Please meet Clémence Doty, an English teacher at Bungulu Institute, a secondary school in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Clémence is a dedicated, highly respected educator. Because she is talented, capable, and trustworthy, she is often given extra responsibilities.
Low self-confidence and a reluctance to say “No” to requests, despite an already full workload, created an undercurrent of discontent. Her days slipped away responding to others’ needs while her own goals went unfulfilled.
When Clémence joined the NYOTA Leadership Program, things began to change.
Time Management Skills That Transform Lives
Through NYOTA’s time management module, Clémence learned strategies to set priorities, follow through on goals, and make strategic decisions rather than simply react to situations.
I began to manage my time in a structured and intentional manner, with clear prioritization of tasks. This has led to improved efficiency and decision-making in my daily activities.
Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment
NYOTA’s entrepreneurship and project management modules helped Clémence expand her bakery,a side business, into a profitable enterprise that employs other women. She taught her employees the same time and project management skills she had learned. Clémence’s business became a source of income for several households and a platform for women’s economic empowerment within her community.
My income-generating business has become more organized and has expanded to include other women whom I train. The business now operates consistently and continues to function effectively even in my absence.
A Vision for Vulnerable Women and Orphans in the DRC
The work is not done. Clémence dreams of creating a training center where orphans and other vulnerable people can learn pastry-making in a well-equipped, modern facility, “Where hardship is transformed into opportunity… a place of dignity, hope, and renewal; empowering those who have been left behind to rise, become self-reliant, and build a future defined by possibility.”
That is what happens when a woman is equipped to lead.
Clémence (far right) and other NYOTA graduates celebrate success stories.
Why Women’s Leadership in the DRC Matters
Research shows that when women step into leadership roles, they lift other women. In turn, children’s health improves and families gain economic stability.
In the DRC, a country of extraordinary resilience that still ranks near the bottom of global gender equity indices, the need for women’s leadership is both profound and urgent.
Impact Now exists for this reason.
Through the NYOTA Leadership Program, Impact Now walks alongside women like Clémence as they develop confidence and strengthen the skills to step into the leadership roles to which they have been called. They don’t need someone to lead them, they need the conditions and support to lead others.
How You Can Support Women’s Leadership in the DRC
Your support makes this work possible. If Clémence’s story moves you:
- Share this letter with someone in your circle who cares about women’s leadership. AND
- Donate so more women in the DRC can step fully into the leadership roles to which they have been called.
CAPTION FOR FEATRUED IMAGE AT TOP: Clémence Doty
“Wherever we go, we bring light thanks to the NYOTA training.”
— Charline, 2024 NYOTA Cohort
Charline.
WOMEN LEADERS BRINGING CHANGE IN CONFLICT ZONES
Women leaders change their communities. And Charline is changing hers.
Eastern DRC has been shaped by decades of armed conflict. Armed groups seize villages. Families are separated when they flee for safety. Working there takes courage most of us will never be tested to discover.
When Charline accepted a humanitarian post in a town under constant threat from armed groups, she leaned on the skills and confidence she had built through NYOTA.
Charline organized and spoke to 188 people at an International Women’s Day conference on the theme, For All Women and Girls: Rights, Equality, and Empowerment. To this day, local organizations call on her to train women and girls to design, manage, and evaluate programs to combat gender-based violence.