PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH OF THE PROJECT ON REINFORCING COMMUNITY CAPACITY FOR SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH SOCIETAL TRAUMA HEALING.
VACANCIES FOR DATA COLLECTORS
Positions: 50 Data Collectors/Enumerators
- Background
Prison Fellowship Rwanda in partnership with Interpeace, Haguruka, and DIDE is implementing the “reinforcing community capacity for social cohesion through societal trauma healing program” in 5 districts: Nyabihu, Musanze; Nyamagabe, Nyagatare, and Ngoma. The program is targeting the families of genocide survivors, ex-genocide inmates, ex-combatants as well as returnees, and current inmates from Ngoma, Nyagatare, Musanze, and Nyamagabe correctional facilities and their families.
Rwanda has identified mental health and trauma healing as areas of priority. A 2018 Mental Health Survey revealed a high prevalence of mental health disorders, particularly among survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. In addition, the country’s National Unity and Reconciliation Policy recognizes “serious levels of trauma” as a major effect of the genocide that still weighs heavily on society today. It identifies the healing of psychological wounds as a guiding principle on which unity and reconciliation are established. High levels of trauma, anxiety, and depression make it more difficult for people to trust and forgive each other. Trauma affects the ability to open up, receive and trust others, and it is a major cause of inter-community suspicions, especially between groups of genocide survivors and former genocide prisoners. This has limited people’s ability to cooperate in shared, mutually beneficial economic activities. Based on that observation, Rwanda’s 4th Health Sector Strategic Plan emphasizes the need for holistic innovative programs that simultaneously promote mental health service provision, advance social cohesion and support sustainable livelihoods.
Interpeace and its partners have designed a program focusing on the linkage between psychosocial wellbeing, reconciliation, and socio-economic development with a goal of reinforcing social cohesion and sustainable peace through scaling up community-based healing initiatives. The Programme is in line with, and will further inform, the Government’s policy of establishing community mental health services to improve the uptake among traumatized individuals of Government-funded mental health support.
Purpose of the participatory research
Societies that have experienced long-term exposure to violent conflict undergo significant transformations which have lasting effects on individuals, communities, and the state. Despite divergent perspectives on the intergenerational transmission of trauma, in societies that are traumatized by ethnic conflict, younger generations are often asked, consciously or unconsciously, to perpetuate a certain mental representation of the historical event and to maintain large-group ethnic markers. The potential of trauma to compromise efforts to reconcile and rebuild societies after violent conflict is increasingly recognized by the peace building and development communities. Studies from various countries have shown that people exposed to traumatic experiences run a greater risk of poor life outcomes, including compromised physical health, risky behaviours like dropping out of school or substance abuse, poor economic self-sufficiency, or poor parenting skills for the next generation. Excessive use of drugs among youth and teen pregnancies have become both a public health concern and a family challenge in Rwanda.
While some studies have been conducted to suggest that trauma and violence are transmitted from one generation to another, little attention is paid to the connection between historical wounds, dysfunctional families, and children’s engagement in risky behaviours, hence the need to examine the causal relations
Through the societal healing program Prison Fellowship Rwanda is looking for qualified and highly motivated candidates of high moral character and professional integrity to conduct data collection under participatory action research. Data collection will last at least 12 working days and will be conducted in September 2023.
- Key Responsibilities
In close collaboration with the consultant, the data collectors will undertake the following main tasks:
- Ensure that the study is carried out ethically and according to applicable laws and regulations;
- Collect quality data using both qualitative and quantitative tools/methods;
- Enter and send timely collected data via allocated tablets;
- Ensure that the data is collected from the right households and people (as selected by the team leaders);
- Ensure that collected data reflects responses provided by respondents and that it is well captured in the required format/software;
- Document and communicate to the field supervisor issues encountered during data collection exercise;
- Attend after-data collection evaluation workshop to share experiences with other enumerators and local experts;
- Check the quality of transcripts and translations;
- Contribute to the interpretation of data and analysis where necessary;
- Perform other activities as needed and indicated by the field supervisor or consultant;
- Avoid causing conflicts and troubles with other team members during the field work;
Essential skills and qualifications
The desired candidates should meet the following requirements:
- Holding at least a bachelor’s degree in any social sciences field;
- Prior experience with quantitative and qualitative data collection on reconciliation, social cohesion, mental health, and livelihood (at least 2 recommendations);
- A good understanding of the sociopolitical context of Rwanda is a pre-requisite;
- Prior experience with tablets and smartphones is an asset;
- Prior experience in providing psychosocial support to people with psychological/emotional problems is an asset;
- Excellent communication in English and Kinyarwanda is mandatory;
- Ability to maintain anonymity/confidentiality and trust with people.
How to apply
To apply, please send the following by e-mail to recruitment.pfrwanda@gmail.com attaching the following:
- Degree and ID;
- CV (maximum 3 pages);
- Two recommendations of previous relevant work;
- Please include ‘’Data Enumerator’’ in the subject line of the application e-mail.
Prison Fellowship Rwanda will only be able to call the short-listed candidates. The application deadline is on 4th September 2023. The application can be addressed to the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship Rwanda.
For more information about Prison Fellowship Rwanda, consult: www.pfrwanda.org
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