Parenting Groups Helping Solve Household Conflict in Rwanda

Parenting Groups Helping Solve Household Conflict in Rwanda

Viviane Mukandekezi is a mother of five children in Kinazi, Southern Rwanda. She and her husband are both workers in fields surrounding their village. Beside the poverty the family is facing, Viviane was overwhelmed with the growing responsibility at home. As life became more challenging, her husband slowly retreated from all of their financial responsibilities, their children and the household. He used to refer the children to their mother if they needed anything. Beside education and housekeeping tasks, she had to purchase everything from her own earnings.
When Viviane joined the USAID Twiyubake savings group, her youngest child was linked to the local Early Childhood Development (EDC) center. In the parenting group, which she attends twice a month, they discuss topics such as family planning, child protection, positive masculinity, positive parenting and gender roles. They also discuss different ECD topics, including early education, nutrition, child health and maternal health, hygiene and sanitation, and strengthening family and community support to better care for young children.

Viviane shared her problem with her parenting group members and a USAID Twiyubake case management volunteer trained in gender-based violence and positive masculinity visited the household to discuss the issue and try to mediate between her and her husband. The counselling was fruitful and Viviane’s husband began to re-engage with his family and to take on responsibilities in the household. Viviane sees an improvement in her household as the husband is not deferring most tasks and responsibilities to her anymore.

Viviane is not only satisfied with the benefits of the parenting group, but also with the services of the ECD center. Since June 2016, her son has been attending the center established by local partner Duhamic Adri. The center operates from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 11:00 am with the aim of preparing children aged 3-5 years for formal schooling. During these 3 hours, the children learn to sing, count, listen to stories, socialize with other children and have a light meal under the close supervision of 10 dedicated volunteers.