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In Rwanda, the impact of the genocide is felt at the individual, communal, and national levels. The consequences of violence are not unique to Rwanda; but the extent to which forgiveness and reconciliation have occurred over the past 29 years is remarkable. How can someone forgive those responsible for the killing of their close family members and loved ones? Even if one can come to forgive, how can this process be replicated or scaled across a community, a nation — a world?
This project is a researcher-practitioner partnership between Aegis Trust's Kigali Genocide Memorial and the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development (IARYD) at Tufts University. The project team, led by Jonathan Tirrell from IARYD and co-directed by Freddy Mutanguha of Aegis Trust , aims to build an actionable theory-of-change model and associated measurement tools to enable future evaluations and scaling of the Aegis Trust forgiveness and peace-and-values programs.
The following questions will be explored:
The team plans to carry out mixed-methods, participatory action research (PAR) in collaboration with exemplary community peacebuilders in Rwanda. This will begin with conducting needs assessments, focus group discussions, and qualitative interviews to inform the development of quantitative surveys. Next, these measurement tools will be tested and refined with adolescents, teachers, and the PAR group engaged in peacebuilding. Outputs will include at least four tools related to forgiveness, critical thinking, empathy, and personal responsibility.
