foundation of everything. It gives support to other things that you plan - that you do. 

The next generation of Handspun Hope!

Finally - what is one thing that you’re excited or hopeful about the future?

I'll talk about my own life first, and then about Handspun Hope. Personally, I want to get a PhD. I want to see ‘Dr.’ before my name. Dr. Cedric. That goal pushes me a lot, and reaching that point would make me feel great. So I want to do a PhD one day. I don't know when, but one day. Hopefully.

About Handspun Hope - I see a brighter future. I see Handspun Hope raising a generation of Christian children. I see Handsome Hope raising children that have Christ in them. Children that are starting to learn at an early age. It's going to sharpen  them - their minds. So I see Handspun Hope also raising future leaders. I also see Handspun Hope changing communities and helping families here in Rwanda. So that's what I see, and that's what I visualize in Handspun Hope. I see it changing a lot of lives, starting from the children. Generating a generation of leaders and also Christ-based leaders. Because what they are taught here - I see it changing a lot of family issues - a lot of family problems, starting from financial, and also their relationship with their partners. Yeah. Changes in them, and then changes widely to the nation, to the world.

Avoka Leaves

The Beanie Hat - modeled here by Amy Brinkerhoff, a Handspun Hope volunteer!

To finish up, let’s do a lightning round!

What’s your favorite meal ever? Already answered! Beef & rice.

Tea or coffee? Tea. I don't like coffee, I don't know why.

Favorite movie? Surprisingly, it's a Disney movie called ‘Swapped’. It showed how the main character was very small, but he had a big mission and a big heart, and he changed a lot of things. Although he was the smallest animal, he had a huge heart and lots of courage.

Favorite musician? For local, Rwandan music - Israel Mbonyi. He’s a gospel singer. Also ‘The Ben’. I like a lot of American music as well. I enjoy country music a lot. I don't know their names, but I enjoy country music in general.

Dream vacation destination? The Bahamas.

Favorite colour? It’s actually the most recent color that the ladies invented here at Handspun Hope. It’s a very nice, orangy brown that’s made from avocado leaves. We named the color ‘Avoka Leaves’ as ‘avoka’ is Kinyarwanda for ‘avocado’.

Favorite animal? It is the one that represents our nation - our country. The Gorilla.

Favorite HH product? It’s made in the knitting department. It’s called the Beanie Hat. It has four different colours on it. We brought it in when we weren’t really making anything else like it. It kind of surprised me how much people loved it. I was not expecting that. Seeing how fast it moves, how they're interested in buying it, how happy they are wearing it. Yeah. That made me love it!

Favorite sport / athlete? Basketball. My favorite athlete is LeBron. And my favorite team is the Lakers.

What’s something that makes you laugh the hardest?  When I'm with a group of my friends at home. Telling each other stories. Even when I'm with my family. Gathering together. Yeah. That's my happiest moment.

Thanks so much for your time, Cedric! It’s been great getting to know you a little better!