Girl Effect / Nike Foundation

Ni Nyampinga is a youth brand created by Girl Effect, backed by the Nike Foundation, dedicated to empowering adolescent youth in Rwanda through storytelling and media. The brand reached young people through a magazine, events, campaigns, radio shows, and radio drama, all designed to reflect their lives and inspire confidence. At its peak it was the most widely distributed publication in Rwanda, reaching over 15,000 villages through a network of 30 Girl Ambassadors across every district.

I joined as a junior designer and grew into a creative lead role over five years, contributing to 15+ issues.

What started as page layout and production became something bigger. Over time I was writing photography and illustration briefs, contributing to creative direction for each issue's strategic theme, and acting as a brand guardian across the publication.

The work I'm most proud of is Issue 15. Our team traveled across Rwanda gathering stories from girls whose lives had been shaped by the brand. Sitting with those stories and bringing them to life on the page reminded me why design matters. Not for aesthetics. For giving people a way to see themselves.