As we are
planning our trip to Rwanda, we are working very closely with Healing
and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC).
HROC (pronounce HE-rock) is a program of the African
Great Lakes Initiative,
whose mission is to “strengthen, support, and promote peace activities at the
grassroots level in the Great Lakes region of Africa (Burundi, Congo, Kenya,
Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda)."
The HROC program
is designed to build trust and promote reconciliation in post-conflict
communities in East Africa. While the program has been implemented in several parts
of the region, we will be focusing on the HROC workshops occurring in the Lake
Kivu region of Rwanda, near the city of Gisenyi. What is remarkable about this
program (and one of the many reasons we are so excited to work with them) is
that it brings together people from both parts of the community, so that Tutsis
and Hutus are working through this process together, rather than working toward
healing in only one part of the community.
The HROC
workshop is separated into three phases. First, a “Sense of Safety” is created
for the participants to help build trust and a willingness to share. This is a
critical part of the workshop, especially when one considers the fact that
there are perpetrators and survivors in the same room. After this, participants
move into a stage of “Remembrance and Mourning,” in which they have the
opportunity to talk through their trauma of the genocide and their grief. Not
only does this portion of the workshop allow participants to walk through their
pain and begin to experience healing on an individual level, but it also
enables them to hear the pain that everyone involved (both Tutsi and Hutu) has
experienced as a result of the genocide. Once the group has completed the
process of remembering and mourning, they move to the “Reconnection” stage.
This portion of the workshop helps to bring closure and remind the participants
that they are not alone in their grief. After completing the workshop, some
participants choose to receive additional training to become peer counselors to
continue to help others walk through their grief.
As part of our
preparation for our work in Rwanda, we had the opportunity to join a HROC
training workshop in our area in January. It was truly an emotional weekend, as
each of us was encouraged to walk through our own trauma and grief. It
certainly deepened my own understanding of what trauma is and the effects it
has on both individuals and communities. We are privileged to continue working
with HROC and will be joining a HROC workshop while in Rwanda. After
experiencing HROC here in the United States, we are eager to participate in
this healing and reconciliation process alongside Rwandans.
Wondering what HROC looks like in practice? You can click here to view a video clip on YouTube about the HROC workshop.
