InternationalAlert 348d ago

“The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi left me with severe trauma because my husband was killed before my eyes,” explains Marie-Josée. Her son was also killed during the genocide, as were her brother with his wife and three children. When International Alert first started our Duhuze project in Marie-Josée’s community in the Southern province, she was approached by the community facilitator and invited to join a therapy group. “She helped me along the healing process,” explains Marie-Josée. The project, which ran from 2017 to 2022, delivered mental health support alongside group dialogue and livelihoods initiatives to help strengthen community cohesion and reconciliation in seven districts in Rwanda. Marie-Josée is sharing her story as part of International Alert's Peace of Mind project, which demonstrates how peacebuilders can effectively incorporate mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in their own projects, drawing on lessons from our experience in Rwanda and Tajikistan. Find out more at www.international-alert.org/peaceofmind