Gender Equality Burundi Project #38276

Helping Girls and Young Women in Bujumbura Slum

by Friends Women's Association

Project Report | May 20, 2020
February to March 2020 Report

By Parfaite Ntahuba | National Coordinator

One of three trauma healing workshops.

GlobalGiving April 2020 Narrative Report

From February 2020 to April 2020, different activities were done: trauma healing workshops, self-help groups (SHGs), Street Business School capacity building.

Trauma Healing Workshops

One three-day trauma healing workshop was done each month. Facilitators were Grace Horanimana and Gisele Misago.

My name is Joselyne. I had a baby girl during my first pregnancy. When my husband learned that I have a baby girl in my womb, He beat me until I aborted. Even my following children were girls. Then my husband started to sell all our lands. Because of anger, I uprooted all the limits of the lands he had sold. They called the police to arrest me, and I ran away from home. I was finally found, and I was put in jail. Even today I still feel hurt because of what my husband did. My husband swore that he will never pay school fees for my daughters. I’m in charge of my four daughters’ education. Because of my trauma, I lost my fifth kid. I have not yet found her.

My name is Evelyne, I came to Bujumbura to study at university. I had a relationship with a boy since high school. I thought he loved me and I loved him too. We had sex and I got pregnant. For me it was a shock because I was not ready to have a child. The day I announced to my boyfriend that I was pregnant he mistreated me and he said a word to me which is like a knife that pierces me until now he said: “Tutsi women use to have sex with their father. It was your father who made you pregnant.“ This hurt me so much and I decided to abort; I spent all the money I had and used all products that I got to know to abort but in vain. I hated my ex until I wanted to kill him. I gave 300 000 BIF to a criminal to kill him but he didn’t kill him. Until now when I remember this story, I want to take a knife and kill him. It’s me alone who is in charge of my child, I am poor I have to seek something to eat and I stopped studying without hope of going back to school.Thank you for this training I learned that I have a lot of things in my heart and this is the first time that I am able to speak about my story”

During the 2015 crisis I lived in CIbitoke, an area that has been touched by the crisis. My husband told me to take refuge at his mother's house in village. I stopped my business and went to live in the village with my children. Since then, he cut off all communication with us. I used to work in the fields to have something to eat because I had no other support. Life was complicated until I decided to come back to Bujumbura to see what happened to my husband. Arriving in Bujumbura at our house, a woman welcomed me and made me understand that she is my husband’s wife. We had quarrels until we fought. When my husband arrived, he said that he doesn't even know me. It hurt me a lot and I went back to the village. My friends have contributed and I was able to have a capital. Now, I am here in Bujumbura I am in charge of my 5 children but I feel traumatized that I don’t want to see a man”.

Recommendation

A follow up of GBV survivors is needed three months after the three-day trauma healing workshop

Self-Help Groups (SHG)

At the end of April 2020, we had a total of 97 SHGs for a total of 2238 women.

Street Business School (SBS)

Since the month of March 2020, the second promotion of SBS has started. We have now a total of 40 women in the class. In the month of April 2020, five women were able to testify that they got out of their comfort zone. They started new businesses, as one of the SBS modules says “Go out of your comfort zone”

Now I'm making a mobile restaurant. Indeed, I realized that I am always free in the morning. Then, I looked for what to do to occupy myself. Now, I am proud of myself because I earn a lot through my mobile restaurant. a participant.

20 women from the first promotion of SBS have now initiated a new project “Growing RiceTogether”. They have rented a plot of land to grow rice for two seasons. Now, they have put fertilizer for the second time.

Self-Help Groups Capacity Building

In this month of April 2020, 8 SHGs (400 women) have benefited a training workshop organized by Savings and Credit Union microfinance. The objective of the workshop was capacity building on savings and credit and the awareness on having accounts in that microfinance.

Self help group meeting.

Street Business School students.

Self help member in rice field.

Self help atendees at capacity building seminar.

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Jan 24, 2020
November 2019 to January 2020 Report

By Parfaite Ntahuba | National Coordinator

Participants at trauma healing workshop

Three workshops on trauma healing were done in FWA training room. The dates were November 28-30, 2019; December 26-28, 2019 and January 21-23, 2019. Participants were women survivors of gender-based violence. A total of 60 women attended the workshops.

Testimonies

My name is Languide. I have been graduated from high school, but I didn’t find a job. As my parents were always quarrelling, I didn’t manage to stay at home in the countryside. I have been jobless for two years. I left home when my father started to attack me complaining that he wasted his money when he paid school fees for a girl. My heart was so heavy because of his words that I fled from home. When I arrived here in Bujumbura, I had already in mind to marry any man I met because of economic problems. Then I got married to a husband who lied to me that he was still single. I got pregnan, and when my delivery date was close, he left me in the house alone. The owner of the house kicked me out because I had no means to pay the rent. I have suffered a lot before I had my baby. Now, I have managed to run a small business and I we can survive with my kid.

