In March, MenCare+ Rwanda, known locally as “Bandebereho” (“role model”), will launch its men’s group therapy program “Pillars of Peace.” The Pillars of Peace groups will work with men to end cycles of violence and promote peace at home and in the community. The approach has been adapted from Living Peace, a program developed and piloted by MenCare’s co-coordinator Equimundo and partners in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi with the World Bank’s LOGiCA program. In February, 72 local group facilitators were trained on how to conduct the 14-week group therapy sessions by staff of MenCare+ Rwanda’s coordinator, the Rwanda Men’s Resource Center, and mental health professionals from four district hospitals. In 2015, the Pillars of Peace groups will reach more than 1,000 men in four districts of Rwanda.
