American Association for Rwandan Women
Newsletter #2 | February 2007
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Step Up! Fundraiser - 2006
The Step Up! fundraiser on November third was a huge success. Over 200 people joined the celebration of our second year of existence and to help the women of Rwanda. Ambassador Joyce Leader spoke on the topic of “Conflict, Women and Human Security: The Step Up! Contribution to Lasting Peace in Rwanda.”

Through the silent auction, ticket sales, card sales and donations, over $8000 was added to the Step Up bank account. We are grateful to all of you who participated and gave so generously.

In January, the board met and voted to allocate $6000 to start a beekeeping project with the ABASA women in Butare. (ABASA is a Rwandan word meaning “we are all the same”) The women are all survivors of extreme sexual violence and struggle to survive with subsistence agriculture. The provision of 30 beehives and a year’s training and guidance in the management of hives and the gathering of honey will begin almost immediately. We will also use $1000 for a second year’s rent of a building to facilitate the small business of sewing school uniforms.

November/December trip
Dr. Barbara Bauer returned to Rwanda on November 28th to continue the training mission Step Up started in April. In conjunction with Solace Ministries (solaceusa.org) and the Tinsley Foundation
(RwandaGirlsSchool.org), Dr. Bauer and four other volunteers trained 65 participants in Introduction to Trauma Psychology. At first, it was thought that only women would be attending, however 14 men enthusiastically joined in. Most of the women were genocide widows who were working as outreach counselors through Solace Ministries to help other widows.

Upcoming Trips to Rwanda
Dr. Barbara Bauer will be returning to Kigali, Rwanda in May to continue trauma counseling training. Each of her training sessions have enrollments which continue to grow, and the attendees always ask when she will be back to provide them more training. During her two week stay she will also be checking in with the ABASA women who received the beehives that were funded by the November fundraiser. She will provide us a reportof her trip at our May meeting.

In July, Bea Gallimore will return to Butare, Rwanda with Dr. Barbara Bauer. During this trip Bea will be meeting with the ABASA women and seeing for herself how the beehive project is going and what further steps need to be taken to make these women financially independent. There will also be a meeting with the mayor of Butare to discuss the counseling center land which he so kindly donated to Step Up!. Bea and Barbara will report back to us about their trip allowing us to plan for prioritizing our projects.

If you plan on being in the Columbia area and would like to attend one of our meetings, please call us at (573)445-5820 and we will let you know the date and time of our next meeting.

Schools
A school principal spoke with Dr. Bauer and talked about how even primary school children, who were not alive during the genocide, are showing signs of trauma. They may be withdrawn, have difficulty with attendance and learning, report nightmares and sleep disturbances and show signs of anxiety and distress. From studies of the children of the Holocaust survivors, we know that symptoms of trauma may be transmitted down through the generations. Step Up’s mission of improving mental health availability is vitally needed. Your tax deductible contributions are applied 100% to help the genocide survivors.

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