An Interview With Handspun Hope’s Rwanda Country Director - Confiance Igiraneza

The next in the series of interviews with our Handspun Hope staff sure is a special one! It’s none other than our intrepid Rwandan Country Director - Confiance Igiraneza! He’s been at the helm of our center in Musanze for almost three years now - leading with constant excellence, a ton of heart, a ready & jovial laugh, a compassionate spirit, and a whole lot of vision. AND if that wasn’t enough, he just graduated with an MBA from Baylor University! What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is that Confiance maintained an outstanding GPA while completing the program with 100% funding from Baylor! Huge Congratulations, Confiance!

We hope you all enjoy getting to know him a bit better in the following interview!

**Handspun Hope’s Rwandan Country Director - Confiance Igiraneza!**

**‍ ‍ Joy. Worship. Dancing. Fellowship.**

Hi Confiance! 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, I have been working for Handspun Hope since December 4th, 2023, which means that this coming December, I'll be celebrating my third year anniversary of working here! I was working for another organization when I heard about Handspun Hope for the first time. I saw this post about a position at a place called Handspun Hope and I was interested to see what they do. Then I found out that they serve women, especially those who have various health issues and other challenges. And I was very interested because of my background - my history. It really resonated to my core. So I had a conversation with my wife, and I said, ‘This is what I want to do. It’s something very special for me.’ And then I applied and I started the interview process, and you know, here I am three years later!

As the Rwandan Country Director, what does an average work day look like for you?

I would call my mornings a bit of a hybrid. First, there's taking care of the situation here on campus every day. You are expecting challenges, either from the ladies or from our school or our medical team - things that need my attention. In the morning there is worship. Then I come to my office, do my devotions for a few minutes, and then start working. So, there is a list of things that I always do. I figure out what my first priority is. Then I look at the challenges of the ladies that I might have received from my team. I look into that, see which ones can be addressed immediately here at the campus. Maybe other issues are connected to the local authorities, and I’d have to follow up on those. Then I would maybe have a short briefing with the medical team, then with production to see what is going on. I’d check in on the farm, and then our school - just to know if there are any challenges or needs. After that, I come back to my office to check emails, and if there is any email that I need to respond to, I’ll do that. And if there is any follow-up I need to do about an email, I’ll do that then. Then I take a look at my objectives and goals. I’ll spend some time in Shopify as well - to see how we’re doing compared to this day last year. I’ll see how we’re performing, do some analysis, and then start thinking. If we have a project that we are working on, I’ll check on the progress. At that point, we’re into the afternoon. That's my time to start following up with Akagera National Park - to check on our products and sales there. I’ll also follow up with the Rwanda Airport Company, as we’re trying to see if we can sell our products in their duty free shop. Then at 4:00, the ladies are usually leaving to go home, and some of them will want to stop by my office if they have things that they need to tell me. My office is always open for them to have a conversation. After that, it’s morning in Texas so I’ll start receiving communication from Diana, and we’ll talk about all that’s going on. Finally, I start planning my next day.

**‍Caring for both the moms & their precious children.**

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

I’ll describe three parts! So there is morning worship, which I enjoy a lot - seeing the ladies dancing with smiles on their faces. That really brings a lot of joy to me! Then, one of the most enjoyable parts of my job is when I receive a lady in my office with heavy issues, and I tackle it with all my energy, with all the connections that I have, with everything that I can, and then that issue is solved and she comes back saying that it’s been taken care of. That’s amazing to me. The third part is helping the ladies with their financial struggles. Most of them have so many things that are going on in their lives, so I’ll try and sit with them and start doing some budgeting together. Just very basic budgeting. When they come back and tell me how they have overcome their challenge and that they’ve started investing in chickens, or charcoal, or pigs, or tomatoes - it brings joy to see someone who was struggling so much financially, and now they have a small business. It's such a joy.

Now, I hear a big congratulations is in order! You just graduated with an MBA from Baylor University! How exciting! Could you tell us about that degree in particular, and about your educational journey in general?

