Helping Girls and Young Women in Bujumbura Slum

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.