In partnership with the Association of Women Repatriated from Burundi (AFRABU), Women’s International Peace Center together with CORDAID, organized a 3-day mission of study and exchange of experience with Rwandan non-governmental organizations under the leadership of the “Réseau des Femmes Oeuvrant pour le Développement Rural (Réseau des Femmes)”. They were joined by representatives of the Umuhivu w’Imboneza platform in Burundi, which is a collaborative framework for elected women and young people as well as women and young leaders of Civil Society Organizations for the promotion of leadership and the inclusive participation of women and young people at the community level.

This mission aimed to strengthen the Umuhivu w’Imboneza platform through the exchange of experiences between the members of the Platform from the 7 pilot provinces of Bubanza, Bujumburan, Bujumbura Mairies, Bururi, Cibitoke, Mwaro and Rumonge under the Just Future project and the Rwandan non-governmental organizations working on the implementation of resolutions 1325 and 22 50 at the community level.

Starting October 19th, the team visited DORCAS Consolation Family and Urugo Women Opportunity Center in the Eastern Province in Rwamagana and Kayonza. They then proceeded to Duhozanye Organization in the South Province and finally had a meeting with women leaders of public and private institutions in Kigali. 

The aim of the exchange visit was to strengthen the Umuhivu alliance on the basis of the exchange of experiences, initiatives, successes, challenges, opportunities, and strategies, between the members of the platform and Rwandan CSOs.

Following the presentations of different organizations’ initiatives and activities, discussions focused on some of the poverty-related challenges that girls and women face including sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, early motherhood as well as school dropouts among others, and how they are combating the issue of poverty among their communities.

It was emphasized therefore that in order to achieve inclusive development, it is necessary to empower women to emerge from poverty which makes them more vulnerable than men.

Kabanyana Ketsia, the founder of the Dorcas Consolation family, explained to participants how the organization works with different stakeholders like schools, local authorities to promote their projects which contribute to poverty alleviation in societies. An example of the projects is the production of sanitary serviette/reusable pads for girls during menstruation which has created employment for marginalized women who are paid every month.

She further highlighted that based on its community approach, Dorcas Consolation Family has also established a health post that receives about 700 people per month, especially women and girls.

At Urugo Women’s Opportunity Center (WOC), participants were introduced to the different income-generating activities the organization runs to fund its education and training activities. These included; accommodation facilities, restaurant and bar, cafe, handicrafts shop, a dairy production unit, and rental space for meetings and events..

Viviane Kayitesi Kayihura, the Executive Director of the organization explained that the organization also provides training in numeracy, business management basics, planning, selling produce in the market, bookkeeping, and management of cooperatives in order to help women earn and save money. She also encouraged participants to work together and support each other to achieve their goals if they want to move ahead in their lives.

 “We believe that when a woman is supported by her peers and provided with the right resources and opportunities, even those most affected by conflict, the woman can develop her confidence and necessary skills. to transform his life, his family, and his community.” Mrs Kayihura said.

The final visit was made to Duhozanye Organization, which was launched by 330 widows who decided to collectively address the consequences of the 1994 genocide such as the death of their husbands, children, and family members; physical and moral injuries; loss of property, exclusion and lack of shelter, isolation, fear, poverty and loss of hope to live.

Murungi Jackline, the in charge of programs within DUHOZANYE, presented the current programs and activities which are based on the socio-economic rehabilitation of the widows and orphans of the genocide in order to integrate them into daily life so that they can in particular strive towards autonomy and participate more generally in the development of the countryThe organization also organizes dialogues to help widows and orphans break out of isolation, help widows find housing, provide the means to exploit opportunities for autonomy, promote gender equality and fight against gender-based violence.

In this study visit, it was realized that the problems that hinder the development of girls and women are almost the same in Rwanda as in Burundi. 

Therefore, a number of recommendations were suggested to address challenges that women and girls encounter in everyday life. These recommendations included;

1. Mobilize girls and women to participate in decision-making, peace and justice;
2. Advocate for the installation of safe rooms in primary and secondary schools, equipped with menstrual hygiene facilities for girls;
3. Develop and include messages on sexual health and rights education in community dialogues in order to reduce unwanted pregnancies among young girls;
4. Develop income-generating initiatives for women and youth with the aim of reducing poverty within the community;
5. Advocate for unpaid work currently done by women and girls to be sharedwithin families;
6. Develop mobilization programs to fight against gender-based violence.

Youth inclusion in peacebuilding processes is critical for ensuring sustainable and inclusive peace, as recognised by the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution (SCR) 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security.

To achieve an increased number of youth peace advocates with strengthened capacity who are effectively participating and influencing the formal and informal peace building processes, Women’s International Peace Centre conducted a training for twenty (20) youth peace advocates from 21st to 23rd September.

The training aimed at strengthening participants’ capacity in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, increasing their understanding of gender in conflict as well as enabling them to acquire knowledge and skills in mediation, reporting and leadership.

The training model which was based on adult learning approaches included sessions delivered through; in-person workshops, lectures, role play, storytelling and reflection, group work and presentations, brainstorming, and illustrations among others. Topics of discussion focused on transformational leadership skills, feminist digital activism, reporting and communication, gender, conflict and peacebuilding. 

Gender was defined as the social construction of economic, social, political, and cultural attributes and opportunities associated with being women and men.Participants shared some of the gender roles associated with being a woman or man in society today. The roles mentioned for women included; cleaning, washing clothes, cooking food, being submissive, rearing children while men on the other hand were mentioned to be the managers whose responsibility is to provide for their families.

It was noted that gender roles are influenced by various factors such as society, experience, culture, environment, history, ethnicity, politics and race to mention but a few. As a result, gender roles have pushed women into the informal sector which has led to lack of power to influence, lack of access to opportunities and resources giving more power to men than women. 

The facilitator emphasized  that peacebuilding helps in preventing outbreak, recurrence and continual armed conflict, violence or social tension. It was defined as the employment of measures to consolidate peaceful relations and create an environment which deters the emergence or escalation of tensions which may lead to conflict.

Participants were also introduced to UNSCR 2250 (2015) on Youth, Peace and Security, a resolution that recognises young people’s role in promoting international peace and security which identifies five key pillars for action: Participation, Protection, Prevention, Partnership and Disengagement and Reintegration.

It was highlighted that youth inclusion in peacebuilding processes is critical for ensuring sustainable and inclusive peace and participants were encouraged to participate in peace processes.

As a major tool of advocacy, participants were introduced to feminist digital activism, a communication form that involves the use of social media tools to put out advocacy messages and advocate for issues affecting their communities.

In conclusion, participants suggested different roles of leadership they could participate in once they got back to their communities. These included; advocacy work, influencing media dialogues for attitude change, stopping youth from participating in violent conflict, organising peace dialogues across lines of conflict and facilitating community dialogues on issues affecting youth in their communities.