The civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been one of Africa's largest and most destructive conflicts, resulting in the loss of close to five million lives through direct violence, as well as malnutrition and disease caused by the collapse of the economic and social infrastructure. The weakness of the Congolese state has allowed continued violence and human rights abuses in the eastern border regions. In particular, the widespread and systematic use of rape and violent sexual assault as a tool of war has come to characterize the conflict, resulting in tens of thousands of cases of physical and psychological trauma, which is compounded by social stigmatization faced by victims. At the same time, few psychological services exist for sexual trauma victims beyond informal maisons d'écoute and maisons des femmes, where women tell their stories to other women.

Summary

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights is currently implementing Sikia ("to listen" in Kiswahili), a program to strengthen the capacity of community-level mental health workers (CMHW) providing psychosocial support to survivors of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in Uvira Territory, South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A two-year training plan has been designed and will be implemented in eight distinct week-long training seminars. This innovative training project was developed in cooperation with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and DRC host-country nationals to improve community-level mental health services for survivors of SGBV in post-conflict South Kivu Province.

Activities

• Implementing a two-year training program with eight distinct week-long training seminars, covering such topics as clinical care and referrals, effects of trauma, community engagement, and stress reduction;
• Working in partnership with a number of international mental health consultants, who will serve as expert trainers and will provide CMHWs with clinical oversight and referral options, basing a Mental Health Program Manager in Uvira town;
• Building the operational capacity of local associations to provide front-line care to SGBV victims by providing local partners' associations with funds for staff salaries, rent and vehicles; launching two new maisons d'ecoute in the Haute Plateau Health Zone of Uvira Territory;
• Training and supporting grassroots-level mental health workers, creating a cadre of local providers capable of providing a range of individual and community-level services around SGBV response.