MGHD 2024

Background: Globally, more than 121 million unintended births occur each year, and at least 10 million involve adolescents in low-income countries. In Rwanda, teenage pregnancies have grown from 19,000 in 2020 to 23,000 in 2021, with more unreported cases due to cultural silence combined with social norms. However, there exists a close association between unintended pregnancy and GBV in Rwanda which contributes to family conflicts.(Rurangirwa et al., 2017). Therefore, the Ingo z'amahoro project was implemented by Haguruka to mitigate conflicts between young unmarried mothers and their parents while addressing GBV through intergenerational dialogues. There is no previous study done to explore the impact of this project in mitigating conflicts between young unmarried mothers and their parents. The Intergenerational Transmission of conflict theory is used in this research to show how changes in factors like parental involvement and conflict resolution techniques affect and are affected by the empowerment of young unmarried mothers over time. This study sought to explore the impact of intergenerational dialogue, in the Ingo z’Amahoro project in resolving intergenerational conflicts in Musanze and Gasabo districts of Rwanda by July 2024. Specifically, by investigating the perceived effectiveness of intergenerational dialogues in young unmarried mothers and their parents. Methods: A qualitative exploratory design was used for this study. In-depth interviews were conducted using semi-structured interview guides, and 32 participants were recruited through the purposive sampling method. They comprised 12 young unmarried mothers, 12 parents, and 8 key informants including 4 community facilitators, 2 district officers, and 2 local community leaders at cell level in the Ingo z’Amahoro project. The study had ethical approval with reference number Ref: UGHE-IRB/2024/301 and participants gave voluntary consent. Interviews were conducted in the vernacular Kinyarwanda. Transcription and translation were performed in English. The transcripts were deidentified and coded inductively and deductively. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis with the assistance of Dedoose software. Results: Three themes emerged from this study. These themes, the perceived benefits of intergenerational dialogues by young unmarried mothers and their parents, socioeconomic setbacks that would hinder effective participation in the dialogues, and methods for integrating the project to guarantee its sustainability or preferred recommendations of what needs to be done otherwise to ensure the effectiveness of the intervention in the future. Considering teenage pregnancy, these findings offer a nuanced perspective of the project's influence on reducing intergenerational conflicts and adopting family and community resilience. Conclusion: Through organized intergenerational dialogues between young unmarried mothers and their parents, the Ingo z' Amahoro project has become recognized as a crucial effort in promoting understanding and reconciliation between young unmarried mothers and their parents. Efforts must concentrate on enhancing long-term support and expanding community involvement, consequently perpetuating favorable family relationships and enduring reconciliation.