Mushimiyimana Gaudence

A light blue gradient background with navy blue text has “The D-30 Disability Impact List” at the top centered above “2025 Honoree” which is in between two laurels. Below, text “Mushimiyimana Gaudence (she/her), Rwanda” are to the left of a picture of them, which fills the right. At the bottom left corner is text “Diversability, #D30DisList”.

Mushimiyimana Gaudence

She/her/hers

Co-founder and Executive Director, Rwandan Organisation of Women with Disabilities (UNABU)

Rwanda

Mushimiyimana Gaudence is a Rwandan disability rights leader and Co-Founder and Executive Director of UNABU, a women-led organization advocating for the rights of women with disabilities. With over two decades in the movement, she has held key leadership roles across national and continental platforms—including the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities and the Commonwealth Disabled Peoples Forum. In June 2025, she successfully led UNABU’s climate advocacy campaign, resulting in the organization’s inclusion on the steering committee for Rwanda’s climate resilience initiative. Honored as a Woman of Courage by the U.S. Embassy in 2020 and an IVLP alumni, Gaudence continues to shift power and policy toward disability and gender inclusion.