TRAINING ON THE INTEGRATED FRAGILE STATES PROGRAMME ON 21-24 FEBRUARY 2023

The Diocese of Rumonge has stepped ahead in community peace, justice and development activities. Through the Sexual and  Gender Based Violence Department, Rumonge Diocese, in partnership with Tearfund Burundi, has strategically vested its attention to Integrated Fragile States Program. The terms of reference for subsequent activity is “Organize Training of Peace Champions on Conflict Transformation Approach”.

The Diocese has co-operated with Tearfund Burundi to train the Peace Champions (Imboneza z’ Amahoro) and Gender Champions (Imboneza z’ Amabi Afatiye ku Mero) 21-24 February 2023. The training was conducted in Amahoro Birimba Hospital venue where facilitators from several communes of Rumonge province participated.

Also, the conference included the lesson from the boo of Acts of Apostles 6 :1-7 which explains that in the community of Christians, when number of disciples was multiplied ; the Twelve Disciples required the population to elect people full of the Holy Spirit who would serve God. The lesson in the conference was, among of other lessons, was that every trainee has been trusted by the community to be n a position of Peace Champion and Gender Champion. Trainees were enquired to be faithful in teaching their communities as to achieve the project’s aim.

Again, the trainees represented different peoples in their respective societies basing on where the project shall be ameliorated. A current targeted community shall be Buruhukiro, Murambi and Rumonge centers in Rumonge commune where there are established groups of survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. The SGBV survivors have already begun a healing journey dealing with their suffered violence, rebuilding their confidence and self-esteem.

It should be remembered that a wholistic nature of the project is realized through engaging Peace and Gender Champions from both genders as well as from youths and elders generations. Particularly, trainees include people who work in different occupations and do not share common political or religious affiliations. The Roman Catholic, the Anglican and Pentecost Christians as well as Muslims were trained.

However, trainers focused on the understanding, techniques and methods that could help facilitators in making dialogues with their respective communities. The determined focus was structured as much as a manner of teaching against Sexual and Gender Based Violence, family conflicts and other sorts of peace violations were concerned. They were taught on peace perspectives as were entertained in other countries like South Africa and contextualize them in Burundi peace process.

The trainees were well equipped to understand the contemporary community situation or a nature of the conflict situation before choosing a conflict transformation method in discharging their responsibilities. It was clear that conflicts tend to emerge in different nature – hence, they require transformation process corresponding to such existing nature.

The main objective of this project is to address and overcome the root causes of social fragility in Burundi. The trained facilitators were insisted to consider peace, justice, forgiveness as essential aspects for effective and productive community in all development sectors.

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