Africa
We began our work in Africa in 1999, providing care to men, women and children who fled to refugee camps in Guinea after escaping violent civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. We continue to operate healing initiatives in Africa for survivors of torture and war. We also partner with African torture rehabilitation centers and other local organizations to strengthen healing services available to survivors of politically-motivated violence.
Ethiopia
CVT Ethiopia provides direct counseling to Eritrean refugees living in camps south of Shire. Many are young men fleeing forced and indefinite conscription into the Eritrean military. But many women and children also are forced to leave and face horrifying experiences as they try to escape.In addition, to meet tremendous need for mental health care among South Sudanese refugee torture survivors, CVT extends rehabilitative care in the Nguenyyiel refugee camp in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, informed by our January 2019 needs assessment focused on mental health.
Kenya
CVT has centers in three locations in Kenya. In Dadaab, most refugees are from Somalia with others from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and other countries. CVT Dadaab provides individual and small group therapy to torture and war survivors.
In 2017, CVT began providing services to refugees and host community members in the Kakuma camps and surrounding communities in Turkana County. Refugees living in Kakuma are largely from South Sudan and Somalia, with a rapidly growing population from Burundi. Local community members are regular participants in daily camp life; they conduct business, attend school and seek services in the camps. The CVT Kakuma team extends counseling and physiotherapy services to survivors of torture and war trauma.
CVT Nairobi provides counseling and physical therapy to refugees, many who fled the Great Lakes Region of Africa and Somalia. The UN High Commission for Refugees estimates that Nairobi is home to 53,200 refugees, although other international nongovernmental organizations believe there are many more, largely hidden from society.
Uganda
CVT Uganda extends rehabilitative care in Gulu to survivors of torture who were affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict, works with mental health counselors in the region with ongoing intensive training and supervision, and mentors graduate students of psychology through a partnership with Makerere University in Kampala. CVT offers both psychological first aid to those in need of immediate stabilization and 10-week group counseling sessions for adults who would benefit from longer-term mental health care as well as staff care workshops for humanitarian workers to improve and maintain staff effectiveness and decrease risk of burnout and secondary traumatization.
This song was written by one member of the Tumaini group as a celebration of the bond he and fellow torture and war survivors formed through their group counseling, and their renewed sense of dignity and value as human beings. Please share the Tumaini Group’s message of hope and healing with your family and friends.
