Trauma Care in April

The month of April is a very difficult time for most Rwandans. April 7, 2010 marks the sixteenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, where over one million Rwandans were killed in just under 100 days.

Sixteen years after the genocide is not a long time, and memories of the pain and loss are still raw and fresh in the minds of thousands of Rwandans. Many Rwandan survivors suffer from trauma and traumatic episodes during the period of April as they remember the horrific crimes experienced against them.

PFR operates a ministry to a group of 35 widows with HIV/AIDS. Many of these women were brutally raped as a genocide weapon by men infected with HIV/AIDS and most of the women lost their husbands in the 1994 genocide. The trauma the women have experienced is horrific and they are in great need of counseling, along with economic and nutritional assistance.

In order to address cases of trauma that many of these women experience, PFR partnered with a counselor from Norwegian Church Aid, to offer a creative and therapeutic way to equip the women to treat themselves and others to release the physical burdens of tension, anxiety, stress, and trauma that many of these women experience on a regular basis.

This is called "Thought Field Therapy," and is an effective and quick technique that can be used anywhere to treat those who struggle with anxiety, traumatic episodes, and other psychological problems.

The therapy follows a method where the individual can place physical pressure on acupuncture pressure points all over the body through a light and rhythmic beating from the hands on the forehead, temples, area above the lips, the chin, the chest, under the arm, and finger tips. The treatment can last for 10-20 minutes followed by deep breathing exercises. It has been proven to inspire a noticeable change in the body and mind of the individual by relaxing the body and mind. The therapy has been used on trauma cases from the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, but it can be used for many different psychological issues.

The HIV/AIDS women enjoyed learning how to conduct this physical treatment on themselves and on their friends. They can use this valuable therapy treatment anywhere, and it will be especially useful in April, when they are reminded of the horrific experiences they endured. Now they can calm themselves down and relieve the physical stress that accompanies their mourning through this effective treatment method.

Here are the women practicing the treatment on their friends. They can now help their friends calm down if they are experiencing distress or trauma as well as themselves.

PFR is thankful for our partnership with Norwegian Church Aid. Please continue to pray for Rwanda as the month of April continues and pray for PFR in the continuation of our reconciliation work in the Rwandan communities and prisons during this time.

Esperence Akimanizanye

For the past two years, PFR has offered a program to support a group of 35 widows from the genocide who are infected with HIV/AIDS. PFR's goal is to assist them in counseling the women (many are rape victims from the 1994 genocide), help the women create a shared business cooperative to generate income, and teach the women how to live healthy lives.

However, teaching can only go so far. Since the business cooperative is just beginning to take form (the women are only just beginning to sell their items, since it took them a very long time to learn how to make the crafts), many of the women do not have access to finances that let them live healthy lifestyles.

Today, a PFR staff member saw this woman, Esperence, who is infected with HIV/AIDS breastfeeding her baby.

Esperence could be infecting her baby with HIV/AIDS because she does not have enough money to feed her child alternative nutritional supplements. When she was explaining her situation to PFR staff members, tears were welling up in her eyes. She was in distress that she could not feed her own child. PFR staff thinks that the reason Esperance did not tell PFR staff earlier that she was breastfeeding her child is because she was embarrassed of her condition and her inability to help her own child.

Because of what happened today, PFR started looking around in other places where this could be happening. Two other women in the PFR women cooperative are struggling with this very same problem. Similarly, 12 HIV positive female inmates who have their babies with them in prison are forced to breast feed their children due to no other nutritional options in prisons.

While PFR hopes that in the near future, the women will make enough income from their sales in their cooperative to support themselves and their families, currently they are not receiving enough income to care for their health. While PFR is doing everything they can right now to make sure that these women get alternative nutritious supplies as soon as possible, the food is expensive and PFR is calling for additional support from our friends all over the world to help these women. PFR wants to be able to provide them with nutritional alternatives for their children until the women start to earn a steady income from their crafts.

Please donate now to allow PFR to provide alternate supplements for the babies and also for healthy food for the women. If you donate through PFI, please be sure to write "support PFR Women's HIV/AIDS Ministry" in the appropriate space.