Rwanda

Since 1995, our programs in Rwanda have focused on developing peace leadership and fostering reconciliation. Our approach supports community-based social healing, citizen advocacy and government responsiveness in the continued process of recovery from the 1994 genocide.

Healing Our Communities (2016-2019)

Healing Our Communities has brought together the community-based reconciliation approaches of three different Rwandan organizations to make a lasting impact in 16 communities where post-genocide tensions are high. Genocide survivors and former perpetrators, together, have become expert at facilitating challenging dialogues and supporting others to recover from genocide trauma. Young adults born after the genocide have been creating documentaries and leading service projects that build social cohesion.

Women and Men as Partners in Peacebuilding (2012-2015)

The Women and Men as Partners in Peacebuilding program worked in Rwanda, Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda to pilot a new paradigm of cross-gender partnerships to address the interconnected cycles of community-based and gender-based violence. In 2015, organizations participating in the Women and Men as Partners in Peacebuilding Program formed a regional alliance to continue to advance violence prevention through female-male partnerships: Alliance Femmes/Hommes pour la Paix (Alliance of Women and Men for Peace).

The Rescuers Project (2010-2011)

In 2010-2011 Karuna Center developed a Rescuers Project with the education department of the Kigali Genocide Memorial. An exhibit of genocide rescuers, developed by Karuna Center partner Proof: Media for Social Justice, traveled to Rwandan high schools and was used to promote dialogue on tolerance and reconciliation.

Rwandan Women's Peace Leadership Project (2003-2005)

Between 2003 and 2005, Karuna Center led a peacebuilding training and mentorship program for members of ProFemmes Twese Hamwe, an umbrella organization of 58 women’s organizations ranging from grassroots associations to a women’s caucus in the parliament. Participants developed skills in analyzing conflicts, resolving disputes within their communities and organizations, and teaching these skills to others. Those we trained became involved in an innovative and successful reconciliation program in partnership with International Alert engaging survivors, perpetrators, and former combatants in dialogues and trauma healing combined with micro-enterprises and agricultural cooperatives.

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR RWANDAN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS ON RECONCILIATION (2002, 2005)

In 2005, KCP led seminars for the Rwandan government’s National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) to help build the capacity of their commissioners, staff, and partners to manage conflict and post-genocide reconciliation. In 2002, we held a seminar for the Department of Justice to anticipate the kinds of community dynamics that could arise with the gacaca courts that were formed to address genocide crimes, and ways of mitigating those tensions.

SEMINARS IN CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION (2002-2012)

Rwanda was the site for our annual field seminar for the CONTACT (Conflict Transformation Across Cultures) program which we ran in partnership with the SIT Graduate Institute from 2002-2012.

Karuna in the World

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