The Warrap State commission for conflict resolution and reconciliation on Monday commenced a five-day training in trauma healing for volunteer counselors drawn from Tonj North County.
The trainees, 10 female, and 20 male youth will be empowered to help the community out of trauma, stress, and depression as the county has just ceased hostilities within and with other neighboring counties.
Agany Lok Agany, the chairperson of the Warrap State commission for conflict resolution and reconciliation appreciated the UNDP for supporting the initiative and urged the participants to pay attention to the content of the training.
“I appreciate our partner, UNDP, for the support. This training is very important because there were conflicts in Tonj North County,” Lok said. “That is why the commission thought of bringing thirty participants to be trained in Trauma healing and psychosocial support so that they can help their community members who have engaged in conflict for the last two years.”
Lucia Bass, the UNDP cluster coordinator, said the training will alleviate communities from the effects of trauma and make them embark on their livelihood activities.
“Today we have training for volunteer counselors from Tonj North County. We have brought 30 participants,” Bass said. “This training is meant to empower them so that they (volunteers) can be able to support the communities who were traumatized by communal conflicts.”
“Cattle raiding and revenge killings are the factors which caused trauma in the community and you have heard of people who committed suicide. This is due to conflict although they were not involved directly in the fighting,” She added.
Bass said the aim of training the volunteers is so that they can help the community heal from trauma and participate in economic activities.
Some of the participants on Monday said they have already benefited from the introductory part of the training.
Biling Deng Jal, one of the participants from Kerik Payam, said she benefited from the first day on how to help others with anxious behaviors.
“Today I learned how people will progress in the community without conflict and how to solve problems among people. We started today (Monday) and still have a few days ahead,” Deng said. “We have played a great part as the youth in Tonj North and we united people because our county was almost the worst in terms of killings but government and intellectuals intervened and people now are at their residences.”
Simon Majak Makuok, another participant, said, “What I have just learned is stress and traumatization and how our community suffered in silence. Conflict and natural disasters contributed a lot to trauma and depression because our county has been in conflict for three years. So, this knowledge will help the community to be relieved from pain.”