DAI has begun to offer trauma healing workshops to local Christian leaders.
The same leaders who have least access to leadership materials are often the ones who have the greatest exposure to trauma: war, natural disasters, violence, abuse and more. This has become especially evident these last two years with the pandemic’s devastating effect in the majority world, political instability and insurgency in Myanmar, Haiti, Ethiopia and more, and tragic natural disasters like Haiti’s earthquake in August.
Because of this, DAI is partnering with SIL International to bring their resources from the Trauma Healing Institute to leaders around the world. The course guides participants through biblical and mental health principles related to trauma and facilitates healing within a supportive Christian community. DAI’s first virtual trauma healing cohort brought together DAI staff from seven countries and now a second cohort is underway.
DAI Haiti is already demonstrating the powerful, transformative impact this course can have. Enel Angervil (DAI Haiti Ministry Center Director) and his team began training trauma facilitators earlier this fall and have already held workshops for over 160 leaders.
One course participant, Madame Casimir Evelyne, shared:
“I am a person who has met with a lot of things. My husband was killed by bandits. I lived through the earthquake of 2010 and saw many people die. In the earthquake this summer, the house I had just built in February was damaged and I saw many dead people in front of me. But after this training, I feel like a different person, for now I am healed. I am a teacher, and I will share what I learned with my students, other teachers and my community.”
