Yvette Mulongo Kabwe of IMA World Health presents IMA's USHINDA project in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help women overcome sexual violence. The project enables women to become involved in the democratic process and teaches them critical life skills.

1. Holistic & Positive Approaches
for Overcoming Sexual Violence and
Empowering Women in Eastern DR Congo

2. Safi’s Story (Kitutu HZ)
Safi was 34 years old and the
mother of 7 daughters living in
Kitutu HZ of South Kivu.
One day she was hunting
vegetables and firewood just
outside her village when five
rebels attacked and raped her.
When her husband came to
search for her, the same rebels
killed him, leaving her to care
for their seven children.

3. Kabibi’s Story (Ferekeni HZ)
Kabibi was 20 years old with
her first-born one-month-old
infant when she was raped in
front of her husband by a
group of rebels and taken into
the forest with her ​​baby.
A year later, and 7 months
pregnant with another child,
she escaped. It was not easy
to persuade her to keep the
pregnancy and support this
second child.

4. This is the context
within which IMA World
Health and its partners
operate every day in
eastern DR Congo.
This is the story of Project
USHINDI and how it is
helping “To Overcome” the
daily horrors of sexual and
gender-based violence.

5. DR Congo Overview
• Surface: 2,345 million km²
(2nd only to Algeria in
Africa)
• 11 provinces including
Kinshasa province
• Population: ± 70 million
– 50% < 15 year
– 70% rural
– 6,3 children per
women
• Income: 70% < 1$ / day

6. Status of Women
• Women form a majority of
the population (53%)
• Their status remains low
with many inequalities
and inequities prevailing
in all aspects of life
• Women and girls become
pregnant as a result of
rape, and may become
infected with HIV,
dramatically altering their
future, livelihood and
prospects.

7. Maternal Dangers
• Maternal Mortality high
(540/100.000 NV)
• Contraceptive Prevalence
low: 5,8% (DHS 2007)
• Women and girls abducted
by militia and rebel groups
are forced to become ‘wives’
and fighters. They are also
subjected to sexual violence
and stigmatized as child
mothers
80% of the population are believers

8. Project Ushindi (“to overcome”)
Overcoming Sexual and Gender-Based
Violence in Eastern DR Congo
(2010-2015)
Project Ushindi implements holistic
approaches to combat Sexual and
Gender Based Violence (SGBV) by:
1) Increasing access to timely and quality services for
individuals affected by SGBV;
2) Improving the quality of services and interventions for
individuals and communities affected by SGBV;
3) Reducing the vulnerability of individuals to future acts
of abuse and violence
Four key project components implemented in
ten health zones and 108 health centers :
• Psycho-social
• Medical
• Legal
• Economic

9. Ushindi Project Map P. Orientale
Maniema
S. Kivu
N.Kivu
~ 3 Implementing Partners
~ 4 Technical Partners
~ 10 Health Zones
~ 108 Health Centers
~ 1.3 Million People

10. Safe House in Mwenga HZ, S. Kivu Safe House in Komanda HZ, P. Orientale
Safe Houses are community bridges managed by an implementing
partners. There is one safe house in each HZ that includes:
• Transit bedrooms for women and families referred from a health center
• Children's space for traumatized children or those who are part of a transit family
• Administrative offices for the local supervisor, legal officer, etc.
14,620 reported incidents since 2010 (70% SGBV):
- 87% are women - 34% are < 18 yrs. of age

11. Komanda Health Zone
• Health Center staff are trained & equipped in
the MOH Minimum Package of Activities,
including drugs, basic supplies, contraceptives
and Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) kits.
• 108 trained counselors provide counseling
to survivors and supervise project activities
• 50% of survivors are referred to the HCs by the
community or Safe Houses. Rape & Physical
Trauma represent 94% of cases

