Karinda Viateur and Kwizera Anitha — Karenge Cell, Nyarubuye Village

Karinda Viateur, 37 years old, has been married to Kwizera Anitha, 38 years old, for the past 17 years. Together, they have three children and live in Karenge Cell, Nyarubuye Village.

Before participating in the training, their relationship was deeply troubled. Most of their conflicts were caused by family property disputes and Viateur's excessive alcohol consumption. Whenever they harvested crops, Viateur would sell all the produce and spend the money in bars without considering the needs of his family, even when the children at home were hungry.

At one point, Viateur stole 50,000 Rwandan francs from the Dutabarane savings group where Anitha served as treasurer. He used all the money on alcohol. When Anitha confronted him about it, he beat her, forcing her to leave home and return to her parents because she had no means to repay the group. She stayed there for three months and only returned after her father sold part of his farm and gave her 30,000 francs to help cover the debt.

During that difficult period, Anitha carried all the responsibilities at home, including taking care of the children and managing the household alone. Viateur contributed nothing financially, and his neglect even affected his personal hygiene and appearance. According to Anitha, the situation became so severe that she started keeping food and household items with neighbors to prevent him from stealing and selling them for alcohol money.

When they were selected to participate in the training, Viateur was initially reluctant to attend, but Anitha encouraged him until he finally agreed.

Anitha shared that immediately after the first training session, her husband returned home and sincerely apologized for the pain he had caused her. She told him that all she wanted was to see genuine change in his behavior.

Since then, significant improvements have taken place in their family:

• After harvesting beans, they agreed together to sell part of the harvest and use the money to buy a cow.
• Viateur no longer spends his time in bars and has started sharing household responsibilities with his wife.
• Whenever the family earns money, they now sit together, discuss the household needs, and make joint decisions on how to use it.
• Viateur has stopped fighting and has become calmer and more responsible.
• He is now clean, organized, and presentable, unlike before when he appeared neglected and lived irresponsibly.

Anitha expressed her sincere hope that Viateur will continue on this positive path and never return to his former behavior.

Viateur also shared that he continues to ask his wife for forgiveness because he recognizes the pain and suffering he caused her over the years. He explained that all the training topics were meaningful to him, but the session on the "New Planet" touched him most deeply because it reflected the ways in which he had violated his wife's rights and subjected her to different forms of violence.

The couple expressed deep gratitude to Benishyaka for thinking of their family and giving them the opportunity to participate in the training. They committed themselves to continuing to apply the lessons learned so that they can become role models within their village and inspire other families toward positive change.