Healing groups / spaces created:
Community-based facilitators trained to facilitate healing spaces:
People trained in Life Skills and Psychoeducation:
Mental Health Professionals trained on the use of contextualised MHPSS protocols:
On March 9th, 2023, a National Conference was organised with the aim of sharing the successes, challenges and lessons identified from the implementation of the Societal Trauma Healing pilot programme implemented in Bugesera District, eastern Rwanda from October 2020 – September 2022 with financial support of the European Union.
The conference also familiarized policymakers, trauma healing and peacebuilding actors, government officials, the media, academia, and others with the programme approaches to stir up debate around societal trauma healing approaches in Rwanda.
Participants aimed to discuss, rethink, and reshape societal healing approaches and methods for a contextualized solution and better collaboration and coordination among actors in the sector. The event was also an opportunity to engage stakeholders on the way forward regarding the sustainability of the programme’s achievements.
Moderator:
Speakers:
Francoise Mukaremera, 49, is a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The horrors she experienced resulted in a major depression associated with self-isolation. Her healing journey started when she voluntarily joined a community-based Sociotherapy Healing Groups/Space created in Juru Sector, Bugesera District. The healing dialogues helped her to heal from her deep wounds and reconnect with people. Mukaremera has become a model for her community. She is now supporting other wounded people to heal, inspiring them with personal healing experiences.
Valens Nsanzineza’s father is an ex-prisoner who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for crimes he committed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Having a parent who committed genocide crimes, affected Nsanzineza’s life. He lived in constant shame, guilt, rejection, and trauma because of his father’s crimes. He found healing and solace after voluntarily joining a community-based Sociotherapy healing space created exclusively for youth. Now, he has regained inner peace and confidence. The healing dialogues have encouraged him to take bold initiative to reconcile his family and the families his father wronged.
Faustin Bizimana is an ex-prisoner who served 10 years in prison for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. His release sparked conflict within his family and exacerbated the rejection and hatred developed by his family members against him. Bizimana did not want to tell his family the truth about his crimes during the genocide. Joining a Multifamily healing space/group created in Juru Sector, Bugesera District, was the beginning of a transformation journey. Bizimana was able to heal and tell his family the truth about his role in the Genocide. He asked for forgiveness from people he wronged. The healing dialogues enabled Bizimana’s family to establish an honest dialogue. They have regained peace and restored family communication and cohesiveness.
Vestine Nirere, 21, found healing and comfort from Sociotherapy Healing Space/Group for young people created in Mareba Sector, Bugesera District. After her father was imprisoned for the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi related crimes, the family experienced extreme poverty, exacerbated by shame, fear and feelings of guilt. She had to drop out of school and take care of her two younger siblings as their mother died afterwards. The healing dialogues have helped her to regain self-acceptance, confidence, and hope for the future. She was supported to acquire hands-on skills in tailoring that have enabled her to earn a living. She is now able to cater for the family and meet the needs of her little sister who is still in high school.
Rachid Emmanuel Rukundo, 36, is a community-based facilitator of the healing spaces/groups. Under the Bugesera pilot programme, he has facilitated eight Sociotherapy and Multifamily therapy healing groups. Like other facilitators, Rachid was selected from within his community based on his integrity, honesty, and interest in serving his community. For him, the most rewarding was to see individuals and families from his community who considered each other as worst enemies together again, reestablishing relationships and trust. The skills he learnt have helped him to better support other members of his community to settle their disputes and find solace in the healing process.
Moderator:
Speakers:
1 Mobile Mental Health Clinic launched.
17 Motorcycles provided to district hospital and health centers.
17 Tablets provided to district hospital and health centers for data collection and safeguarding.
One Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) facility launched in Bugesera Prison
One curriculum for prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration has been developed.
4 MHPSS protocols and 2 curricula on social and emotional skills and conflict mediation were developed.
30 after the Genocide against the Tutsi, trauma healing remains a pressing public health concern in Rwanda. Interpeace and its local partners are contributing towards addressing this challenge by implementing a holistic peacebuilding programme that focuses on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), social cohesion, prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration and economic development through collaborative livelihood initiatives. A combination of these three pillars into one programme is meant to foster both individual and community healing as well as resilience.
This programme was designed based on previous research studies by Interpeace and its partners (2015 & 2018), which indicated that many Rwandans still carry wounds stemming from the Genocide. In some cases, the wounds have been passed down to the younger generations which—although they were born after the Genocide— live with its consequences and must contribute to the nation’s recovery. The programme interventions were also informed by the Rwanda Mental Health Survey (RMHS, 2018), a nationwide population-based survey, which revealed that the prevalence of several mental disorders in Rwanda is higher than the global average.
Interpeace worked with experts from the Centre for Sustainable Peace and Democratic Development (SeeD) from Cyprus and a team of national experts to design structured psycho-social interventions, commonly known as “Protocols,” that guide the trauma healing and peace processes. The protocols had to be grounded in the Rwandan context and culture but enriched with global good practices. Those include Resilience-oriented therapy protocol, Multifamily therapy protocol, Adaptation to sociotherapy protocol, Collaborative Livelihoods (COLIVE) protocol, Prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration curriculum, Social and emotional skills curriculum, Conflict mediation and transformation curriculum as well as Positive masculinity and positive parenting curriculum. Through those tools, the programme:
The programme is aligned with national priorities, in particular the decentralisation of hental Health service provision as well as strengthening community cohesion and resilience. To this end, Interpeace and its local partners have created an MHPSS coordination Snetwork in the districts of the programme operations. The objective is to pilot this model with different actors to build an integrated, multi-systemic, and complementary support system at national and decentralized levels.
With funding from the Government of Sweden, the programme is delivering support in Ngoma, Nyagatare, Musanze, Nyabihu and Nyamagabe districts in partnership with local organisations such as Prison Fellowship Rwanda, Haguruka and Dignity in Detention Rwanda. Building on a successful European Union-supported pilot in Bugesera district (October 2020-December 2022), this initiative epitomises Interpeace’s commitment to healing and resilience in Rwandan communities.
The programme implementation is supported by various strategies developed to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability:
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