My name is Joselyne. I have been traumatized by what my husband is always doing to me. I now have high blood pressure because of what my husband is doing to me. I have six children. One day he came back home with a second wife and he asked me to leave my home together with all my six children. As I refused, he cut me on my neck with a machete. Another day I received a phone call from his concubine. She told me, “Come and take your dead body.” Actually, my husband had a very serious accident. He stayed at the hospital for three years. He is now disabled. I do my best to feed him. But, in order to give me thanks, he is always insulting me. This is my first day to tell people how I live with my husband. I have been very quiet because I feel I have suffered a lot.

Self-help groups

From November 2019 to December 2019, FWA has initiated seven new self-help groups for a total of 155 women. On December 31, 2019, we had a total of 61 self-help groups for 1435 women.

The table below shows a list of four SHGs who shared their annual benefits at the end of December 2019. The purpose was to enjoy the New Year with their respective families.

Name of SHG Capital Interest Individual interest Individual interest in US$

DUFATANEMUNDA 1,895,400 800,000 32,000 17

DUSHIGIKIRANE 7,354,300 4,563,000 169,000 91

IZERE 5,750,000 3,750,000 150 000 81

TURASHOBOYE 3,767,000 1,500,000 60,000 32

Caring for HIV Positive People

FWA Has also purchased medicine and reagents to care for HIV positive people. At the end of December 2019, we had 330 patients under retro drugs followed at NTASEKA clinic, including 267 women and 63 men.

An Ultrasound at Ntaseka clinic

On November 12, 2019 a meeting was held at Ntaseka clinic with pregnant women who are doing antenatal consultations at NTASEKA Clinic. 32 pregnant women were present. We started with the introduction and the description of FWA and Ntaseka clinic. The purpose of this meeting was the announcement the reception of an ultrasound machine which will facilitate pregnant women in Kamenge and its surroundings. All other prenatal check-ups were available except for Obstetric Ultrasound. Many thanks to John Gould Family Foundation for thisdonation!

In the month of November, four women came for the ultrasound and 11 came in December 2019.

Self-help group distributing interest earned.

Another self-help group

New ultra-sound machine

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Oct 28, 2019
August to October 2019 Report

By Parfaite Ntahuba | National Coordinator

Trauma healing workshop

Two workshops on trauma healing were done in FWA training room. Participants were women survivors of gender-based violence. A total of 40 women attended the workshops.

Testimonies

My name is Daphrose. I was married to a man. However, my marriage was not official. After five months, I learned that I was the sixth wife of the man. After nine months, I became pregnant. When I came for prenatal consultation, I was told to do HIV voluntary test. The result showed that I was already infected by HIV. Back home, I told the bad news to my husband, and he laughed at me. It was in that way that I understood the reason why his five first wives left him. After two weeks, he had meningitis, and he died. Then, my brothers-n-law put me outside the house. They said I was the one who killed my own husband. They also refused to agree that my pregnancy was his. The first day, I spent the whole night outside under a tree. The following day, one of my brothers-in- law threatened to kill me if I don’t leave the place. As I was very afraid and that my marriage was not recognized by the law, I decided to leave. One family hosted me for three days, but when they discovered that I was under ARVs treatment, they sent me away. Now, I have my kid who was also found HIV positive when he was 18 months old. Today, I live in unfinished houses (Houses which are still being built) with my one kid. In order to survive, I do house work if anyone gives me the work. My brothers-in-law are still threatening to kill me together with my son. They are afraid he will inherit from their family. I’m really tired to live such kind of life. Thanks for listening to me”

My name is Revocate. My father was killed in 1972, and my mother died few years later. Then, the brothers of my father took by force all our inheritance. Because of that, I got married when I was 16 years old. Unfortunately, I had bad relationships with my mother-in-law who was using witchcraft. After my first born died, we left the countryside and came to Bujumbura. Then, my husband started to abuse me. He sold all our land in the countryside without talking to me. He even tried to sell the plot of land where we have our house here in Bujumbura, but he didn’t make it because I have now kept our land legal papers in a hidden place. Today, although we still share the same house we are separated. He is still beating me, and now I have serious problems with my back. We have even got to court, and the judges have always supported me. Now, my in laws hate me a lot. They say that I’m a woman who doesn’t submit to her husband. But, I continue the stand for my rights; I don’t want to be homeless or to find myself in the street together with my eight children. Thanks a lot for this workshop to share my sad story.

Self-help groups

From August 2019 to October 2019, FWA has initiated four new self-help groups for a total of 100 women. On October 25, 2019, we had a total of 54 self-help groups for 1280 women.

Caring for HIV Positive People

FWA Has also purchased medicine and reagents to care for HIV positive people. At the end of September 2019, we had a total of 324 people under retro drugs, including 261 women and 63 men.

Participants from Trauma Healing Workshop

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