Rwanda

Context

More than two decades after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda continues to experience high levels of trauma, particularly amongst Genocide survivors.  Simultaneously, several genocide prisoners have been released, as well as more than 20000 prisoners to be released over the next four years. Their return into society is likely to lead to an increase in levels of anxiety and other mental and psycho-social problems amongst survivors and others- including immediate families of these ex-prisoners, directly impacting the work being done to foster social cohesion and reconciliation across communities in Rwanda. This is also aggravated by several other risk factors including emotional and substance abuse, sexual and gender-based violence, family conflicts, social tensions, livelihood challenges, and intergenerational transmission of 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, and stimulate sustainable collaborative livelihoods of individuals and communities.

The programme provides safe spaces for dialogue, healing, and capacity strengthening of existing formal l mental health structures and local societal healing practitioners to strengthen a comprehensive and community-based mental health and psycho-social support system.

Goal


Our programme aims to contribute to the consolidation of a peaceful, resilient, and an inclusive Rwandan society that is enabled to overcome the wounds of the past, peacefully manage conflicts and diversity, collectively and inclusively strengthen livelihood resilience, and is empowered to influence policies that are responsive to citizen priorities. This goal is implemented through three axes: mental health, social cohesion, and sustainable collaborative livelihoods. Gender, climate resilience, and conflict sensitiveness aspects are also integrated as cross-cutting issues across the three axes.

Initiatives


Supporting societal trauma healing processes




Youth Engage



Past initiatives


Promoting dialogue processes




Fostering participatory governance



Country Representative

For more information about the Rwanda country-programme, please contact the country representative.

Resources

My life had no meaning

video

12 July 2023

No longer an outcast

video

19 June 2023