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| Teachers and peer counselors from newly founded Congo Healing Program. Mumosho DRC 2015 |
The purpose of my trip to
Bukavu last September was to establish a trauma healing center in the Mumosho
area of eastern Congo.
Working together, Amani
Matabaro, director and founder of ABFEK, and I set up the Congo
Healing Program (CHP) in a large,
private room in the literacy building of the Mumosho Community Center.
With my psychological
expertise and Amani’s translating finesse in Swahili and French, we trained two
EFT peer counselors and 12 teachers. In
addition to making trauma healing available at no charge to whoever needs it,
the CHP is teaching healthy coping skills to primary school children.
Although CHP is a trauma
healing program, the name was chosen to reflect a positive future—our focus is
as much about moving forward and manifesting dreams as it is about healing past
suffering.
The CHP has 3 parts:
1. Public education
about trauma, depression, and anxiety: their symptoms and the need for
treatment,
2. Peer counselors
trained in EFT (a tapping therapy), breath work, and positive visualization for
individuals and groups,
3.Teacher training
for a daily morning healing ritual with primary school children.
I originally went to Congo in
2008 to do trauma therapy. But the differences between western psychology and
Congolese culture seemed too wide to bridge at the time, so I focused on
vocational training and Centre Ushindi.
It took some years to work
out which therapies really help people there. Peacefulheart
Network taught how to do tapping with
war victims. From there, I added interventions
I found helpful when treating women survivors of sexual violence, such as breath work, visualization, tapping, song, dance, and group therapy.
Additionally, I confer with
Amani about which interventions, language, and imagery are culturally
compelling so these folks will integrate the new skills into their everyday
lives instead of forgetting them as soon as I leave!
We taught teachers a morning
ritual that helps school children forget their difficulties at home (domestic
violence, hunger, pain) and make school a safe place for them. When calm and relaxed,
they are more open to incorporating positive thinking and proactive
behaviors into their lives.
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| School kids in DR Congo |
Being a teacher himself,
Amani loved the idea of helping kids get off to a positive start each morning. The teachers we trained love the protocol, especially greeting each student at
the door as they entered the classroom. One principal immediately started doing
breath work with 5th and 6th graders—no small task,
because abdominal breathing is very foreign to them. To get around the
strangeness, we have them breathe God in and out, which is relaxing and
empowering.
I want to thank all of you
who donated to make this program a reality. YOU are helping war victims you
will never meet heal and rebuild their lives. Children are starting off
on the right foot because of your generosity. YOU have made a HUGE difference
for the good in many lives.
With love and appreciation,
Victoria Bentley
Empower Congo Women - President and founder
