RuWCED was founded by Glory Lueong (now Dr. Glory Lueong) when she was an undergraduate student.
The following three key moments of her life urged her to found RuWCED;
1) Her Birth Story: At Glory's birth, her mom had difficult delivery. The placenta was retained for 9 hours and some village elders advised her dad to abandon her mom to die because, according to traditional myths, difficult delivery is a curse caused by the woman's infidelity to the husband/partner during pregnancy. In this regards, if he- Glory's dad- saw her mom or even gave her any financial or material support, the curse will turn on him and he will die. Glory's mom, recalls that, she overheard the elders' conversion from the maternity room and decided to shout; “come in, see me and the kid before I die! If I die, I die. But she is your kid” to Glory's father (who was defiant to the elders advice). After surviving from a potential maternal death, Glory's mom named her Glory, meaning victory over death in child birth.
2) Her class mate’s menstrual embarrassment: In primary school, one of Glory's class mates had menstruation embarrassed her in class. Confused about what was happening, this friend of hers rushed behind the class and used maize peelings to pad herself thinking that she got wounded. The blood stained her uniform causing mockery from more mature boys in class. This girl shied away from school and failed her exam because of shame and stigma.
3) Her friend battling with HIV: In 1993 a friend of hers was forced out of school at age 14 and given into a polygamous marriage. After 11years, Glory met her friend who was pregnant with her fourth child and she said she was HIV positive, but could not afford transport to go to a "treatment‟/therapy center. After listening to her and reflecting over her school performance back in the days, Glory saw a future leader reduced to a beggar.
These circumstances/experiences and more stirred her to start, Rural Women Center for Education and Development-RuWCED Cameroon, where rural women/ girls, youths and children can have a voice, get access to education and productive resources, know their rights, understand and manage their reproductive health, learn a vocation and get access to a livelihood of their own.
Today, RuWCED works to promote the education, health, livelihoods and human rights of rural women, youths and children. We work in collaboration with community based women groups, traditional councils, local authorities and schools. We seek solutions to critical rural community problems like; no or poor access to education, poor menstrual hygiene and lack of sound sexual and reproductive health education, HIV/AIDS and stigma, cultural discrimination, violence and the lack of access to resources that are needed to enable rural women, youths and children to enjoy the benefits of education, health, social protection and the fulfillment of their human and bodily rights.