Pax Christi International is pleased to announce the publication of a new booklet: Empowering Religious Sisters – A Journey of Nonviolence, Healing, and Protection: A Tested Model for Faith-Based Peacebuilding in Burundi (2024–2025).
This 16-page resource documents the development, methodology, and outcomes of a unique programme implemented in partnership with the Union des Supérieures Majeures au Burundi (USUMA). Through a Training of Trainers model, the project equipped religious sisters with tools in active nonviolence, trauma healing, conflict transformation, and, for the first time in this context, Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA).
The booklet offers a detailed presentation of the programme’s guiding principles, field-based training methods, and community impact. It includes powerful testimonies from sisters who, following the training, returned to their dioceses and parishes to train over 6,600 individuals, including religious communities, young people, teachers, and local leaders.
Structured to serve as a best practice model, this resource is designed for organisations, Church actors, and peacebuilding practitioners who seek to localise and replicate similar initiatives in other countries or contexts. It also responds to a growing recognition of the importance of safeguarding and women’s leadership in faith-based peacebuilding efforts.
The programme and this publication were made possible through the generous financial support of missio Aachen.
Read more about each phase of the programme below, from the initial training of trainers to the final evaluation.
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