Restoring Dignity and Empowering Survivors

BCIEA has 30 trained Rwandan women who knit made-in-Rwanda prostheses for women who undergo mastectomy to help them overcome body image and confidence issues and the aftereffects of losing breasts. BCIEA is forever grateful to our friend, Barbara Demorest, a breast cancer survivor herself and founder of the Knitted Knockers Foundation USA.She volunteered in 2016, with Lauren and JB to come and teach 30 Rwandan ladies how to make Knitted Knockers. Never underestimate the power of random acts of kindness, these simple items are having a tremendously transformative impact in the lives of women who lose their breasts to cancer.

“Mbaye umuntu” or I am now a human being,” said Mukamutoni, after being fitted with her new prosthesis. BCIEA has distributed and donated over 1,000 Made in Rwanda Knitted Prostheses.

We also in turn, trained a fellow East African Lady from Kenya, who went home to Nairobi and trained 15 knitters and now Knitted Knockers are available to anybody who needs them in Kenya, a demonstration of how powerful collaboration is as the Key to success.

Knitted Knockers Project Rwanda

Due to socioeconomic constraints, our 30 trained Knitted Knocker Rwandan women cannot afford to make the prostheses free. (most of them live off $1 a day) unlike their counter parts in the USA. BCIEA is seeking collaboration with Hospitals, Stake holders, Businesses NGOs, and Institutions to support this program so that in turn, breast cancer patients can receive free prostheses.