Duhumurizanye Iwacu Rwanda (English: Comfort each other in one’s neighborhood) is a Rwandan non-governmental organization, whose main focus is to implement community-based sociotherapy in Bugesera and Gatsibo District in the Eastern province of Rwanda. The NGO was created in 2011 by sociotherapy facilitators who had been trained in 2008 by the NGO Faith Victory Association.
The organisation has the vision to contribute to building Rwandan communities which are united, peaceful, and prosperous and moving them towards sustainable reconciliation and equitable distribution of resources for the well-being of all. DIR has a mission of supporting community-led effort to socio-economic transformation through community based approaches aiming at healing of psycho‐social wounds and laying a foundation of sustainable peace and development.
The organisation pursues the following specific objectives:
- To restore human dignity and communal safety
- To reduce psychosocial stress and enhance mental health in society
- To support the government efforts in creating unity and reconciliation.
DIR is currently implementing community-based sociotherapy in the Eastern Province. The organization also started sociotherapy projects in refugee camps in southern province.
To move toward achieving the objectives, the organisation has implemented a number of programmes, including:
- Psychological heath Care and Peacebuilding Programme: in this programme, DIR has implemented the following community outreach activities: Community based Sociotherapy; Healing the Wounds of Identity Conflicts ; Individual counselling; and Family therapy.
- Social- economic transformation programme which has mainly consisted of organising trainings community development, interpreneurship and micro-finance.
- Good governance Development with a particular focus on developing active bystandarship.
DIR works alongside the communities. Its programmes are designed to be benefited by the members of community as a whole, though some of the projects have specifically targeted:
- Youth
- Genocide survivors
- Ex-prisoners who committed the crimes of genocide
- Orphans and widows
- HIV-affected People.
In the areas where it is implementing its grassroots initiatives, the organisation is known to significantly contribute to:
- Promoting a culture of peace, unity and reconciliation aimed at sustainable development among our target groups;
- Fighting against gender‐based violence and promote family wellbeing;
- Establishing strategies to fight poverty through income generating activities among small groups of people; and
- Facilitating processes that eradicate divisions and help communities through capacity‐ building programmes aimed at the transformation of the society.
