Luna is now gearing up for more training in 2018, in Uganda, Liberia and the Middle East.
At the end of January Elias and Gerald will run a week’s course for 20 health workers and counsellors working in Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda’s Isingiro district. It is the biggest camp in South Western Uganda, home to over 180,000 refugees who come from Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia and Ethiopia. Most children living in the camp have had traumatic experiences. In August 2017 Luna trained four camp staff in Mabarara, and a follow-up visit by Elias in October showed that they were using the treatment effectively but were overwhelmed by the need. So this has become Luna’s top priority project for 2018, and we are trying to raise a total of £860 to fund the course. In future we hope to extend our work in the growing number of refugee camps all over Uganda.
In April we hope to run courses for both potential new trainers, as well as new CATT practitioners, in the Middle East so we can create the same level of sustainability as we have in Uganda. The first will be in April in Amman, Jordan, where psychologists and counsellors trained in 2015 have been using CATT with large numbers of Syrian refugee children. Then if funds permit we will return to Turkey later in the year where there is enormous need. We are seeking significant donations to fund this work, and launching an appeal in the New Year.
In February we hope to join experienced Ugandan CATT trainer James Nsereko in Liberia to offer training to local mental health workers treating children who have been the victims of both civil war and the ravages of ebola. This is a totally new part of the world for us, and we are looking forward to building on the excellent work James has already done there for the Carter Centre’s Mental health Liberia Program.