In August of 2018, director Rachel Cohen visited the Common Threads Project site in eastern DRC. While there, she was able to meet with our partner, Dr. Denis Mukwege, a pioneering surgeon who specializes in repairing the physical damage of gang rape.

In collaboration with Dr. Denis Mukwege Foundation and Panzi hospital, we have launched a project in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

In August 2017, 15 Congolese psychologists and psychosocial assistants participated in our experiential training course to prepare for leading multiple CTP women’s circles at Maison Dorcas of Panzi Foundation in Bukavu, and in the mining zones of Kamituga and Luhwindja, where sexual violence and exploitation of women has been most pervasive. The local staff embraced the CTP approach as their own.  They named the program “Kamba Moja,” (Swahili for ‘the thread that unites us‘). Three women’s circles were carried out during the pilot of the program, which concluded in August of 2018. The program is preparing to scale up by adding eight new women’s circles in 2019.

 

View photos from the DRC