I am Niyonsenga Chrisserie, a Rwandan woman and mother of this generation. I am an experienced professional with a background in education and adult training. I work for ADTS (Association pour le Developpement et la Transformation Sociale – the Association for Development and Social Transformation) in Rwanda as programme officer for Community Sustainable Development. I am one of ADTS founder members and I am one of TFT Diploma Course graduates from 2005. After the TFT diploma course, I really changed – in my personality, my behavior and my ways of working. I really understood myself differently.
I am now a vibrant trainer and mentor of TFT in my country and am open-minded and results-oriented, ready to learn from experiences. I enjoy overcoming challenges and I am an optimistic person who has developed a mature and strong approach to any situation that I am presented with. I enjoy team work for best performance and I have a good ability of creativity and to motivate others, coupled with communication and innovation skills. From TFT, I have become a skilled trainer/ facilitator, mentor and I am excellent in working with others to achieve success at the right time. Moreover, I am a positive, hardworking and talented woman who loves making a difference and creating something new in the journey of my life.
The work of my organisation
The Association pour le Développementet la Transformation Sociale (ADTS) is public interest NGO that works at the grassroots level. Our vision is of ‘a society where all members are active, cohesive and autonomous and actively participate in achieving a just and prosperous world’. It was established in Rwanda on 1 April 1998 and was legally recognized by the Rwandan Government in 2003. The work of my organization includes the following:
- Women economic empowerment: The training on income-generating activities is organized for women in 3 Districts (Gakenke, Burera and Musanze) and 1042 vulnerable women groups are created for savings and loans. These savings are done weekly and regrouped – so that in 1042 groups there are around 26050 women. TFT training is crosscutting – in this domain of women empowerment, the TFT methods are everywhere – from the beginning to the end of our processes and projects. To empower women we start by using listening surveys to identify generative themes.All groups have to pass through a TFT introductory workshop. The trainers must pass through the four phases of training using TFT (three phases to understand the theory and TFT in general and one phase of training of trainers).
- Building peaceful families among Rwandan communities: These activities focus on capacity building of working groups, community awareness on ending domestic violence through the sensitization meetings and TFT introduction workshops. Around 6427 people have been trained and participated in different sensitization events.
- Training for Transformation organized and provided to different partners and beneficiaries inside and outside Burundi. TFT has helped participants to consider and assess the prevailing situation in their personal lives and communities as far as conflict transformation and the improvement of life conditions are concerned. TFT created more confidence among participants and gave room for active participation in the training and after training. With TFT everyone had his/her own contribution to give in their respective communities. Participants realized that TFT was more appropriate to talk about their realities and stories. In this regard, participants came up with strong commitment and the ways to change things for a better future.
- Capacity building on adult learning participatory methodologies: Field staff from local and international NGOs, volunteer committed citizens – from community members and local authorities – are trained in participatory approaches that can be used in adult learning. This capacity building supported professionals in their career as it boosted their self confidence, their leadership skills and their comfort in speaking about their work.
Challenges and Highlights from TFT
The limited funding concerning TFT training is still a challenge and the mind set change is a long process that demands self-determination and the efforts from different partners. Nevertheless, the TFT approach is hopeful to me and my organization. Now my organization is a champion in adult learning and trainings with different participative approach in my country. Based on the TFT approach, we developed different manuals and modules that can be used in different trainings and workshops.
For me personally, from TFT, I redefined my personal goals and my leadership skills as being proactive and taking initiative in the face of any challenge or any situation. TFT improved my inner-capacities and self esteem that I can use for the good. After TFT, I became a vibrant woman in my society and I built a strong network with others. In general TFT helped me to be transformed, changed, healed and to be a woman with a dream, vision and action.
