Reference :
V-P-CD-E-01447
Date :
09/2012
Caption :
Oriental province, territory of Ango, Banda. Naomi discussing how she came to host children formerly associated with armed forces or groups, with volunteers from de Red Cross Society of Democratic Republic of Congo.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
ICRC Website, Feature, 10/10/12
DR Congo: invisible wounds and local paths to recovery
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Dakwa and Banda are two villages in north-eastern DRC, an area racked since 2009 by violence linked to the presence of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and military operations launched to contain them. The images capture the pain of children and youth forcibly recruited by an armed group and the steps taken by local actors to lighten their heavy load after they return home. The ICRC has been working closely with these communities, training Red Cross volunteers, host families, teachers and spiritual leaders to improve their psychosocial support for children on the path to recovery. In the story that follows, children formerly associated with an armed group, community members, ICRC staff and Red Cross volunteers share their experiences and observations on the children's invisible psychological wounds which, untreated, can continue to cripple their future.
(...)
Invisible wounds run deep
"When you take the children, you destroy the family unit and corrode the fabric of society," says Kevin Davies, who runs the ICRC's psychosocial programme in Oriental province. "Children in villages like Dakwa or Banda may be taken from very young ages, such as four or five years old, just as they might be 14 or 15. They may be held by an armed group for different periods of time, ranging from a few days, a few weeks, to a few years. What they witness, what they experience and what they are made to do can be atrocious, and this leaves an imprint on a child's mind and behaviour."
Children are used as porters, wives, or for different forms of forced labour, while others are forced to fight. Some children never return, while others manage to escape and survive the long journey home. Their psychological, more invisible, wounds are usually the hardest to heal.
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Temporary host families
Naomi and her husband became a "temporary host family" for former child soldiers after the Red Cross told them of a young girl who had escaped from an armed group who was staying at the military camp. The Red Cross had not yet been able to locate her parents. Naomi's husband went to find the child and offered her a temporary home: She would not eat, she cried all the time and otherwise she would sleep a lot. She had wounds on different parts of her body, and her neck would ache because she had been carrying very heavy loads over long distances for so long." Naomi has since welcomed many children, but insists that temporary host families must be selected carefully and be made aware of children's emotional and psychological needs. This is key to helping the child rediscover who they were before and "welcome" them back.
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Facilitation is central to ICRC approach
The key idea behind the ICRC's community approach to psychosocial care is facilitation. Its teams may facilitate trainings and solution-focused discussion groups, but ultimately it is a bottom-up process. Davies' explains further: "We believe that the solutions are inside the person, inside the community, and the best and most powerful way to reach a solution is for them to find it themselves. The journey to recovery involves different stages, from feelings of loss, denial, anger, blame to, finally, acceptance. Each person follows their own unique recovery process and moves at their own pace. The community can do a lot to assist in this. We want to help these children and communities to make this journey together, so that it is faster and less painful. Ultimately, hope and compassion are key elements in any recovery process, be it mental or physical illness. These are some of the attitudes that we try to foster."
Since September 2011, the ICRC's psychosocial team has trained over 150 Congolese Red Cross volunteers, teachers, and religious and spiritual leaders in the villages of Doruma, Banda and Dakwa, to better understand psychological and emotional symptoms and integrate this kind of care into their normal work. Two counsellors from each community were also trained to provide more specialized support. After the successes of this work in creating more "fertile" ground for children's recovery, the ICRC plans to launch similar programmes in other villages.
*The names of children associated with armed forces or groups have been changed
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
4272x2848
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
