Women's Peace and Recovery Program in Burundi

Women gather for excercise in Women's Peace and Recovery Program - Burundi

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Women gather in a fun and lively excercise during the trauma healing workshop for the Women's Peace and Recovery Program in Burundi.

The Women’s Peace and Recovery Project seeks to contribute to the recovery of peace and health in Burundi by reinforcing women’s process of personal and community trauma healing, enhancing their economic independence, and improving their access to physical and mental healthcare. Overall the skills and techniques learned from the AFSC project, which is funded in part through a grant from Australian Aid, aim to facilitate the management of debilitating mental pain, improve family relationships, women’s day-to-day functioning, and increase work capacity.

Dorine - Women's Peace and Recovery Program in Burundi

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Dorine is a participant in the Women's Peace and Recovery Program. She was a part of the trainings in trauma healing with other women affected by the decades of violence in Burundi. Here she is preparing to help lead other women in workshops to address their continued healing.

I am the first born in my family and my parents died from HIV. They had been sick for a very long time. My mother, when she was very ill, she often called me and reminded me that there would be no one else to take care of my siblings other than myself. Since then, I started living with grief even at the time my parents were still alive. Now what frustrates me is that, I take care of my little sisters and brothers who are now grown up and have started mistreating me.

Cecile - Burundi's Women's Peace and Recovery Program

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Cecile is a participant in the Women's Peace and Recovery Program. She was a part of the trainings in trauma healing with other women affected by the decades of violence in Burundi. After trauma healing with other women from different sides of the conflict, participants work in groups on micro-finance projects and some are trained as community health and peace workers.

When I came to the workshop, I was feeling so bad, my heart was about to explode. I first had problems with my children, which caused me so much pain. In addition, three weeks ago something horrible happened: my husband died. Since that day, I was always sad; I never laughed anymore or expressed any joy. I used to come back home from work and go straight to my room where I stayed alone in silence.

Anita Burundi FWA

Anita participated in a series of workshops by AFSC-Burundi partner, Friends Women's Association. The trainings looked at a holistic approach to rebuilding lives after conflict: trauma healing, conflict mediation, support groups and income generation.

Empowering women through a holistic approach to healing is part of a series of workshops by AFSC-Burundi partner, Friends Women's Association. 
Read Anita's story.