Rwanda National University has organized a colloquium on trauma and reconstruction in which possible creations and resilience are the pillar concerns for researchers and different professional from around the world.
The university organized the three-day international colloquium that started today and ends on September 13 with the collaboration of three Belgian universities including Universite Catholique de Louvain, Universite Libre de Bruxelles and Universite de Namur.
It comes in the wake of the “Project Interuniversitiare Cible, PIC” which has been supporting the process of post-Genocide reconstruction of Rwanda through research and training of mental health professionals assisting affected individuals and families.
A multi-disciplinary delegation of 40 international researchers from different countries and concentrated in psychology,psychiatry, psychopathology,anthropology,sociology,history, administration and conflict transformation are meeting in Kigali.
Charles Murigande, the UR deputy vice-chancellor for institutional advancement, said the university is sensitising citizens to know how to make the most of mental health experts.
“Rwandans still confuse mental problems with witchcraft,” he said.
The main cause of the trauma among post-Genocide generations is due to the lack of communication between parents and children, he said.
Eugene Rubingisa, a lecturer at School of Clinical Psychology said “In human kind, we feel safe when we know where we are from. We want to know our ancestors, what happened to them, and if we don’t get that information from direct relatives, we tend to search it on our own, which could be more stressing,”
The professionals are presenting and exchanging innovative ideas on methods and models of intervention, training and research in mental and community health in post-conflict countries.
It is the opportunity for clinicians and policy-makers to examine practices, review guidelines and evaluate clinical situations with intercultural realities and cultural diversities.
Thematic areas like inter alia, on reconstruction, resilience, and creativity, witness status, individual and collective memory, group, trans-and inter-generational trauma are being the center for discussions.
Delegations came from USA,Belgium,Switzerland, Canada, France, Italy,Scotland, Ecuador, Burundi and DR.Congo and 100 Rwandans from different universities, government institutions, national and international non-governmental organizations are also attending the colloquium.