12. Each Safe House has a legal clinic
and counselor supported by the
ABA (American Bar Association) to:
• document cases of survivors
• accompany them to police or
tribunal
• document received judgments
• conduct family & social mediations
• follow up all cases to gov’t service
• sensitize communities on national
and international human rights tools
JudiciaryPoliceOfficersand paralegalsforLUBERO aftertrainingby Ushindi
8,491 people received legal assistance:
- 1,145 mediations negotiated
- 243 judgments attained

13. 1. Village Saving & Loan Associations
• Association members save money and
give out loans (12 mo. max.)
• VSLAs increase the economic & social
capital of the community.
• Ushindi has 432 VSLAs with 10,800
people (95% women) that have saved
nearly 130,000 USD in six months. A Sugulu VLSA in Mwenga HZ, S. Kivu
USHINDI's Socio-Economic Support Result
People who have completed VSLA cycle 13,110
Beneficiaries of IGA/micro project 5,432
Number of people assisted by social fund 6,415
People who completed literacy trainings 2,479
People receiving family planning services 12,342
Bread making and patisserie

14. 3. Community Mobilization
• 108 Community Committees (NOYAU)
with 2700 members are the “eyes” of the
community to Identify SGBV problems
• They are also often the source of
personnel to staff Safe Houses.
• 1,191 members in uniform providing
BCCCommunity Committee members for Lubero HZ, NK
2. Literacy Circles
• Encourage reading, writing and
arithmetic, e.g., income generation.
• Beneficiaries also learn life skills, e.g.,
SGBV, hygiene, & reproductive Health
• 2,479 people completing literacy training
Mental arithmetic in Luna literacy circle

15. 5. School Re-entry
• Ushindi has supported school re-
entry for 1350 vulnerable students
(33% who were rape survivors)
• The project pays not only school fees
but also provides student and teacher
SGBV information kits.
4. Youth Clubs
• Autonomous, mixed-gender, self-managed
clubs of 10-24 youth (aged 12-17 yrs).
• Weekly mtgs to share information and
experiences on SGBV, life skills, hygiene,
HIV/AIDs, reproductive health, etc.
Meeting of a children’s club in Komanda HZ

16. The Women’s Leadership
Project
WLP in an add-on project
to USHINDI that builds on
the project’s SGBV
platform to strengthen:
• Capacity for women’s
participation in the
democratic process and
conflict resolution.
• Awareness and use of family
planning and child spacing.

17. WLP in Action
• With its ethos of love, churches
have an important role to play
within victimized communities
to build safe places that
provide care, comfort and
hope.
• Here Pastor Harnolde provides
information to a Police Colonel
about the standard day method.
• She will, in turn, help raise
awareness about values and
benefices of family planning
with her subordinates .

18. CECA-20 Busts a Brothel
In Bulongo town, young girls were
forcibly prostituted in hut-based
brothels by local gangs
But a WLP-inspired Women’s
Association of the CECA-20 church
busted the brothel and freed the
young adolescent girls.
After a holistic counseling the girls
were safely re-integrated into their
families.

19. Nadine Fights Forced Early Marriages
Nadine is 27 years old. Her WLP-
empowered leadership is just one
example of how one woman can make
a difference in her community:
• I educate parents, especially fathers, to
keep girls in school.
• I've helped 18 girls in my village through
school this year.
• I teach teenagers about the
consequences of early marriage.
• Thank you Ushindi and WLP for coming
at the right time to wake us up about
Women’s Leadership.

20. Project Ushindi – Final Thoughts
• NOYAU GBV committee members report that families:
• Demonstrate respect for more shared household management;
• Practice more gender role equality; and
• Have noticeably reduced physical violence and denial of resources.
• Women and youth groups have raised community awareness to:
• Decrease SGBV stigmatization;
• Increase social reintegration of survivors; and
• Improved active listening by children of their parents
• At project mid-point, USHINDI partners and field agents have
• achieved 89% of targets during the last reporting period; and
• Achieved 52% of the Life-of-Project targets.

21. Merci!
MERCI
POUR
VOTRE
ATTENTION
THANK
YOU
FOR YOUR
ATTENTION