Susu and her team provides Mental Health awareness and counseling Services in 18 regions of Somalia.

Susu and her team provides Mental Health awareness and counseling Services in 18 regions of Somalia.

For more than 16 years, our team have been working with communities in crisis. We've seen firsthand that parents who have experienced trauma, stress, and other mental health challenges have trouble providing their children with proper care and nutrition.

Conflict, natural disasters, and related shock and stresses have only increased the need for mental health services among the world’s most vulnerable populations. This Mental Health Awareness, we want to share the work our team do to provide psychosocial and counseling services to people in need.

In Somalia, we’re providing mental health services for the 18 District South central zone community – where, since 2014, nearly two million refugees have fled conflict in Somalia to safety in Somalia IDPs. Recently, our teams provided trauma counseling for refugees when a fire broke out in their campsite in Kahda IDP camp.

The devastating fire killed 15 people and further displaced more than 100,000 refugees. families were already facing multiple challenges – from instability and malnutrition to living in overcrowded camps amidst the deadly COVID-19 pandemic – and this latest disaster has only compounded these issues.

sahra saw her village in Qansahdhere when she fled for her life in 2014. The recent fires brought those painful memories back, along with feelings of guilt, anger, and fear. Our team have helped Sahra and others to work through their emotions and to deal with the traumas they have experienced.

Through counseling, Sahra understood her feelings were valid and shared by others in her community. Once she began speaking with one of our psychosocial workers, Sahra felt as if a burden had been lifted off her chest.

A lot of people in need feel better – and become better equipped to care for themselves and their family – when they have someone to talk to. We hope you’ll join this effort to ensure more vulnerable communities have access to our lifesaving nutrition and health care, including counseling services and psychosocial support.

I would like to thank world pulse sisters who allowed us to raise our voice and doing more impact to this platform.