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The emotional impact of a natural disaster is not much different from the legacy of trauma endured by civilians who have survived conflict. As the Santa Barbara area comes to terms with recent events, there is a new empathy toward those further afield who have experienced unimaginable loss and shock. There is also a shared understanding of what it feels like to always be bracing yourself for the next unpleasant surprise. This is why counseling and sharing is so important.
All Saints by the Sea Outreach Committee has kindly supported a six-month pilot project offering psychotherapy counseling to orphans who survived the Rwandan genocide. Despite the difference in location, cause and scale, Santa Barbara’s survivors share common challenges. They will also benefit from similar coping mechanisms.
The Rwanda pilot project was run by Network for Africa, a charity supported by All Saints since 2009. The orphans being counseled had an average age of 28 (the genocide was in 1994, but there has been almost no treatment for survivors in this profoundly poor country). We interviewed the orphans at the start of the project, and again when it ended, in an attempt to measure our impact. At the start, only 6% of the orphans felt positive about their lives. By the end, 62% felt optimistic – a remarkable result, given the orphans’ early experiences, witnessing the murder of their families, and the decades of PTSD since.
When the Rwandan orphans were asked how they were functioning and making plans for the future, few expressed any hope at the beginning of the project. By the end, there was a 57% improvement (the figures were arrived at by a standard measurement method employed by Network for Africa’s trained psychotherapists). At the start, only 60% felt able to find work and hold down a job; that rose to 88% by the end of the pilot project.
In the course of individual interviews, the orphans described what aspects of the counseling helped them most. Anyone who is a survivor of the wild fires and mudslides closer to home may find the young Rwandans’ comments resonate. The orphans regularly use the coping skills and strategies taught to them by Network for Africa (breathing exercises, visualizing a safe place, reflecting on the positive aspects of their life, writing down their problems and then burning the piece of paper, listening to music, finding peace and quiet on a walk, in the garden, or being with animals).
In particular, the orphans reported opening their hearts and minds to “feel the healing light.” They drew enormous strength from talking to counselors and other survivors about their experiences, and in prayer.
Network for Africa thanks All Saints for its generous support for this pilot project. In March 2019, a group from Santa Barbara, including All Saints parishioners, will visit Rwanda to see similar life-enhancing projects, witnessing the resourcefulness and resilience of survivors. An optional safari and gorilla-watching trek will also be offered. Those interested please contact Rebecca Tinsley of Network for Africa (a part-time Santa Barbara resident) who will lead the tour: tinsleyrc@aol.com
