More than three decades after the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, Rwanda continues to grapple with widespread trauma, particularly among survivors. At the same time, the release of several individuals convicted of genocide-related crimes—alongside the expected reintegration of over 20,000 additional prisoners in the coming years—is likely to heighten anxiety and exacerbate mental health and psychosocial challenges. These effects are not limited to survivors but extend to the families of the released prisoners and the wider community. This reality poses a significant challenge to ongoing efforts to promote social cohesion and reconciliation across Rwandan society. The situation is further compounded by a range of additional risk factors, including emotional and substance abuse, sexual and gender-based violence, family conflict, social tensions, economic hardship, and the intergenerational transmission of trauma and genocide legacies.
In response to this reality, Interpeace and its local partners, including Prison Fellowship Rwanda (PFR), Dignity in Detention Organization (DIDE) and HAGURUKA, are implementing a programme entitled: ''Reinforcing Community Capacity for Social Cohesion and Reconciliation through Societal Trauma Healing.” This innovative initiative offers a holistic approach to simultaneously address mental health, promote social cohesion, support psychological rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners and stimulate collaborative livelihoods of individuals and communities.
With funding from the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the programme provides safe spaces for dialogue, healing, and capacity strengthening of existing formal mental health structures and local societal healing practitioners to strengthen a comprehensive and community-based mental health and psycho-social support system. 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.
Our program aims to contribute to the consolidation of a peaceful, resilient and inclusive Rwandan society —one capable of overcoming the wounds of the past, managing conflict through peaceful, collective, and inclusive means, strengthening income resilience, and influencing policies that reflect and respond to citizens’ needs. This objective is pursued through three interrelated axes: mental health, social cohesion and collaborative means of sustainably providing for needs. Cross-cutting themes such as gender equality, climate resilience, and conflict sensitivity are integrated throughout all areas of intervention.
Three decades after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda still faces high levels of trauma, especially among survivors. The release of over 20,000 genocide prisoners in the coming years is expected to heighten anxiety and mental health challenges for survivors and their families. Other issues like substance abuse, gender-based violence, family conflicts, and poverty further complicate social cohesion and reconciliation efforts.
To address these challenges, Interpeace and its partners (Prison Fellowship Rwanda, DIDE, and HAGURUKA) take a holistic approach to peacebuilding support efforts to improve mental health, social cohesion, and prisoner reintegration while fostering economic resilience. Building on a successful EU-supported pilot in Bugesera (2020–2022), the programme combines mental health support, training community facilitators to lead trauma healing dialogues, and support to income-generating activities to promote shared resilience and cooperation. In 2024, Interpeace and its partners engaged 7,758 people, over half women (4,711) and 2,707 youth. Interpeace and its partners supported 39 local infrastructures to participate in 34 income-generating activities and 40 activities with security actors.