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beyond_care-ing_volume_3_issue_#_2_april-june.pdf is not a valid file name for DokuWiki - skipped

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Date:
2018/12/11 20:36
Filename:
bdi-2010-vc-238.jpg
Caption:
Donathe Butoyi, 40, and her husband Adrien Sibomana, 41 have two daughters, ages 15 and 3 (three other children were killed during the recent civil war) and live in the Mutimbuzi community near Bujumbura, Burundi. Like many communities in the area sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) has been very prevalent. Also many women are ex-combatants who struggle with the associated stigmatism upon returning to their communities. One day a group of people associated with CARE called a meeting in her town. They invited Donathe and her neighbors to come together to denounce violence in the village, and for survivors of rape and gender-based violence to meet and support one another. Donathe joined the meeting of Gezaho! or "Stop!" She also had heard about the benefits of CARE's village savings and loan associations (VSLA) and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to financially benefit from her participation and joined a group named Dushirehamwe Muri, or "Let's be united." Adrian didn't like the idea. He didn't understand the purpose of Gezaho! or the VSLA and feared they were recruitment efforts to persuade Donathe to fight in Burundi's long civil war. Adrian had spent time in the bush during the war; he knew how life was as a combatant -- and how people feared him when he returned. He didn't want that life for Donathe. But one day, Donathe took out a loan and gave Adrian $5.00. He needed the money so much that he thought maybe the group wasn't so bad after all. Over time, after Donathe repaid the loan, he noticed how useful the Dushirehamew Muri was to his family and his neighbors and he decided to join himself! Donathe took out another loan and bought a goat that had two kids. She sold the kids, and reinvested the money into the group and into buying a pig, which is now pregnant as well. Their neighbors notice how the family is able to feed their children well and buy essential household items. In comparison to their means before joining the association, the family is prospering. Adrian says, "We went through many hardships. I was looked down upon when I came back here. Thanks to the association, I learned that I should be united with my family and that we could make a good life together. Once people treated me like an animal, but now they see what we've accomplished together and trust me." Indeed, Adrian and Donathe are role models in their community and neighbors turn to both of them for advice and leadership. To honor her commitment to improving and developing their community, the members of Dushirehamwe Muri elected Donathe he association's president. Smiling shyly, revealing a dimple in her right cheek, Donathe remarks that she thinks she was chosen to be a leader because she's kind. She's proud that people trust her. In addition to benefiting financially from the VSLA, Donathe soaked up the trainings offered at each Gezaho! Meeting and began to help others. People noticed and soon she was appointed to be a community leader, someone who others turn to for help when there is a problem with sexual or domestic violence. Donathe says that people are embracing the trainings and idea of non-violence in the homes along with the equal treatment of women. Even Adrian has benefitted. He can talk to other men about the things that he and his family have been through and says it helps relieve his pain. Donathe isn't slowing down. During the summer of 2010, Burundi is holding the country's first direct elections since peace was brokered in 2005. Tensions are running high but that isn't deterring Donathe. She's running for office, hoping to be elected as a representative of her colline, or small region, in the village of Mutimuzi. Adrian, once so unsupportive of his wife, beams when he says that he'll be the first to vote for her!
Copyright:
© 2010 CARE
Format:
JPEG
Size:
1MB
Width:
3000
Height:
2008
References for:
Nothing was found.
arab_spring.txt · Last modified: 2019/01/30 22:22 by 99.88.180.59