Restoring prosperity and family togetherness through the adoption of family planning
by Jean Baptiste MIRINDI (SBCC Officer, Kalehe)
When Elisée Mirindi experienced the joy of giving birth, " I was overwhelmed and optimistic about a happy life,” she says. Living in Tchofi, a small village on the shores of Lake Kivu in the territory of Kalehe, the social pressure to have several children, accentuated by local custom, pushed many women to bear as many children as possible. She was not spared: "Very soon, not long after the delivery of my first baby, I was pregnant again. In the same year, I had another baby. Reckless!” she muses. In the countryside, the role of the woman is primordial in terms of agricultural activities, but for Madame Elisée, this was not the priority: "For me, it was no longer possible to help my husband in any activity. Our agricultural performance was worsening.". She adds, "Although the situation I was in was unbearable, I saw no alternative and I totally clung to the idea of living God's will. As if that wasn't enough, very soon at the beginning of the following year, I was pregnant with a third child”.
The situation experienced by Ms. Elisée is common to many women in the community. Although difficult to question, the consequences are obvious and disastrous: "I was constantly sick, moody and depressed from the illusion of a happy life". The family relationship was also gradually eroding: "My husband was no longer happy, and he had no reason to be: the house was no longer well kept, it constantly smelled of excreta. Personally, I couldn't take care of my body the way I wanted to, and the financial means to do so were impossible to find given my total dependence on my husband's meagre income. The family was on the verge of crumbling".
When the activities of the health-nutrition component of the FSP programme started, Mrs Elisée took part in the various training and animation sessions on family planning, and her awareness was immediate: "I spoke to my husband and we had to act immediately. Looking at the poor state of our family, we had to urgently and deeply rectify the situation of our family. We opted for a 3-year implant".
The result is conclusive both economically and within the family: "I decided to go back to the last year of high school and I obtained my state diploma, while my husband took advantage of this moment of stability to complete his higher education and is currently a secondary school teacher. I, in turn, have taken up business activities that have enabled us to save money to buy a piece of land and build a semi-permanent house’’.
When the time was right, the couple decided to have another child and its arrival was not disruptive: "The baby is doing very well, unlike the others who were malnourished in their younger years. We are happy and confident about the future of our children’’.
Because of Mrs. Elisée's exemplary character and personality, she was elected mother leader, a responsibility that gives her the duty to organise home visits to her neighbours to encourage them to subscribe to Family Planning. Mrs. Sifa RUTEBUKA, a neighbouring woman, is delighted with the role Elisée has played: "After noticing that Elysée's life was improving, I used another method of family planning and now my child is 2 years old and I am not yet pregnant’’.
There is reason to hope for the development of local communities, although there is still a long way to go. Elisée remains convinced of a fundamental ingredient for the development of families: "being able to regain control of births has allowed us to be serene, peaceful and confident".