International Alert

Why your donation matters

Children in war-torn countries want to go back to school. But are too afraid, memories of past atrocities to family and friends linger. When war ends, the threat of violence doesn’t go away. War tears communities apart & building a school or a home is only part of the real work that needs to begin.

International Alert is the UK’s leading peacebuilding charity working to ensure peace lasts in communities affected by violent conflict in Africa, Asia, the Middle East & Latin America. Building peace is essential, because when an environment remains volatile, it takes more than infrastructure to ensure that the situation doesn’t revert back to war.

Building peace takes time, but with your help peace is possible – please donate

Case study: donations in action

Hakuzimana Epaphrodite, called Nzovu, is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In 1994, during the Rwandan genocide, Nvozu lost all his family: his wife, his children, his brothers & many close relatives. Nzovu survived the genocide, but only after spending several days hiding among corpses. Since then, he lives with the fear of being killed & of seeing his new family slain as well. Every day he gets up at 3am to watch over his family’s safety. He does not sleep & often thinks about death.

Nzovu joined Alert’s project on reconciliation and reintegration, an opportunity for him to start coming to terms with his past.

“Taking part in this course saved me, as my health was deteriorating as a consequence of my suffering. I am determined to use the skills I gained to help members of my family and neighbours who are as well unknowingly suffering from trauma or failing to understand people suffering from trauma to help them heal”.