Trauma Healing Program Continues its Peacebuilding Work

In response to the special needs created by 14 years of civil war, the Lutheran Church in Liberia (LCL) together with the Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service established in 1998 a crucial Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Program (THRP).

THRP, now a program of the LCL, continues its work in addressing the psychosocial problems of Liberians exposed to the brutality and trauma during the war. The overall goal of THRP is “to contribute to peace-building in Liberia through the strengthening of community and civic structures.” The program trains trauma healing trainers and sponsors workshops, seminars and awareness sessions focusing on the healing of traumatic experiences. Their programs emphasize the need to move forward toward reconciliation rather than remain locked in the cycle of hatred and retribution. Every war-affected Liberian is included in their work; it is not limited to Lutherans, Christians or any specific ethnic group. Download THRP brochure.

During 2006
While the civil wars which divided the Liberian social-political landscapes have ended, a “positive peace”, defined by changed structural conditions and changed power relations, remain elusive. There is still a need for peace building institutions to continue to engage the problems envisioned.  To support this effort during 2006, THRP during reached its targeted beneficiaries through assessment visits, workshops, consultations and psychosocial counseling sessions. Through these meetings, THRP attempts to provide security personnel, community dwellers, and traditional and religious leaders with new skills and techniques in conflict management and mediation process and challenged them to go in their communities and institutions as peace crusaders.

Among THRP's 2006 priorities were:

• Working within the Liberian security sector to provide training and professional and logistical support to the National Security Network for Peace Building.

• Identifying and developing the capacity of local animators, including potential stakeholders at the community level, to help them carry out their own peace building work.

• Working through community structures for peace building to support appropriate traditional and conventional peace building initiatives within local communities.

• Working to strengthen the peace building skills of LCL leaders and Lutheran World Federation-World Service staff in integrated development projects.

• Responding, when needed, to emergencies and crises.

During 2005
2005 saw massive return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees from across Liberia and neighboring countries. THRP was actively involved in resolving conflicts that arise from process of repatriation. Negotiators and counselors were called on to work with community leaders to mediate conflicts that emerge between returnees and those who stayed, between ex-combatants and the victims of violence, and between old and new community leaders, between previous land-owners and those making claims on that same land. Counselors were deployed in four regions of the country (north central, western, Lofa region, and the southeast) to work with community animators to explore solutions to conflicts between competing groups in conflict as a result of repatriation.

During the 2005, THRP also held workshops in several disarmament camps for ex-combatants who were to be demobilized and re-integrated into society. Though each group of ex-combatants was only in camp for 5 days, THRP counselors provided short civic education classes and trauma counseling and peacebuilding seminars for the disarmed fighters.

With its staff of 20 people, THRP also continued to do its community-based training of trauma counselors – including church workers, health care workers, teachers, youth and women’s group leaders. The program also works to train security personnel, government officials and heads of non-governmental agencies, to assist them as they come into contact with traumatized citizens.

Thanks to a $10,000 program grant from the ELCA’s Division for Global Mission, THRP was able to train all 75 LCL pastors in a trauma healing and reconciliation seminar during 2004.
THRP was also present in at least six camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), working with IDPs through an arts projects, utilizing traditional story-telling, songs, crafts and other hands-on activities to help people process the psycho-social damage done to them during the war.

Download THRP brochure.