About the Organisation.

Map International is a non-profit making Faith-based relief and development organization.  Map is committed to serving the poor regardless of ethnicity, race or religion.  We are a 43 year old relief and development organization that promotes the total health of people living in the world’s poorest countries by partnering in community health development, disease prevention and eradication, relief and rehabilitation and global health advocacy.  However, since 1994 the organization has been involved in peacebuilding and reconciliation in the Great Lakes region.  Map’s programmes are Peacebuilding, AIDS, Communications, Health Development, Relief and Rehabilitation.

Recognising that peace and reconciliation is a precursor to any development, Map has been involved training women church leaders in Rwanda in the area of trauma healing and reconciliation to meet the need of individuals, families and communities affected by the genocide in 1994.

Since 1994, Map International has been involved in both HIV/AIDS work as well as Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation work in Rwanda.  This report briefly describes the nature of the work and lessons learnt from these interventions.  

Both interventons were to build the capacity of the church to respond to issues that the country was facing, in this case HIV/AIDS and ethnic tensions and Trauma from the genocide.

Why the church?

Brief project description:

Project one : HIV/AIDS Intervention in Rwanda.

Map has been involved in some AIDS initiatives in 1997 and 1998.  After much interaction with other faith based and organisations, a conclusion was drawn that there was need for building more capacity for a church-based HIV/AIDS intervention.  Even though the church was strategically placed to contribute in the fight against AIDS, as in many countries, it did not have the capacity to respond.

The goal of the programme was to enable Rwandan churches to curb the spread of AIDS through increased active participation, development of effective culturally appropriate and locally sustainable programmes in the community, family and church. 

This particular intervention drew both women and men, with at least 50% of invited participants being women. 

The training was done in two phases.  The first phase drew 34 people while the second phase only saw 17 of the initial 34 return.  As a result of the training 10 participants reported being involved in 9 activities that reached 808 people.

Several recommendations were made.  However one important lesson learnt during this workshop was that there was need to bear in mind and be sensitive to the impact of the genocide on the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.. 

Similarly, Map International has been involved in several trauma healing and reconciliation initiatives.  One such programme has been the Rwanda Women’s Healing and Reconciliation programme.

Project 2 :  Rwanda Women’s Healing and Reconciliation programme.

Rwanda Women’s Healing and Reconciliation programme is a Trauma Healing and Reconciliation project whose goal is to bring peace and reconciliation within and among the people of Rwanda.  While one aim of the project was to create forums that enable Rwandans living in the cities and the grassroots to come together to receive help for themselves, a larger aim was to reach the people at the grassroots level with psychological help as well as reaching them with the message of peace, and reconciliation. This was to be achieved through training trainers at the prefecture (provincial) level in trauma counselling/trauma healing so that they could carry on the work within their own prefectures.

Target groups

Direct targets and beneficiaries for this training were women church leaders, and women community leaders in all the prefectures in Rwanda.  Indirect targets and beneficiaries were:   

Why women?

The following were the strategies: 

Out of this intervention we expected that local beneficiaries would be involved from the inception to completion of the project preparing the way for local take over.  The approach would ensure that key people in the grassroots would receive counseling / healing and will be reached with the message of reconciliation and they in turn will be able to reach others with the message of peace and reconciliation.

It was also expected that women leaders trained in the previous workshop would continue to implement the program beginning a multiplication process.

Right from the beginning of the consultation in July 1999, church leaders, government representatives were invited to participate in the seminars as participants, as observers, as delegates to contribute their ideas and suggestions on the way forward so that they could begin to identify with and eventually own the program.  Churches being strategically placed geographically as well as being opinion leaders have access to larger numbers of people.  The approach was ecumenical.  Different denominations represented in Rwanda were involved in the preparation and also in attending the workshops. As the user groups participate and own the program this is an encouragement for them to continue the program. 

The result was that over 330 women were trained.  Reports continue of the impact of the initial training given.

Factors that contributed to the success of the programme.

1. Church involvement and ownership meant that:

2. Due to enlisting the leaders support, there was ownership of the project.

3. The church leaders encouraged the programme’s implementation in their churches and therefore it continued to grow even after the withdrawal of the trainers. 

4. Little resources were needed to continue as the church could provide a venue for meetings.

Monitoring and evaluation.

Monitoring and evaluation was done internally by two staff members on the ground.  Monthly reports on the progress were sent to the donors.  The donors also visited the region to assess the progress of the program.  An office was opened in Rwanda.  This office continued to provide some logistical and materials support to those who had been trained. 

Map International organised two relatively unrelated workshops, one being specifically and HIV/AIDS intervention, and the other being more or less a trauma and reconciliation workshop.   In both the issue of the relationship within the war and HIV/AIDS was so evident.  After the first few trauma workshops, it was evident that we could not neglect to address that issue of rape, because many within was been raped.  However it seemed safer to address the issue of trauma from the killings than to address the more shameful trauma of having been raped.  The women were more open to testify about trauma from killings than those of rape.  In fact there seemed to be so much silence about rape and sexual abuse.  Needless to say fear of having contracted AIDS was a concern by those who had been raped. 

The question of how to address the issue of rape and possibly HIV exposure became a concern.  In consecutive workshops we begun to include the issue of rape counselling, and that of HIV/AIDS. 

Recommendations to African governments and Donor Communities.

1.      Countries should endorse stiffer penalties against sexual crimes.

2.      In war tribunals as sentencing is made for involvement/participation in killings, separate sentencing should be made for sexual crimes. 

3.      At this point that is the extent at which we have addressed the overlap between HIV/AIDS and conflict.  It however is an issue for action.  Apart from advocacy on human rights that shield women and girls from sexual crimes, here needs to be more psychological interventions that address the silent issue of rape and HIV/AIDS infection in post conflict situations.

4.      Churches, NGOs Governments should lobby Donor agencies/funding partners to make HIV/AIDS awareness and other facilities for testing and care a priority during pre-war, during war, and post war in any country. During war, a lot of resources, and rightly so,  are spent in humanitarian assistance for basic needs.  Taking into consideration the reality if HIV/AIDS and war, HIV awareness raising, and prevention (including prophylaxis) should be made a part and parcel of programmes for war-torn countries.

5.      Awareness and sensitivity on the rights of the child should then be taken to the community at grassroots level so that they can understand the meaning and importance of this.  There is need to include the church and other groups that are able to penetrate to the grassroots in doing this.

6.      Leaders should join voices in lobbying war crimes tribunals/courts for stiff penalties for individuals who use children in armed conflict either for fighting or otherwise.