FMA in Burundi

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Restoring Health, Hope, and Peace: Providing Health Care in Post-War Burundi

“Before I went to FWA, I would remember that I had been raped, that I have a child without a father to take care of her, and I would become crazy.  Sometimes I would become foolish and I would think of running into the road [commit suicide].  But when I went to FWA, I became human.”  –Maria Golette, a FWA patient

The people of Kamenge, Burundi face many interconnected challenges in the aftermath of Burundi’s 12-year civil war.  Among these challenges are extreme poverty, the country’s highest HIV/AIDS rate (16%), no healthcare, pervasive sexual violence, food insecurity, lack of potable water, and deep psychological trauma from the years of war.  Women, like Maria Golette, are made particularly vulnerable in this post-conflict environment and are often left without hope for the possibilities of a better future.

In this talk, Alexandra Douglas tells the story of the Friends Women’s
Association (FWA), an organization which was founded by and for
Burundian women in Kamenge to empower each other to work towards
the recovery of personal and community peace and health.   Through a
small, community-based clinic, FWA provides comprehensive health
care, psychological counseling, community trauma healing, nutritional
support, micro-credit loans, and women’s empowerment programs. 
They work under the belief that where there is health, there is hope. 
And when there is hope, there is the possibility of long-term peace. 

Mott House, 122 Maryland Ave NE

Light snacks and drinks will be provided.  Participants are invited to bring a brown-bag lunch.

 

About Alexandra Douglas

Alexandra Douglas is the program manager for the Friends Women’s Association (FWA), a grassroots women’s clinic focused on HIV/AIDS, sexual violence, and post-genocide trauma in Kamenge, Burundi.  Alexandra came to FWA as an extended service volunteer of the African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams after working in Washington D.C. with the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Prior to that, she spent two years  advocating with and doing research for sex workers and trafficked persons in Cochabamba, Bolivia, San Francisco, CA, and the Twin Cities, MN. Her work and passion are concentrated on the intersections between gender equality, community development, health access, and conflict.