Jeannette and Joseph's Story

Jeannette and Joseph's Story

Men Engaged: Rebuilding Relationships

Jeannette is a member of a VSL group from which she takes loans to invest in income generating projects. 

Her and her husband, Joseph, didn't have any land of their own, so they decided to build a house on the land of Jeannette's parents. At first, they were comfortable in their own home. But their relationship deteriorated when neighbors began telling Joseph that Jeannette was cheating on him. Because of this, Joseph and Jeannette began arguing all the time and their relationship was no longer based on caring love.

Joseph finally decided to leave Jeannette: "My wife came to see me several times trying to get me back home, but I refused and told her that I did not love her anymore. However, this was not true in my heart." 

One day a VSL village agent invited Jeannette to attend a men engage training, and she invited Joseph to join her. By the fourth session, Joseph began asking for news of their son and asked to come back home. They continued with the sessions together and their relationship gradually improved. Jeannette said, " we engaged in dialogue again and my husband apologized to me for listening to rumors when his own investigations did not show that they held any truth."

Today, this is a happy family, sharing domestic work together, taking shared decisions and supporting each other. They regret the time they lost, but they are optimistic for what they will achieve together in the future.

  • PublicationDate: 2015
  • Author(s): CARE Rwanda
  • Related Programs: Vulnerable Women Program
  • Related Projects: Men Engaged Project
  • Media Type: Document
Published in Case studies