“When they have opportunities to share their stories of the painful past, people can have time to get relief, express emotions, and slowly build resilience,” says Felix Bigabo, a psychologist who coordinates these villages.
Niyonagire has seen this work firsthand, having fled Bugesera District when she was 21 years old, but resettling in the MBYO Reconciliation Village 11 years later. Here, with her kids, she lives alongside Xavier Nemeye, the man who killed her mother and sisters, among other perpetrators.
“I used to always feel like I was going to die, like I had no hope for living,” Niyonagire says. “After telling them that I had forgiven them, I immediately started feeling a sense of peace in my heart,” and her PTSD and suicidality ultimately subsided.
Beyond these collective healing efforts, a big part of mental health recovery is reintegrating patients into their day-to-day lives and giving them a sense of purpose. Partners in Health thus offers psychosocial rehabilitation services, or self-help groups, as part of the MESH program. They train patients with mental illness to make small handicrafts, raise livestock, or farm crops like rice and sorghum, providing start-up resources and empowering them to create small cooperatives.
“Interacting with others, they no longer feel useless,” says Mulindabigwi. “They feel dignified because there is something they’re involved in, and they’re trying to contribute to the progress of their families.”
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