Marie Chantal, a leader in the Musanze district, shared her journey of transformation through the Ingo Z’amahoro project by Haguruka, aimed at fostering peace within families and communities. She reflected on the prevalent conflicts in households, including her own, stemming from misunderstandings and lack of awareness of rights and responsibilities.
Through the project, Marie Chantal and her husband received training that shifted their mindsets towards mutual respect and understanding in their marriage. She emphasizes, “Our mindsets have shifted. The conflicts we experienced stemmed from my husband’s unawareness of my rights as a wife, but that has changed now. I also had misconceptions.”
They learned to collaborate as a team, leading to improved family dynamics and the empowerment of women within their community. Marie Chantal shares, “What we learned is that married couples need to treat each other with kindness, and mutual respect, and understand that family assets belong to both partners collectively, not to one individual.”
Marie Chantal highlighted the positive impact on women’s status, noting increased confidence and active involvement in leadership roles. She says, “But now, women are actively involved in leadership. In our village, women exhibit confidence.”
Women now participate in decision-making processes and community development initiatives, including forming savings groups for economic empowerment. Marie Chantal adds, “We were encouraged to support others facing similar issues, to share our knowledge with them.”
Overall, Marie Chantal expressed gratitude for the impact of Haguruka’s interventions and urges continued expansion to further empower families and communities for sustainable development.