"Until today I have learnt that all of us in this region has passed through traumatic experiences and this affects our lives in different ways. The opportunity for today has help me and will help all my members in Lalogi, I feel empowered to heal myself and heal my fellow sisters in my community”
The conflict in Northern Uganda left whole regions devastated by visceral traumatic experiences and citizens left to handle those feelings on their own. There were Non-Government Organizations (NGO) that came in but the extent of their reach was not large enough. They chose one demographic to tackle which took care of the formerly abducted but left out the rest of the population in the North. Women’s Global Empowerment Fund is bridging this gap by equipping community peer Counsellors with Trauma Healing and counselling skills.
The trauma healing and counselling workshop for today is proving to be very successful, and very beneficial in many ways. So far, much of the counselling that our peer Counsellors have been doing has been, according to them, somewhat intuitive and ‘on-the-job’ learning – which says a massive amount about what amazing Peer Counsellors these women are, as they have been helping so many women work their way through pain and hurt at very deep levels. We are equipping Peer Counsellors with more skills and knowledge to refine and improve their techniques Such as”:-
Group based therapy has been found to be one of the most effective methods helping people who have gone through terrible traumatic experiences. When people come together and share their individual experiences, it brings relief and particularly because you get to understand that you are not alone facing life challenges. You also get valuable emotional support from the group members which create bonding and a spirit of unity. Group therapy helps to break the chain of isolation and a feeling of being unloved.
We started 2 days Trauma Healing Counselling training for all our peer counsellors, to equip them with skills to support themselves and their group members. Its is critical for peer counsellors organize occasional group based counselling sessions lasting between 1-2 hours each for for group members in their communities.
Building Trust People who have been hurt find it very difficult to Trust again. When people we trusted most betray us, it becomes difficult to trust again. A reason for example a woman can say ‘with men I have washed my hands’; because of the bad experiences she has had with men. This can translate to your family members, neighbor, government, and other people.
Quote: -
“Until today I have learnt that all of us in this region has passed through traumatic experiences and this affects our lives in different ways. The opportunity for today has help me and will help all my members in Lalogi “
“I feel empowered to heal myself and heal my fellow sisters in my community”.
Thank you
Akumu Betty Peer Counsellor Lalogi- Omoro District
To learn more visit www. vacnetwork.org, www.wgefund.org