As well as financial support, Virunga endeavors to provide young widows with opportunities for personal development via work-based training within Virunga’s various departments.
Having taken advantage of the scheme, which aims to empower vulnerable women, one electrical engineering graduate now works for Virunga Energies, supplying sustainably produced power to homes and businesses across the region. There are four women currently being trained as chocolatiers in the Virunga Origins chocolate factory, with a further two being equipped with the knowhow for marketing the end product in Goma. In the tourism department, one lady is learning the ropes as a pastry chef while a pair of trainees delve into the world of gastronomy, readying themselves for waves of hungry travelers on the lookout for gorillas.