From October 2020 to September 2022, Interpeace, in partnership with Prison Fellowship Rwanda (PFR), piloted a holistic peacebuilding programme entitled “Reinforcing community capacity for social cohesion and reconciliation through societal trauma healing” in Bugesera District, Eastern Province of Rwanda. The programme, funded by the European Union, aimed to support the government’s efforts to build a resilient, cohesive, and inclusive Rwandan society.

The programme sought to address mental health issues, strengthen social cohesion and reconciliation, and promote sustainable collaborative livelihoods among Genocide survivors, perpetrators, their descendants, and prisoners.  Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) tools, also known as “Protocols,” were developed and contextualised to guide programme interventions and make the approach more relevant, effective, and efficient.

According to the final evaluation and the endline survey to assess its impact and effectiveness, the programme led to significant individual, family, community, and institutional changes. A total of 7,313 people, including 3,323 males and 3,990 females, were reached by the programme through community-based healing spaces created across Bugesera District, as well as institutional capacity-building initiatives.

Regarding effectiveness, the evaluation found that the programme largely achieved its targets. Cumulatively, 84% of targets were fully achieved (100% or above), and 10% of the targets were substantially achieved, falling between 75% and 99%.

For more information, download the report below and visit the Rwanda Societal Healing Programme’s specific webpage: https://www.interpeace.org/mhpss-rwanda/