So, my education journey! After completing high school, I was aiming to get a very good education at a good school. And I did! I wanted to find a school that was Christian - that combined Biblical things with practical skills. And I did! I went to Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania. I got a Bachelor Of Biblical Studies, and then I also did another bachelor’s degree in business administration. So I have two bachelor’s degrees from Lancaster Bible College. Almost all of that was online. After that, I got a Master of Nonprofit Organization Management - also from Lancaster Bible College. But then I saw there was a need among the NGOs that I knew, and I thought that bettering my education would allow me to be of more help. I really wanted to do my master’s in business administration, and combine that with my skills of managing a non-profit organization so that I could be well equipped to lead, and show people where we’re going. So, I enrolled with Baylor University, and got a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from them. It’s a very good school! Again, most of my studies were online, but it was also a bit of a hybrid as there were quite a number of in-person opportunities. For example, we travelled to Baylor, of course. Then we went to Washington D.C., and then spent two weeks in Europe - Portugal, the Czech Republic. So yes - a mix of online and in-person.

I understand you’d been to the U.S before this particular graduation trip. When you thought about coming back, is there anything in particular that you were looking forward to?

I was really looking forward to eating tacos again! And I once tried seafood with Diana in Boston before, and really liked it. We don’t have much seafood in Rwanda, so I was looking forward to trying that again!

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

There are a lot of things that I have learned in this degree that could help me practically at Handspun Hope - especially the aspect of turning a nonprofit organization into a self-sustaining organization. A good thing about Baylor is that when you’re doing your business classes with them, they look at your specific case or situation - the project you’re building - and try to connect your studies, practically, to what you’re doing. So I had brought up the issue of sustainability with my professors. For example - we generate income, but how can that income come back into the organization so we can do more social activities for our beneficiaries. So, it will help me as I navigate this road - as I look at things like regulations, approaching donors, fundraising, selling things, analysis, things like that. I feel that my education has equipped me better to handle all these things.

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

So, my mom was a singer in a choir when she used to come back to Rwanda (from the UK) for holidays. The people who knew her from that choir used to tell me that she loved the Bible. But as I grew up, I wasn't really interested in learning about the Bible. I was thinking about the past and remembering what happened to my family. So I wasn't really very interested. But when I went to high school, I bought my first Bible with my pocket money because I wanted to see - what is this Bible that people tell me that my mom loved? My dad also used to have a Bible in his car when he was in Rwanda. So when I started reading it - for real, by myself - it started healing my wounds and opening up my eyes to see the unconditional love of God. So, I started looking for a church to join, and that's how I came to Christ and I gave my life to Christ, and I started serving God. Yes- I'm born again, and I'm part of a local church called Christian Life Assembly (CLA). So I serve there and I really like to serve. I serve in the ministry of marriage preparation classes. Kind of like family ministry, but specifically to help people prepare for marriage. I also serve in our small group ministry. CLA is a cell-based church. I enjoy serving there with my cell leader - hosting people and sharing the Word of God. I also enjoy spending time reading the Bible. I usually tell people that there’s nothing we can't find in the Bible. Everything that we are looking for in our lives, which can make our lives better, is in the Bible. So I love my Bible. I love to spend time reading the Bible. I also try to make my home to be like a small church - to worship and praise God. I'm always grateful. There are a lot of things that cause me to be endlessly grateful to God when I look back on my life and see how God has protected me and saved me - by His grace. So I'm always grateful for God.

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

I would say I’m hopeful about the future of Handspun Hope. That it can grow and become self-sustaining. And that maybe we can be found in lots of different countries as well!

**Wearing all blue! And - Sic ‘Em, Bears!**

**Office time! Wearing blue : ) and drinking his coffee!**

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

What’s your favorite meal ever? Fish! I really have come to love salmon. With vegetable rice, and ‘mizuzu’, which is like fried plantains.

Tea or coffee? Coffee for sure!

Favorite movie? I’m not much of a movie person. But maybe the movie ‘Why Did I Get Married’.

Favorite musician? I don’t really have a favorite artist. I like hymns, Hillsong, Christian music. Oh, and I like Taylor Swift!

Dream vacation destination? Paris. I’ve been there before, and I really loved it and want to go back!

Favorite colour? Blue! You can see I’m wearing it today!

Favorite animal? Dogs! I love dogs. And I actually have a German Shepherd named Maury.

Favorite HH product? The felted rhino & the felted giraffe as well.

Favorite sport / athlete? I like tennis, which I play. And basketball, which I watch.

What’s something that makes you laugh the hardest? Comedies! Like, funny TV shows.

Thanks so much for your time, Confiance! It’s been great getting to know you a little better! And congratulations once again on your graduation!

Julia NyagaAugust 15, 2026