Psychologist Recounts Experiences Ministering in Rwanda
By Yanira Rodriguez
In March 2003, Cecilia Yocum traveled to Rwanda, a country whose name conjures images of genocide. She took a handful of penny whistles and pink ribbons to an elementary school there. The reaction of the children would give her a sense of hope and a positive story to bring back to her congregation.
Yocum, 55, shared this and other experiences June 18 at the St. Petersburg Religious Society of Friends meeting house in the Old Southeast neighborhood. Yocum, a Quaker herself, spoke in the weekly meeting about her efforts through a Friends Peace Teams project, FPT, in helping heal victims of trauma and reduce violence in countries that have endured years of genocide, namely Rwanda.
After five years of planning and numerous vaccinations, Yocum, who has a doctorate in psychology, ministered to a civilian population in Rwanda, a country in central Africa where trust is scarce and war always imminent as a result of years of bloody conflict and instability.
"I need five volunteers," Yocum, in a soft but confident voice, tells those attending the meeting.
A young man dressed in jeans and a Hawaiian print shirt stood up. Then an older, more modestly clad man arose.
"We haven't been an equal opportunity faith all these years for nothing," she said.
Almost simultaneously, three women stood up and strolled toward the fireplace, where Yocum, dressed all in red, waited.
She gathered the group in a circle and began asking questions such as, "Stand in the circle if you have ever had a mother." The questions she asked became more and more serious, encouraging the group members to see the parallels in their lifestyles, families and social concerns.
Through this exercise, "Stand in the Circle," she said, she helped the group members focus on their similarities rather than their differences.
For years, she has been using these same techniques in Africa and with her own trauma patients from St. Petersburg and Tampa through her private practice. "Stand in a Circle," in particular, has been a favorite among the children she has counseled through Department of Children and Families services.
In order to appreciate the difficulty of FPT and Yocum's work in Africa, it is necessary to understand the depth of suffering through Rwanda's recent history.
When Yocum went to Rwanda, she worked in a country with almost 7 million people trying to overcome one of the most difficult decades in its ethnically divided history. The coexistence of the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa has caused tensions in central Africa for years.
In 1994, the Hutu charged through the country, killing 800,000 people, including their own.
In response, the Tutsi did the same in a five-month civil war. Despite reports of genocide, no one came to the country's assistance. The United Nations, stationed in Rwanda during the massacre, pulled out entirely after some of its soldiers were killed.
The lack of trust in the government resulted in continued clashes between the ethnic groups. A low-intensity civil war has followed, leaving a heritage of genocide that still haunts the national psyche today, Yocum said.
The three ethnic groups believe they have been abandoned and will never be able to belong because of the years of bloodshed and terror they have lived through, she said. FPT, a faith-based peace and service effort started in 1993 by the Religious Society of Friends, provides support and serves as witnesses to the groups' reintegration into society and the world. A lot of people can relate to that struggle, she said.
Yocum is also familiar with trust issues from her own life. Growing up, she struggled with her faith. Yocum became a Quaker when she was 37 because the Methodist church she was raised in, she said, wasn't answering some of the questions she had.
The Religious Society of Friends, she said, encourages a one-on-one experience with God, something she felt often through meditation and prayer. For the most part, Quakers first listen for God's message before going out and working in the world. Yocum did just that.
While attending a Quaker meeting in Ohio while working on her doctorate, she heard the story of three women whose lives had been mended through their faith and encouragement of the Quaker community. Two of the women had been conscientious objectors and one had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam. They said they had been healed through the congregation's outpouring of well-wishes, prayers and support. Still today, Yocum said, their story inspires her. Through them, she had heard God's message.
Slowly she became more and more involved with the Society of Friends. She joined FPT 10 years ago, which led her to work in Cuba, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Today, she is sure she has found her calling—helping others work toward trust through the faith she now embraces, she said.
About 50 Friends from the St. Petersburg and Tampa meeting heard Yocum speak about her experience in working in Africa.
"I was amazed by the audience's curiosity and interest in the well-being of the people I worked with," she said.
While the curious ranged in ages from 35 to 82, Cara McCan, 19, said she sacrificed a Friday night at BayWalk to be at the presentation. McCan, a St. Petersburg native, said she has been inspired by Yocum, who had worked with her father, Doug, in Nicaragua through another Quaker service organization called ProNica.
McCan, who will be graduating from Onley Friends School in Ohio this summer, hopes to study psychology, like Yocum, so she can someday help others like she has.
Yocum has taught many lessons throughout the world, but she, too, has learned something, including how even young people can overcome tragedy.
The day after she visited the schoolchildren in Rwanda, where she found the girls modeling their pink ribbons while the boys played a welcoming tune for her on their new whistles.
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