In Rusizi District, Western Province, a large group of Genocide widows, mostly over 50 years of age, are working to become fit and very skilled, in order to positively change their social and physical life, through specialised resilience training.
As widows and survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, these elderly women have earned the respect and admiration of many in the community, thanks to Enhanced Resilience Training, a programme which aims at alleviating trauma experienced by vulnerable people.
It is done through a combination of teaching trauma theory to understanding scientifically how our body is affected by trauma, learning cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and physical specialised mind and body training.
The widows during the training in Rusizi District. Most of the beneficieries are 50 years and above. Photos/Courtesy
Adele Nyirambabazi used to be quiet, meek and non-assertive, considering what they went through as survivors of the Genocide.
"After the Genocide, I used to have a quiet personality in general, and I was never the kind of person who would socialise well with others. Despite my old age, joining this training has been an excellent way of gaining confidence. This particular activity teaches us that we don’t have to be loud, aggressive, or arrogant to be successful or simply be heard; rather, being good at something bleeds over into more confidence in other areas of life,” she says.
At the moment, she can now interact with others which has empowered her both physically and mentally.
Anastasia Nyirahitimana, says that it has been a while since she visited the hospital, unlike before, where she would make several trips to see doctors because of depression, trauma, and chronic headaches.
"The stretching and other exercises we perform every morning help us in the healing process. As old people, we are bound to suffer from various illnesses. At the moment, this is all history as we are becoming flexible on a daily basis,” she says.
Immaculee Nyirahitimana, another widow, says she used to have severe anxiety. In her sleep, she always had nightmares, back aches, and sores in all joints.
It all came to a halt the moment she started training because they are being taken through with physical exercises which have seen all her chronic pain go away.
"I am using my skills and energy to entertain others in my community whenever I get that opportunity,” says Antoinette Mukandacogora, another widow.
She says that as an old person, no one expects you to do any physical activities. "But whenever I prove to them that it’s possible by showing them what I can do, they get to believe and at the same time are entertained.
"I am glad that this resilience training has positively impacted the way I live with others. Aside from just interacting with others, I also educate them on the importance of what we are doing, and from this, I feel fulfilled as an individual,” she notes.
Changing lives
Valerie Mukabayire, the president of Genocide Widows Association, AVEGA-Agahozo, says that through the training, the widows have gotten the opportunity to not only come together and train but also share ideas, something which is very crucial as far as dealing with trauma is concerned.
"It’s amazing how this particular training comes in different forms of therapy, from helping members stay fit and strong, keeping them off elderly conditions, to fighting trauma,” she says.
Mukabayire adds that although the training is now in Rusizi District only, she wishes that the programme be extended to other districts as this has been scientifically proven to have a great impact on those living with trauma.
Master Dean Siminoff, creator of the Enhanced Resilience Training and president of Martial Arts for Justice, says healing trauma is about bringing the individual back to a place of safety. They must feel right into their very being that they are safe.
The programme is being delivered with an understanding of and respect to sensitivity towards participants based on their unique personal history or challenges and abilities.
"The way in which trauma affects the mind, body and nervous system has been greatly misunderstood. The most recent scientific study shows that severe trauma has an impact in changing the way our body works and it has a negative effect on our nervous system that then results in what we see as all the symptoms of PTSD. These effects are debilitating leaving most trauma survivors unable to function well in daily life,” says Siminoff.
Blaise Nyiribakwe, the lead instructor for Martial Arts for Justice, says from experience, the women have been able to recover their identity which had been blurred by trauma in the past 28 years after the Genocide.
He says the widows have also recovered their biological imperatives such as the sense of feeling safe as well as social engagement.
"Apart from healing from PSTD, we could witness that the ERT approach shifted them from a state of helplessness to a more resilient and joyful life,” Nyiribakwe says.
Dr Stephen Porges, one of the most well-known researchers today on the subject of the nervous system, has written many books and postulated the Polyvagal Theory in 1994.
His work has since changed the way we view PTSD and the ability to heal from the effects of trauma.
Master Dean says meeting Dr Porges was significant for him because his Polyvagal Theory gives us a language to explain how our nervous system operates, therefore, guides us in finding methodologies that are effective in healing and returning our body to healthy operation.
"Healing trauma is about bringing the individual back to a place of safety. In trauma safety was lost and essentially the nervous system has just gone into protection mode. So even after 28 years our job is to re-program and tell the nervous system that it is now safe,” says Master Dean.